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65 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Why are you interested in becoming a flight attendant?
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I want to work in a stimulating environment where customer service is considered the number one priority. I am ready for a life changing career where flexible and spontaneous decisions must be made as the situation dictates. I feel that Southwest Airlines is looking for the type of representative who considers superior customer service a given and I am willing to relocate in order to achieve that goal.
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Why are you interested in becoming a flight attendant for this airline? Or, what brought you to this airline?
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I have researched various airlines and am impressed with Southwest Airlines management style of encouraging a fun working environment. Southwest’s safety and stability record shows me it is here to stay and I want to use my commitment to customer service to represent and grow with it.
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What do you find attractive about the flight attendant position besides the obvious benefits?
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After a career with a fixed schedule and repetitious job, I am ready for work in a flexible, anticipating, spontaneous environment. I want to use my motivational and friendly personality to interact with customers to see that they have the best flight they ever had.
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What kinds of jobs have you held in the past and what did you like most about them?
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I began my working career as a manager trainee at a beauty supply store. There I learned the importance of making the customer feel that the store existed only for her. Every need or desire was to be evaluated in the most serious manner to be sure the customer left knowing that she had received the utmost in appreciation. Later, as an orderly at Methodist Hospital, I learned the value of being truly concerned with the difficulties and special needs and requests of patients, who are also customers. In the Postal Service, great flexibility, patience, understanding and a desire to provide the absolute best in service helped me to make my customers feel their situation was dealt with in a professional and caring manner.
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What jobs have you held that you least enjoyed?
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I have found that all my jobs have contributed to my life experience. Difficulties in one job have led to a better understanding or relationship with coworkers or supervisors in a later job. With a healthy and positive outlook I am ready to put all these lessons to work to represent Southwest Airlines.
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Are you willing to relocate?
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Yes! I am ready and willing to work wherever Southwest needs me.
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Why are you interested in leaving your current employer?
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I am retired and free and willing to pursue my goal of becoming a flight attendant.
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How would you describe yourself?
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I am positive, flexible, energetic, self-motivated, dependable and safety conscious.
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Tell me about someone you admire and why.
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My last supervisor is the one I admire. He had customer service foremost on his mind. Many times, when he saw employees avoiding work, he would pick up the slack and do the job to ensure that the postal patrons received their mail in a timely manner. Watching him go to the utmost to insure that people he would never meet or know what he had done to help them would receive top notch service instilled in me desire to do my best for the customer.
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If you were going on a transatlantic flight (often the destination will be specific) and could only bring along one person, who would it be?
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I would bring my neighbor, Matt, who has been out of work for several months.
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If you were going on a transatlantic flight (often the destination will be specific) and could only bring along one person, who would it be?
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I would bring my neighbor, Matt, who has been out of work for several months.
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Tell me about a stressful situation you have encountered in your work life and how you handled it.
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Once a postal customer came to the window to mail a parcel by registered mail. The regulations for registered mail are very strict. His parcel was not prepared properly. As I explained this to him he became very belligerent and loud. Assessing the situation, I calmly told him that he did not need to take his parcel home and repack it, that I would gladly do it for him right there. After repacking, taping correctly, placing an abundance of security seals on it, and attaching the correct postage, I bid him a happy day with a smile. He still grumbled about regulations on his way out, but he was a satisfied customer.
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What do you think is the primary responsibility of a flight attendant?
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The primary responsibility is safety.
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Give me an example if a time when you were able to anticipate a problem and then take the appropriate measures to prevent it.
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One day at the post office I looked out the back door and saw a tremendous rain storm quickly approaching. We had dozens of large rolling containers of mail stored outside waiting to be processed. Knowing that the rain was just minutes away, I dashed outside in the wind and started pushing the equipment inside as fast as I could. I had only pushed a few containers inside before the storm hit. As a dozen fellow employees watched from inside the building, I continued to push mail filled containers into the building. My supervisor saw me and started to help. Before we were finished, we were both soaked and shivering. Not one fellow employee went outside to help us. But, the mail was saved and that’s what mattered.
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What have you accomplished in your life that you are most proud of?
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I am most proud of my career with the Postal Service and the service I provided to the public. It was a challenge to use my knowledge of mailing procedures to ensure the timely and accurate processing of customers’ mail. The Postal Service does not have any product except service. Providing exceptional service to unknown customers could be a challenge sometimes. After all, if I did not perform, who would know? I would know. So, even though the job could be very repetitious and boring at times, I would keep the word “Service” in mind and try to do my part to ensure the customer was served.
