One of the biggest questions people have after an Emirates cabin crew open day/assesssment day is:
Why did they choose her/him and not me?
You can attend the same assessment day, answer the same questions, participate in the same group activities and have what feels like a great final interview, yet one person receives the golden call while another receives a rejection.
After looking through many candidates shared Emirates recruitment experiences, there are some interesting patterns.
There doesn't seem to be one simple reason why someone gets selected. The process appears to look at the overall candidate, rather than simply choosing whoever performed best during one particular activity.
Emirates officially says its cabin crew recruitment process assesses areas including communication, teamwork and problem solving. Candidates also need customer service or hospitality experience, English skills and to meet the other cabin crew requirements.
But what does that actually look like during an open day?
1. Your group activity is probably about more than your answer
A common mistake is to think:
I gave the best answer, so I should pass.
The group activities are not necessarily about finding the person with the smartest answer.
Candidates repeatedly mention that recruiters observe how people behave while the group is preparing, not just when someone stands up and presents.
They may be watching how you:
Listen to other people
Share your opinion
Let other people speak
Work with people you disagree with
Help the group reach a decision
Communicate your ideas
React under pressure
Treat other candidates
Avoid dominating the conversation
Stay involved without taking over
This is important because cabin crew work is highly team based.
You might have a completely different opinion from another crew member, but you still need to work together professionally.
So your behaviour before the presentation may matter just as much as your presentation itself.
2. There may not be one ''correct'' answer
Several candidates described group scenarios where they had to choose between different passengers or decide how to handle a difficult situation.
For example, one candidate described a scenario where the group had to decide which two guests should receive the remaining rooms.
Another described a situation involving passengers wanting the same limited item.
In these situations, candidates were told there wasn't necessarily one correct answer.
The important part was reaching a decision together and explaining the reasoning.
This means you shouldn't spend all your energy trying to guess:
What answer does Emirates want?
Instead, focus on showing that you can:
Think - listen - discuss - compromise - decide - communicate.
3. Being confident doesn't mean talking the most
This is another interesting pattern.
Some candidates seem to think they need to be extremely outgoing during the group activity.
But there is a difference between being confident and dominating.
If you talk constantly, interrupt other people or don't allow quieter candidates to contribute, you may actually be demonstrating the opposite of good teamwork.
At the same time, staying completely silent isn't ideal either.
A better approach is to contribute naturally.
Give your opinion.
Listen.
Build on somebody else's idea.
If someone hasn't spoken, give them an opportunity.
Then help the group move forward.
That demonstrates something much more useful than simply being the loudest person in the room.
4. The recruiter may not be the person making the final decision
This is probably one of the most confusing parts of the Emirates recruitment process.
One candidate shared an experience where the recruiter apparently liked his performance and even told him that he met the company's expectations.
He still received a rejection from Emirates.
Another successful candidate said her recruiter explained that the final decision would be made by the recruitment team in Dubai and that her performance throughout the process would be considered.
This helps explain why a candidate can leave an interview thinking:
That went amazingly!
...and still receive a rejection.
Your recruiter may give you positive feedback, but that doesn't necessarily mean an offer is guaranteed.
The final decision can involve a wider assessment of your application and recruitment information.
5. Your entire recruitment journey matter
This is perhaps the biggest lesson from the experiences people have shared.
Candidates often focus heavily on what happened at the open day/assessment day.
But the recruitment process can contain much more than the open day/assessment day itself.
Your application can include information example:
So think of the open day/assessment day as one part of the process, not necessarily the entire decision.
Someone might perform extremely well during the group activity but have another part of their overall application that doesn't result in selection.
Likewise, someone who isn't the most impressive person in one activity may still have a strong overall profile.
6. Customer service experience doesn't automatically guarantee selection
Emirates requires cabin crew applicants to have customer service or hospitality experience.
But meeting or exceeding the minimum requirement doesn't mean you automatically have an advantage over everyone else.
One candidate had several years of customer service and airline experience and still received a rejection.
Other successful candidates reported having considerably less experience.
This suggests that once you meet the basic requirement, more years of experience alone may not be what separates candidates.
The quality of communication, personality, teamwork and overall suitability can also matter.
7. Appearance and grooming are part of the assessment
This one appears repeatedly in candidate experiences.
Candidates described recruiters checking things such as:
Height
Reach
Tattoos
Scars
Hair
Makeup
Clothing
Overall grooming
Photographs
Emirates also provides specific appearance and recruitment event guidelines.
This doesn't mean that you need to be the ''prettiest'' candidate in the room.
It is more about showing that you understand the professional image expected from cabin crew and can follow the company's standards.
Several candidates specifically recommended arriving in the correct professional outfit and having everything prepared for photographs.
So don't treat the dress code as a suggestion.
8. They will be watching you when you think nobody is watching
This is probably one of the most important lessons from the experiences.
