Emirates Assessment Day: What to Expect and my Experience.

Emirates Assessment Day: What to Expect

If you successfully have made it through the open day/CV drop off day. Congratulations! Chances are you will receive an e-mail inviting you to an assessment day with Emirates in due course.

I went to my own drop-off day on a Friday, and the next working day (Sunday in Dubai), I promptly received notification that I had an assessment day lined up about 7 working days later.

Assessment Day: A group experience

As you may already have discovered, an assessment day will primarily be focused on your ability to work as a team. I've only sat the Emirates assessment day, however from what I've been told by my friends, and from my own research, this approach is pretty indicative across the board for airlines, so be ready!

At this point I should probably note that unfortunately I only got so far on this my first assessment day. However I learnt a lot from my experience on the day and I hope I'm able to share some insights that may prove useful to other prospective candidates! 

Timekeeping: Vital at an Assessment Day!

Here are some of the key aspects I found at my own assessment day, and own my personal experience:

**Your own accounts may vary!

First off, a quick note on time and timekeeping. Your assessment day may start very early. My own assessment day began at 7:30 am sharp. For obvious reasons timing is very important at Emirates, if you're late for the flight it's not going to wait for you as we were all reminded frequently! 
Be early to each event! 

I'm based on the other side of Dubai to Emirates HQ, so I set off at half 5. When I got there 2/3rds of candidates had already arrived so you must be early! Depending on your progress (I'll explain the day better below), It is also imperative to be early, or at very least on-time to each stage of your assessments. 

The recruitment staff will be taking analysis of your timekeeping among other aspects. So being punctual is a positive for you right off the bat. Don't come back to your next assessment late, if anything be early if you need to! 

OK, enough said on timing! As for the day itself.. 

Emirates spectacular Dubai Headquarters

There was about 60-70 candidates at my assessment day which took place at the Dubai Careers Centre. This was a significant drop from the open day where there was 1000+ in attendance. 

I know as a friend of mine is attending a separate day however, that there are at least two assessment days that take place in swift succession after an open day here. In your own country this may differ as other candidates have reported that they often transition straight from an open day into an assessment day depending on the turnout. So be ready if this does happen to you! 

We were ushered into a room at which point we were shown a series of informative videos about Emirates and life in Dubai. We were shown slightly less about life in Dubai according to the recruiters as we were already based here!

Videos and Q&A typically kick off an assessment day! 

During the video listen! The recruiters will be watching you and taking notes. This stage is pretty simple really, just look like you're paying attention. Body language here is important too look like you're paying attention! Next they will ask questions. Do not feel obliged to answer here unless you have something you'd like to ask would be my advice. 

There is no obligation at this stage to ask anything, and as you are still quite a large group they wont likely hold it against you. IF YOU REPEAT A QUESTION SOMEONE ELSE ASKS THEY MAY POINT OUT THIS FACT TO YOU! This shows quite clearly that you were not paying attention. 

The majority of the candidates who made this error I did not see progress to the latter stages. If you want to ask a question or a query make sure it hasn't already been answered! 

Next up is the first group assessment! 

There may be a cut after this point. There will almost certainly be an intermission. We were split into two groups based on candidate number. Those with numbers between 1-32 went immediately in for their first assessment, and the rest of us (I was number 46), were given a 35 minute break.

During your break (if you get one!) try and mingle with the other candidates! Chances are you might find they are your teammates when it comes to your assessment! 

I chatted with a few fellow candidates before reporting back to the assessment room five minutes early. Unfortunately no one I chatted to was in my own group!

We were organised into groups of 3 and were sat in two circles. Each group of 3 then received a card which had the name of a profession on the label. My group had baker. 

The recruiters then told us they wanted each group to come up with 3 key tasks that our selected profession would need to excel at, and we would then each stand up and present our ideas to the rest of the group. 

I was fortunate enough to have a friendly and amicable group of 3 made up of myself and two other guys. We each presented our idea to the group (I selected multitasking), and then it was time to present. My group was first in our group and I started. 

There seemed to be positive feedback from the group at my idea, however my fellow candidate after me struggled to explain his ideas. After he went silent for 15 seconds I tried to help him get back on track by interjecting to remind him of his earlier suggestions, and he was thankful for this as he was visibly nervous. Unfortunately though this pause cost him and he did not get through to the next stage so try and explain your views clearly and concisely. 

Being nervous is understandable! But try to keep your nerves in check if you can!

After the other groups presented (other jobs included nuclear scientist and farmer), we were then thanked and told to leave the assessment room. There was to be another cut. 

We sat in the lobby for roughly 15 mins, tension was pretty high at this point but eventually the recruiters guided us back into the room. In our case they simply called out the candidate numbers they wished to keep. 

Of the 30 or so of us left they called about about 10 numbers, luckily for me number 46 was one of them! At this point the other candidates were asked to hand back their recruitment numbers and leave, the rest of us were given a 5-10 minute intermission to prepare for the next assessment.  

The reach test: Technique may vary!

Next was the reach test. Emirates stipulates you need to be able to reach 212cm No exceptions. Girls were requested to take their shoes off for this. Men as long as they had relatively flat soles were able to keep their shoes on. You only need to reach the height with one-hand only so don't worry too much if this is a concern!

I don't think anyone got cut at this point although it was possible. They also asked about tattoos as we did this. I have a few, and whilst they weren't exactly pleased about them I don't think it's a huge deal as long as they're concealable below the expected uniform. Neck, face and ankle (girls) tattoos are not accepted. 