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Have you ever missed anything due to a time conflict?
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I believe in being on time for my commitments. I make it a point to arrange my scheduling so I arrive with time to spare.
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When arriving at a destination are you generally five minutes early, right on time or five minutes late?
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I make it a point to arrive at least five minutes early.
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How do you react in a confrontation?
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I remain calm and mentally step back from the situation so I can analyze what is going on. I believe in following the company regulations regarding confrontation and try to convey my sense of calm and self-assurance to the other person.
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How much in control of a situation do you like to be?
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If a situation demands a leader, I do no hesitate to step forward. However, I believe in working as a team with everyone doing their part to get the job done effectively.
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Have you ever bent company rules at your current or previous employer?
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No. I believe in following company policy in all situations.
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What makes you frustrated or angry?
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I do not angry easily. It does frustrate me to see fellow employs shirking their duties and letting other do the work. Complacency and gold bricking has no place in a team operation.
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Tell me about a day you were stressed to the maximum, and how you handled it.
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I am good about handling stress and remind myself that the job and the customer are number one and that must be my focus. One day at the post office a major piece of mail processing equipment broke down and mail volume was backing up and being delayed. On top of that, several employees disappeared from the work area leaving me to do everything. My options were: 1). leave my work area and join slackers or 2). go ahead and do my job the best I could. I remained and did my job. The slackers were not disciplined in any way and some even thought I was a fool for staying since the supervisor was not around. But, my work ethic was not like that and I wanted to do what was right for the customer.
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Tell me about a time you disagreed with a coworker and how you handled it.
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One day a coworker misunderstood the reason I was arranging mail on a conveyor belt in a certain manner and thought I was just trying to make his job harder on him. He started yelling and cursing me in a loud manner. I let him vent his steam and when he went quite, I explained my reason. He did not apologize or accept my explanation. In fact, he never spoke to me again. But, the situation was resolved without going to a supervisor and the mail continued to be processed.
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Name a strength you possess and tell me why you feel it is a strength.
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My strength is dependability. I feel it is a strength because I can be relied upon to report to my job on time and to perform my job in a manner that is both a strength and an asset to my company.
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Tell me a misconception others might have of you when meeting you for the first time.
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Upon meeting me for the first time others may think of me as being reserved and conservative. Actually, I am considering the situation and deciding what is the best way to proceed that is of mutual benefit to everyone.
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Tell me about a time you made a decision at work and it backfired on you.
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The customer waiting line at the postal service windows was very long due to many people mailing parcels near Christmas. I was not assigned a window for conducting money transactions, but was only helping to transfer parcels from the window clerks’ area to the postal workroom floor for transfer downtown. That was my assigned work area. I saw a customer with a yellow slip for picking up a piece of mail that she had not been at home to sign for. I did not think it necessary for her to wait 15 minutes or more just to pick her package up, so I motioned for her to come over to the caller service window. I took the yellow slip and started looking for her package. I looked and looked and could not find it. I called the supervisor over and we still could not find the customer’s package. Finally, after about 30 minutes I had to go back out to her and explain that her mail could not be found. Fuming and sputtering about the incompetence of “public servants”, the lady stormed out of the post office. I felt like a jerk. With the pressure off since she had left, I started looking again. And there it was! The lady had a double last name and someone had filed it under one name and I had been looking at the second last name. I showed it to the supervisor and he called a special delivery driver over told him to go deliver the parcel to the customer immediately.
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What does safety mean to you?
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Safety to me means being aware of ones surroundings, looking out for fellow employees and customers, reporting any hazards, following all posted safety regulations and working in a responsible manner.
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Do you consider yourself to be adventurous or sensible?
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I feel I am a combination of both. I like to experience new adventures, meet new people, and go to new places. At the same time, I take my responsibilities seriously and would never shirk or avoid what is expected of me as a flight attendant.
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What is your definition of working too hard?
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I enjoy working hard. The reason I took early retirement from the Postal Service was because I was no longer enjoying the repetitious automation that has become the backbone of the Postal Service. I want to be stimulated working with customers in an environment that encourages spontaneous responses for on the spot solutions in place of tightly controlled regimentation.
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In the past three years, what parts of your professional skills have you improved the most?
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I have been improving my computer knowledge and skills with digital video editing to assist me in working with people while I am video taping events such as weddings.
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How do you manage stress?
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I enjoy a certain level of stress in my work life to keep me at my best. I do not want to become so relaxed in my job that it is just a place to spend the next eight hours. I manage my time and responsibilities between my work life and personal life so that neither suffers and both contribute to my well being.
