by Leung Hai Ying

鋮鋮 譯

求職空姐實(shí)錄記

What Really Happens at Flight Attendant Recruitment Days

by Leung Hai Ying

鋮鋮 譯

Friendly? Attentive? Beautiful? Got the potential to keep your head while ushering 300 nervous breakdowns onto an infatable slide?

待人友善？做事專注？貌美如花？還能沉著鎮(zhèn)定引導(dǎo)300名驚慌失措的乘客從充氣滑梯逃生？

You could just be the ideal flight attendant. But you’ll have to earn it. An international airline receives an average of 15,000 applications for cabin crew a month, not including those in the1)cockpit, and recently I was one of them.

如果你擁有這樣的素質(zhì)，你就夠格做一位理想的空姐了。但要得到這個(gè)職位絕非易事。一家國際航空公司平均每月會(huì)收到15000份機(jī)艙乘務(wù)員的求職申請(qǐng)，這其中還沒包括在駕駛艙里工作的那一群呢。最近我也加入到了求職空姐的隊(duì)伍中。

When I read the prerequisites—21 years or over, high school graduate, and with an arm-reach of at least 212 centimeters—I think it’s fair to say I was confident, even if that did describe half the population.

當(dāng)我看到航空公司對(duì)求職者的基本要求—年齡在21歲或以上，高中學(xué)歷，手臂摸高至少有212厘米—我想，可以說自己是夠格的，雖說這要求有一半的人都能達(dá)到。

DAY 1: OPEN HOUSE |第一天：初 選

I arrive with around 1,000 other hopefuls, but after the initial2)screening session—a group discussion of questions like, “Would you be reborn a man or woman?”—we’re straight away cut to 100. I’m one of the lucky ones to get through.

我與大約1000名滿懷希望的年輕人來到了招聘地點(diǎn)，但是在初選的座談會(huì)結(jié)束后只剩下了100人。那是一場(chǎng)分組討論，談?wù)擃愃七@樣的問題：如果能夠重生，你想做男人還是女人？我有幸通過了初選。

The next three hours are spent telling us about the airline and also what’s expected of successful candidates.

在接下來的三小時(shí)里，我們被告知航空公司的有關(guān)情況，還有對(duì)于成功求職者的要求。

“To be a fight attendant you need to have nice, straight white teeth,” explains the head recruiter. “This is not like weight, it cannot be fixed short-term.”Check. Four years of3)train tracks and4)headgear have done me some good.

“要成為一名空中服務(wù)員，你需要有一副整齊潔白的牙齒，”招聘主管解釋道，“這不像體重，無法在短期內(nèi)獲得改變?！睕]問題。我曾戴過四年牙套，這對(duì)我有一些好處。

“Light skin tone is also essential, and if you have acne that cannot be covered, that is a problem, OK?”Nothing wrong with my skin a little foundation can’t fx. Check.

“淺膚色也很關(guān)鍵，要是你有蓋不住的痤瘡就麻煩了，好吧？”我的皮膚沒什么瑕疵，只要打一點(diǎn)粉底就可以了。皮膚沒問題。

“Hair must be dark.” He points to a girl with dyed5)auburn hair. “You. You have to spray that with something or change your color.” My black roots are in. Check.

“頭發(fā)必須是深色的。”他指著一名頭發(fā)染成紅褐色的女孩說，“你。你得在頭發(fā)上噴些東西，或者干脆改變頭發(fā)的顏色。”我的黑頭發(fā)幫了忙。頭發(fā)也沒問題。

“6)Pimples, you must be able to completely conceal the pimples. And no glasses. You need a note from your doctor if you can’t wear contact lenses. But you must wear lots of mascara.”

“痘痘，你們必須把痘痘完全遮住。還有不能戴眼鏡。要是不能戴隱形眼鏡，你得找醫(yī)生開張證明。但是你們必須涂很多睫毛膏?！?/p>

So far it seems more like a beauty pageant than a recruiting day.

到目前為止，這更像是一場(chǎng)選美比賽而非人員招聘。

The “interview” is a 13-hour marathon broken up into various rounds, each followed by the distribution of slips of paper indicating either success or failure to advance.