Forearm tattoos were contentious they handed us a sheet of acceptable areas  which suggested forearm tattoos were not allowed but this may have only been for girls. If you do have one I suggest you inquire with your recruiter or use your personal discretion. If you are successful you may need to remove this if not. 

Piercing were only allowed in the ears. Men with ear piercings (me included) would have to remove them. I should note I did not wear piercings at the assessment!

Not allowed unfortunately! 

Next up with another group assessment. This one worked slightly differently. Remaining candidates were split into two groups of 10, each group would have to work together to solve the problems presented. 

Now this can be difficult as I was to find out! 10 people in one group does not allow for as much group cohesion in many cases, and in retrospective I believe this must be a key part of the challenge posed!

We were presented with a scenario: You are manager of a theme park, and must make a judgment call (as a group) of how to deal with 5 different dissatisfied customers. 

The problems included a customer who had printed off a 25% discount coupon to the park and left it at home, a customer with crying children who wishes to move to the front of the queue, and a customer who is unhappy that a ride they came to see is undergoing repairs that day.

Now as others may have said, I don't believe the answers to the questions are particularly important with your group (they will be in the next part though so pay attention!) What is important is how you are able to interact as a team.

This is where it started to go wrong for me. I was with a group of people who would not let me speak. I was also reluctant to interrupt to get my way into the conversation as I'd heard this was negatively received, but in retrospective I'd have tried harder to get into the conversation. I just sat back nodded agreement, and spoke right at the end...but it was too late! I'd spoke for about 5 seconds but it was then time up! 

Now after the group discussion, the recruiters did something quite unexpected to us. They randomly selected individuals from the group and played the role of the concerned customer (expressing their anger and agitation.) This was fine for some, however I did not perform so well here. 

Scenario: Theme park manager with angry customers!

A curve-ball was thrown at me when it was my turn. The recruiter chose to play the role of another customer with children who was annoyed that my fellow candidate had allowed the first mother and child to the front of the queue and expected the same! I wasn't ready with a prepared statement for this outcome and hastily suggested that we would let them go to the front of the queue for the children's convenience and that of other passengers.

This was probably not the appropriate answer. It would have been better to express your sincere apologies and state that the previous family had been 'bumped up' for the convenience of other passengers. Oh well! 

At this point were were sent outside to await the results. I wasn't particularly confident over how I had performed at this point so the results weren't a huge surprise. We were ushered back into the room. There was 20 of us remaining and 9 papers for the English exam on the desk. They called out 9 numbers, unfortunately I wasn't one of them. 

This time however, the recruiters did take the rest of us aside and commend us for our performance and encouraged us to come back and re-apply in the future which I thought was a nice touch. They reminded us we wouldn't have got this far if they hadn't seen potential in us. 

Whilst I was initially disappointed, I felt I'd learnt a lot about my own potential from the day, and knew where I could improve. They can't disclose direct feedback for confidentiality but they don't really have to if you pay attention, you will figure out yourself where to improve if you need to! 

The next step would have been the English exam, and then Final Interview. I had prepared some answers for this which I felt were relatively competent. If you want me to share them just send me a message and I'll gladly do so! FlightAttendantCentral also provides some fantastic answers to here to Final Interview scenarios, and what to expect! 

My Feedback & Suggestions! 

I learnt a lot from the assessment day. For someone who quite quickly decided to apply I think I did quite well and may re-apply upon my return the the UK. From over 1000 candidates at the start down to the last 20 shows you how high the competition can be! 

Here is what I learnt and would suggest to future candidates: 

1. Research! 

This is a must! Check out the Emirates Careers Page for a good start. Here you will pick up what the role involves and useful factual information on the company. Other great sources are other blogs and videos, often with successful outcomes so please check them out! I have compiled a list of my favourites on this blog post! Also check out the Emirates Facebook page, this includes some great post & videos for the benefit of potential candidates! 

2. Be Patient! 

Depending on when a suitable CV Drop Off/Or open day is identified by the recruitment team for your successful application, the recruitment process can be a long one! As I've said before many candidates I encountered had waited months for there opportunity. Your invitation however should in theory allow you to attend any upcoming day you wish! If you are able to travel to a further one on a closer date by all means do so!

3. Be alert! 

You will need to good to go on a CV Drop off Day, and even more so on an assessment day! Confidence, and alertness will be very important as you can expect to be put on the spot! Try and sleep well the night before if you can! Which leads me onto the next point..

4. Do not worry!

It's a phrase often said, but what's the worst that can happen? OK, you don't get the job on this occassion, but if you get to an assessment day you have already beaten out a lot of the competition - Emirates has seen potential in you! Learn from it, and come back after 6 months, they will be more than happy to see you again! 

5. Choose your assessment day wisely! 

OK, this one is debatable. I spoke to an air hostess on one of my breaks who was kind enough to lend me some advice. One point she brought up was that my chosen location (Dubai) was a difficult one as it has a notoriously high turnout (thousands). She suggested a quieter venue for an easier application process. 

It raises an interesting point. If you can attend a more obscure location, chances are you'll be facing fewer applicants! However, the counter-argument to this statement would be that hey know what they are looking for in a candidate, so could theoretically not select anyone at all at a location if they don't think anyone there meets the required grade. It's something I'm considering investigating though when I return to the UK so I thought I'd add it as a point! 

Phew, thats everything! Overall, I enjoyed the process and will consider reapplying in the UK. I hope my experience has provided you with insight for your own application. 

If you wish to ask any questions please do so below or message me!