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What is customer service to you?
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I believe the primary objective of customer service is to increase customer satisfaction and to promote customer loyalty by going the extra mile to ensure that each customer feels they are number one.
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Tell me about a time you worked together with a supervisor, boss or a coworker to complete a project.
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The old post office I worked in was going to be demolished. We were to move into a new building. The problem we were presented with was how to move all of our mail processing equipment and keep up the high level of service our customers expected. The employees and management had to work as a team. We managed to do this by splitting into teams. An early team would move to the new building and set up equipment to manually process mail that is normally automated. A second team would then move with the first mail batch to sort it with the manual equipment while the third team remained at the old post office to do preliminary sorting and feed the mail to the new building. The system worked great. I learned the importance of teamwork in a stressful situation and to work safely in a sometimes hazardous situation.
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If you knew a coworker was stealing from the company what would you do?
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I believe stealing, no matter how small, should be dealt with according to company policy.
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Tell me about a day when you worked the hardest and felt the greatest sense of achievement.
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I decided to build a 10 feet high wooden fence around my backyard. I had never built a fence. The last day of construction was the hardest I had ever worked. I was by myself, summertime, 98 degrees, and my vacation time was over the next day. I put everything I had into finishing the job and to this day some parts of that day are a blur. But, I finished the job, by myself, and still look at the fence with pride.
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Tell me about a time you received excellent customer service.
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My wife’s brother had died suddenly in The Netherlands. It was the January of the great snowstorms in the East and our flight was delayed from IAH. The only way to get a flight in time was to fly from IAH to Mexico City and connect with KLM. In Mexico City we could not get any help or directions in English and after some time of wandering around we finally found KLM and explained our situation. The airline people were so nice and understanding that they gave us Business Class non-stop to Amsterdam. We have flown KLM to The Netherlands ever since.
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Give an example of a time that you did more than was required of you in your job.
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When I was an orderly at Methodist Hospital in the Fondren Brown ICU, one night was exceptionally busy for the nurses and doctors attending the heart surgery patients. Everyone was busy. In an isolation room a patient went in cardiac arrest and could not breath. He had to have a tracheotomy but the staff was so shorthanded that I volunteered to help. I positioned myself at the head of the bed and, following instructions, held the patient’s had steady while the doctor cut the slit in the patient’s throat for the airway to be inserted. Watching this happening only three feet in front of my face, I almost fainted, but held on. The patient was able to breath and survived. From this experience I learn the importance of going the extra mile to do more than is expected of you.
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Have you ever had an experience working with a difficult customer or coworker or a sensitive person?
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As a window clerk in the Postal Service I had to deal with all types of people. I had to maintain my professionalism while taking abuse in my face. If a person’s mail was lost or damaged, it was my fault. If I was unable to resolve a problem, the customer was going to report me to my manager. Some money order customers would try to pull fast switches to steal. A fellow employee stole money from my cash drawer. I felt communication and remaining calm was the best way to handle the situations. I knew the person accusing or abusing me had other problems and I was just the person who they were taking it out on, so I tried not to take it on a personal level and lose my composure.
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Tell me something about yourself that would be a positive asset to our airline.
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I would be a positive asset to Southwest Airlines because of my sense of responsibility. I take my job seriously, I strive to understand procedures and goals, I am safety aware, I work to be a team player and fulfill my share of the load. If another team member is having difficulty, I do not hesitate to help shoulder some of the load. I want the mission to succeed.
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What are some of your personal goals?
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My primary goal is to become a flight attendant for Southwest Airlines. I want to contribute to the success of Southwest by utilizing my personal skills because Southwest’s success is my success.
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Describe how you work under a tough manager or boss.
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I feel that my manager or supervisor is the person who has stepped up to the plate and accepted the responsibility for the job. He or she deserves my 110% support. If this person’s management style is tough, then I adapt to their ways and get the job done.
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In a team environment, are you a motivator a player, a leader or an enthusiast?
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In a team environment, I will fulfill the role the moment and situation call for. I am flexible and adaptable. I do not like to be caged in to a set environment with no chance to try new and different rolls to expand my knowledge and skills. In most situations, I am probably a player.
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What is my name?
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The interviewer.
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What is the name of the person to your left (or right)?
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Job Hunter
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Tell me something you learned today about someone in this room.
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They want a job.
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Describe the way you work under a tight deadline or time constraint.
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I thrive under tight deadlines. I feel as though this is my reason for being in this situation at this time. As long as I know what I am doing and what is expected of me through my training, I feel that the pressure of time constraints brings my best to the front.