You might think:
The presentation is over, so I can relax now.
But recruiters may still be observing candidates while they wait, prepare for the next activity or interact with one another.
One candidate specifically described recruiters observing how people behaved during breaks and while waiting.
Whether every recruiter does this in exactly the same way is impossible to know, but the safest approach is simple:
Behave professionally throughout the entire day.
Don't suddenly become rude because you think the assessment is over.
Don't complain loudly.
Don't make negative comments about other candidates.
Don't become visibly frustrated when you are waiting.
You never know which moments are being observed.
9. The number of candidates selected can vary
The experiences shared by candidates also show that open days can look very different.
For example:
46 candidates → 17 → 7 → 6
Another candidate described approximately:
50 candidates → around half eliminated → around 8 remaining
Another:
30 candidates → around half eliminated → 5 progressing
And another described a much smaller group of around 20 candidates.
There doesn't appear to be one fixed number of people who must progress from every open day.
The size and structure of an assessment day can vary.
This is another reason why comparing yourself directly with somebody from another open day can be misleading.
10. Don't assume that rejection means you did something ''wrong''
This is perhaps the most important thing to understand.
A candidate can:
Dress correctly
Have excellent customer service experience
Perform well in the group activity
Speak good English
Give strong interview answers
Receive positive feedback
Feel confident about the interview
…and still not be selected.
That doesn't necessarily mean they secretly made a huge mistake.
It may simply mean that the final assessment of their overall profile did not result in an offer.
This is also why some candidates who are rejected at one attempt later succeed.
One candidate in the experiences shared that she had tried multiple times before eventually receiving the job.
Another reached the final interview on one attempt and later succeeded.
So one rejection isn't necessarily evidence that you are unsuitable for the EK cabin crew role.
So.....what is the secret??
After looking at these experiences online from many candidates attending these events, I don't think there is evidence for one secret question, one perfect answer or one hidden trick.
The more likely explanation is that Emirates is looking at many different pieces of information at once.
Think about it like this:
Eligibility
↓
Customer service experience
↓
Communication
↓
English
↓
Group behaviour
↓
Teamwork
↓
Problem solving
↓
Professional appearance
↓
Individual interview
↓
Overall application
↓
Final recruitment decision
You don't necessarily know how much weight is given to each individual part.
And that is exactly why two people can have very different outcomes even when they appear to have performed similarly.
Here is some tips for your next Emirates open/assessment day:
Instead of trying to discover a secret answer that nobody else knows, focus on the things you can control.
Before the open day
✔ Follow the dress code instructions carefully
✔ Prepare your documents
✔ Know your CV and work history
✔ Prepare customer service examples
✔ Research Emirates
✔ Practice speaking clearly in English
✔ Prepare your motivation for becoming cabin crew
During the group activities
✔ Speak clearly
✔ Listen carefully
✔ Don't interrupt
✔ Don't dominate
✔ Share your opinion
✔ Help quieter people participate
✔ Be respectful when someone disagrees with you
✔ Work toward a solution together
✔ Stay professional even when you aren't presenting
During the interview
✔ Be natural
✔ Give specific examples
✔ Explain your customer service experience
✔ Show genuine motivation
✔ Answer the actual question
✔ Don't try to sound overly rehearsed
✔ Stay calm if you don't have a perfect answer
The biggest lesson
The Emirates open/assessment day isn't necessarily a competition where the person with the best presentation automatically gets the job.
It appears to be a multi stage assessment of the candidate as a whole.
And because candidates don't see everything happening behind the scenes, it is impossible to know exactly why another person was selected and you weren't.
That is also why I wouldn't compare yourself too much with other candidates.
Someone else's golden call doesn't automatically mean they were ''better'' than you.
And your rejection doesn't automatically mean you weren't good enough.
The best thing you can do is use the experience to understand the process, identify what you can improve and try again!!
You may never know exactly why another candidate was selected. But you can make sure that when your next opportunity comes, you have prepared for every part of the day.
💜💜💜💜💜💜
And...lets not forget this::::::::::
The recruitment team is working with hiring needs for a particular location or recruitment event.
For example, they may have a certain number of positions to fill or be looking for a particular mix of candidates based on the airline’s current recruitment needs.
So even if you perform well, there may be factors behind the scenes that you simply don't know about.
You could be competing for a limited number of places and that means not every strong candidate can necessarily be selected.
For example, they fly to Portugal and need 5 girls and 1 boy. They all need to speak Portuguese, be Portuguese nationals and be between the ages of 21 - 25 etc. Example: if you are a French national and flew from France, nope, you would not get selected. If you flew from Germany to Portugal for this open day, nope, you would not get selected.
So, this kind of thing can exist within their recruitment needs. It is all about their current recruitment needs and no one knows exactly what those needs are. 😁
This is another reason why comparing yourself to the person who received the golden call can be misleading.
Good luck and I wish you all the best 😊