馬拉松式的“面試”長(zhǎng)達(dá)13個(gè)小時(shí)，中間分成許多回合，每個(gè)回合之后你會(huì)拿到一張小紙條知會(huì)你是否取得了繼續(xù)面試的資格。

One-on-one chat

一對(duì)一談話

At 9 a.m. the first interview takes place—a five-minute one-onone chat with one of the recruiters. Barely anything is7)ascertained that they couldn’t have discovered from my résumé. At the end of it, the frst of the paper slips of death are distributed, cutting us to around 40. I make it through.

上午九點(diǎn)，第一場(chǎng)面試開始了—這是一次與招聘方一對(duì)一的五分鐘面談。他們的問題幾乎都能從我的簡(jiǎn)歷上找到答案。面試結(jié)束后，第一批“死亡”紙條分發(fā)下來，將最后的人數(shù)減至約40人。我過關(guān)了。

1) cockpit [?k?kp?t] n. 駕駛員座艙

2) screening session 審查會(huì)議，甄選環(huán)節(jié)

3) train tracks 火車軌，牙套的昵稱

4) headgear [?hedɡ??（r）] n. 牙套

5) auburn [???b?n] adj. 赤褐色的

6) pimple [?p?mpl] n. [醫(yī)]丘疹，疙瘩

7) ascertain [??s??te?n] v. 確定，探知

Team “building”

團(tuán)隊(duì)精神

Candidates have to work out two problems together.

求職者必須在一起解決兩個(gè)難題。

The first problem involves building a famous landmark out of a stack of plain white A4 paper, a handful of paperclips and three rubber bands. Having had a tip that the key is to be assertive but not aggressive, I assume the leader role, directing each girl, but carefully listen to suggestions too. We construct the Bank of China Building in Hong Kong—it looks like a scrunched up jumbo cigarette. The other team builds a beautifully layered Eiffel Tower and I start to worry.

第一個(gè)難題是要用一堆A4白紙、一些回形針和三根橡皮筋來建造一個(gè)著名的地標(biāo)建筑。招聘人員提示我們，解決難題關(guān)鍵要自信果斷，而不是蠻橫獨(dú)斷。我擔(dān)當(dāng)起領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者的角色，指導(dǎo)其他女孩，同時(shí)也注意傾聽別人的建議。我們建起了香港的中銀大廈—看上去像是一支歪歪扭扭的巨型香煙。另一個(gè)團(tuán)隊(duì)建起了層次分明的埃菲爾鐵塔，我開始有點(diǎn)擔(dān)心了。

Math and logic

數(shù)學(xué)和邏輯測(cè)試

The second problem is a group discussion where we need to decide who gets an upgrade: an unattended child, a mother with a baby, an elderly couple, a man with heart problems or the vice president of the airline. I bite my tongue during our presentation as one girl messes up—I don’t want to appear too domineering. In the end, some candidates get cut despite having given logical answers.

第二個(gè)難題是分組討論，作出決策確定哪位乘客可以升艙：一個(gè)沒有人照顧的孩子、一位帶嬰兒的母親、一對(duì)老年夫婦、一個(gè)有心臟病的男人或是本航空公司的副總裁。在我們組進(jìn)行陳述時(shí)，一個(gè)女孩說得一塌糊涂，我對(duì)此忍住不加評(píng)論—我不想讓自己看上去顯得頤指氣使的。結(jié)果，有幾個(gè)女孩給出的答案雖然合乎邏輯，但還是被裁掉了。

“That girl in the gray skirt was too dominant,”whispers a recruiter. “She corrected another girls’wrong answer when it wasn’t her turn. She didn’t listen.” Now we’re down to 20, and I’m still in with a chance.

“那個(gè)穿灰色裙子的女孩表現(xiàn)得太強(qiáng)勢(shì)了，”一位招聘員小聲說道，“還沒輪到她，她就去糾正別人的錯(cuò)誤。她不聽別人說?！爆F(xiàn)在我們只剩下20人了，我還在幸存者當(dāng)中。

English comprehension exam

英語測(cè)試

This written test is easy if it’s your frst language, incredibly confusing if it’s your second. It cuts the girls from 20 to 10 and once again I make it through. I’ve made the top 1 percent from the original 1,000 who turned up to the open day. My hopes are getting raised, and my dreams of a jet-setting, city-hopping life are starting to become focused, not just blurred dreamvisions well out of reach.