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How is your attendance record at your current employer and at previous employers?
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100 Per Cent. I have received commendation letters for the past year.
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What do you consider a reasonable number of days to miss work?
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I have had perfect attendance for the past year of my employment. I think one day every three or four months is acceptable.
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Tell me about a time you made a quick decision.
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In our old post office building the floors were not level. They had gentle rolls in the concrete and some very steep inclines. This part of the building used to be outdoors before a modernization enclosed this area. Postal rolling equipment have brakes on the wheels that may or may not work as intended, depending on the level of maintenance (usually low) that it has received. One day, I saw a fellow employee with her back turned to a situation that unfolded very quickly. A mail-handler unhooked a loaded rolling equipment (about 1,000 lbs weight) from his tow motor, pushed the braking mechanism with his foot, and immediately turned his back to climb back on his tow motor. The equipment was on the top of a steep incline and immediately began to roll downhill, picking up speed. There was so much noise in the building from overhead conveyor belts that I could not shout to warn her, so I immediately sprinted over to the rogue equipment rolling downhill and gave it a shove to send it crashing into piece of empty equipment. No damage was done and the lady never knew what had almost happened.
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Tell me about your current job.
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I have retired. However, I enjoyed working for the Postal Service at IAH. I had a great supervisor who was very accommodating for personal issues and fair in his decisions. I worked with a team of men and women, White, Black, Latino, Indian, and Asian in various areas to process Express Mail, First Class Mail, and Air Mail using automated equipment to sort to the various airlines. This is where I learned the importance of the Team. Our work was so varied and complex that without teamwork it just could not be done in a way that would give our customers the level of excellence they expect and pay for.
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What is the hardest thing you have had to overcome in your current job?
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The hardest thing to overcome was the blatant favoritism extended to certain employees. These were the employees who would hang around the supervisors’ office and talk for hours while not doing any work. They were then rewarded with the best office jobs that required the minimal amount of work. It was difficult to see this and not be discouraged, especially since we were all making exactly the same amount of money.
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Can you lift sixty (the number may vary) pounds unassisted?
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Yes.
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Why have you chosen to pursue a flight attendant career over another customer service service oriented career?
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I have been in a highly structured, regimented, repressive job for 27 years. I want to break out of that mold and discover a new life. The obvious benefits of travel, fast pace, meeting and assisting people, and the knowledge that my contribution is benefiting customers and Southwest will make me excel.
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Have you ever been dismissed or fired from a job?
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No.
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Have you ever left a job because you knew you were going to be fired?
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No.
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On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, what would you rate yourself on professionalism and flexibility?
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I am a 10 going on 12.
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List the three top qualities of what you think would be the perfect job.
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Safety, customer satisfaction, travel.
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What have you done in the past or do currently to better enhance your knowledge or yourself?
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I enjoy meeting new people and listening to them. In order to enhance my knowledge I am learning professional digital video editing software on the Macintosh.
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When have you not agreed with policy or procedure at your current job or in past work?
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The Postal Service purchased a major piece of automated sorting equipment for the IAH post office. The machine was so inefficient at doing it’s job that overtime was making some employees rich. We called it the ATM machine. Although I thought the purchase of this equipment was a colossal waste of money, whenever I had to work on it I did my best to work around its shortcomings.
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What is the most difficult thing you have had to over-come at your current job?
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Several years ago I realized that my job was not satisfying me anymore, but I was trapped by the retirement requirements. Having to live with the feeling of having life pass me by, I could not believe it when, along came the opportunity to take an early retirement, collect my pension, and do whatever I wanted with the rest of my life. I immediately applied for flight attendant with Southwest Airlines.
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How do you handle a new procedure at work?
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I enjoy a new procedure and look on it as a great opportunity to learn something new.
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How have you helped someone with special needs?
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In the Methodist Hospital I worked with many people with special needs. Most were recovering from open heart surgery and needed everything done for them. I helped patients walk with their rolling IV’s, cleaned peas falling out of an open stomach wound, held them while nurses cleaned their beds and bodies, helped with their food and drink, and took care of their remains when they died.
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What is your greatest achievement?
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My greatest achievement is having the stamina to survive 27 years with the Postal Service and retire to collect my pension.
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If there were no transportation, no airplanes, no trains and no automobiles, what would you be doing for a living?
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The mail must get through. I would still work for the Postal Service and serve the public the best I could.
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What annoys you about people?
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I find that people who want to shy away from their assigned duties and let others take up their slack to be what annoys me the most.
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