–By: Amynah Diop:
On my last day in Paris I decided to become a flight attendant. I had been living there for a year, and honestly didn’t want to return to New York. I was finished with my year long adventure in the most beautiful city in the world and I was sitting next to an European flight attendant at Charles De Gaulle airport. It had been a rough last week, but my spirits were lifted after my conversation with this amazing air hostess, who’d seemed to have an amazing life. “You should apply!” She said, with her thick French accent. So it all sounded like one word- “youshouldapply.” She sort of squished all the words together. I chuckled at the idea since I honestly didn’t think that it was a job for which I would be hired. But, as we parted ways at John F. Kennedy airport, an inkling kindled in my heart.
Months later, I went to the Delta website where I watched videos and read articles. I was enchanted! My research showed that Delta was voted one of the best Fortune 500 companies to work for. So I revised my resume, had friends look over it, and submitted my application. It was that simple. And then I waited. I also applied to another airline, which was a great company, but it didn’t rank as high as Delta. I wanted to keep my options open. About three weeks later I got an email stating that I was being considered for Delta’s next steps. I was hovering out of my body. I received a response from the other airline as well and was just as excited.
After a week passed, I received the instructions regarding the next step of the process, and a few weeks after that, I was invited to participate in yet another step in the process. It was a grueling wait. And while I waited for news from Delta, I was asked to fly down to interview in person with the other airline. I donned my best black dress and grey blazer and boarded the plane to my first interview. This served as my “tester” interview, because I wanted to get some practice in before my golden hour with Delta. Aviation and Customer Service —in the air— was all new to me, so I wanted to make sure that I was prepared. While on the flight, I chatted with a few of the other airline’s flight attendants, asked them about their experiences, and whether or not they enjoyed their job. Unfortunately I wasn’t given many encouraging responses, and after I had been to the interview, nailed it, and was on the plane back with a new crew to chat with, I still wasn’t given any encouraging responses. They seemed tired with the endless days of being reserved and unhappiness with their company, and I knew that I wouldn’t have enjoyed working for the airline.
As I waited for the invitation to interview with Delta, my love for the company grew more and more. When the day finally arrived for my interview, I was gittery. The application process took a while, and rightly so. I arrived at the airport full of optimism and luckily sat next to a Delta Flight Attendant as I waited for my departure . I held my breath when I asked her about her experience with Delta, and I breathed a sigh of excitement when her eyes lit up as she spoke about her amazing company. On the flight I spoke to a few more flight attendants, and they too had great things to say. I was convinced that if a company’s employees were happy then the company was doing something right. The interview was amazing. I cannot share many details, but you could tell that Delta was the best and that they interviewed in style. I was offered the job, and months later, I was at a two-month training program in Atlanta. It was the most difficult thing I had ever done in my life, but so worth it. They told us that around 1,700 applicants were chosen out of 200,000. So I was in the 1% and truly grateful to God. I wasn’t sure what their standards were for choosing the new Delta crew, but I went with my award winning smile, confidence, humility, and a willingness to work well with others. It has been an amazing few months, and my life will never be the same. 35,000 miles in the air is my office. Safety is my main concern. Customer service is my delight. To anyone considering working for Delta, I say, in my best French accent, “youshouldapply!”
This was a uplifting and great read, Ms Diop. After reading this I went to my safari, went to google, searched delta flight attendant, and there it is. Anyone looking to apply there is an application open for a 2020 class, they are accepting 1,000 applicants. Remember, “ youshouldapply!” -Amynah French Accent Voice ��
Nice!!!!