假如英語是你的母語，那做這個(gè)書面測(cè)試很容易，反之就會(huì)覺得很困難。這場(chǎng)測(cè)試將20人減到了10人，我又過關(guān)了。在第一天到來的1000名女孩當(dāng)中，我成了最優(yōu)秀的百分之一。我的期望值大大提升了，我夢(mèng)想中的乘坐飛機(jī)穿梭城市的生活開始變得清晰起來，不只是那種遙不可及的模糊夢(mèng)境。

Psychometric test

心理測(cè)試

At the end of the long day we’re sent home, but the fun isn’t over yet—we need to do an online8)psychometric exam at home before the night is over. There are no “right or wrong answers,” we’re told.

漫長(zhǎng)的一天結(jié)束后，我們被送回家，但有趣的考試還沒有結(jié)束—我們還需要在天亮前在家里做一個(gè)在線心理測(cè)試，我們被告知答案并沒有對(duì)錯(cuò)之分。

The questions are along the lines of: “Are you overly sensitive all the time, sometimes or never?” Do they want me to be sensitive? That’s good for customer service, right? Or perhaps not. I need to be stoic and calm in an emergency. Right?

那些問題包括：“你是否總是、有時(shí)、或從不過分敏感？”他們是不是希望我敏感呢？這對(duì)服務(wù)乘客是有利的，對(duì)嗎？還是不對(duì)？在緊急情況發(fā)生時(shí)我需要沉著鎮(zhèn)靜，對(duì)嗎？

The next day the so-far-successful candidates are brought back for a 15-minute interview. They ask about my work experience, discuss previous jobs and request two business attire photos and one casual dress photo.

次日，到目前為止過關(guān)的求職者們被要求回到公司參加一場(chǎng)15分鐘的面試。他們?cè)儐柫宋业墓ぷ鹘?jīng)歷，談?wù)摿宋乙郧暗墓ぷ鳎瑔栁乙藘蓮埓┞殬I(yè)裝的照片和一張穿便裝的照片。

This is so, along with the notes taken of the interviews, “the vice president can see how hot you look without your hair in a bun. There is an element of luck to get this gig,” says the recruiter.

面試就是這樣了，還有多次面試中留下的筆記，“你不要把頭發(fā)盤起來，這樣副總裁就可以看出你到底有多漂亮。有時(shí)過關(guān)需要一點(diǎn)運(yùn)氣?！闭衅腹僬f道。

I didn’t make it.

我沒有成功。

My career pointing at emergency exits and trying not to spill drinks ended before it began, but I did come away with a huge respect for those who do. It is clear that you need more than just a pretty face.

我那為旅客指出緊急出口并努力不打翻飲料的職業(yè)在開始前就結(jié)束了，但我離開時(shí)確實(shí)對(duì)從事這項(xiàng)職業(yè)的人有了深深的尊重。顯然，除了有一張漂亮的臉蛋，你還需要有更多的潛質(zhì)。

The 13-hour interview seems to me to be the key flter. It’s one big stress test to see how girls will respond to competition and long waiting hours. It’s an effcient way to sieve out those lacking patience, since you have to wait hours between interviews. Those who made it to the fnal round were beautiful, smart, bilingual,9)articulate and most importantly, very, very composed.

我覺得那次13小時(shí)的面試很關(guān)鍵。這種壓力巨大的考試能看出一個(gè)女孩如何應(yīng)對(duì)競(jìng)爭(zhēng)和長(zhǎng)時(shí)間的等待。這種方式對(duì)于淘汰那些沒有耐心的女孩很有效，因?yàn)樵诟鱾€(gè)面試回合中你需要等很長(zhǎng)的時(shí)間。那些最后順利過關(guān)的人聰明、漂亮，能講兩種語言，口齒清晰，而最重要的是，她們非同一般地從容鎮(zhèn)定。

8) psychometric [?psa?k???metr?k] adj. 心理測(cè)量的，心理測(cè)量學(xué)的 9) articulate [ɑ??t?kj?l?t] adj. 清晰明白的，發(fā)音清晰的