How do you prove you’re ready without saying a word? It starts in the moments no one rehearses — the pauses, the nothing-in-particulars. That’s where the interview really begins. Not outside the building, phone in one hand, digging a wedgie out with the other, waiting to “switch on” at 9:00 sharp.
If you’re only ready to flip on a set of rehearsed behaviours the instant a recruiter appears, it’s already too late. Readiness isn’t an act you switch on. It has to be who you are. And that goes for video interviews, too. Alright, when you’re ready, we’re outside VHQ, and that means the red recording light is already on. Here we go.
Ground School
Virgin Headquarters (VHQ)
Airline: Virgin Atlantic (VS)
Location: Crawley, West Sussex, England
Year: 1998
Time of Arrival: 08:30am
Age: 18
Stage: Induction Group Interview
Type: Invitation Only (1st time at Virgin)
I reach Virgin HQ at 8:30am. At least, I think it’s Virgin HQ. It looks more like a retirement home.
I envisioned the hangars at Heathrow Airport, with jets parked outside, maybe a Concorde sculpture on the lawn, but there’s not a bi-folding door or wingtip in sight. Not so much as a red door or a Scarlet Lady to give a sense of it belonging to Virgin. Just a bunch of Union Jack flags fluttering around the entrance like little wind socks and a teeny weeny logo on the door.
I’m so early, I stand next to the entrance and light a cigarette.
Ground School
Impression Management
Smoking right outside Virgin’s corporate headquarters. What was I thinking? Oh right — I wasn’t.
Cabin crew are the face of the airline, and are supposed to be polished, professional, and permanently infused with the scent of duty-free lavender hand cream, not come with a HAZMAT warning. And fine, I don’t actually work for them yet, I’m not in uniform, but I thought this was my induction, so same thing.
Had a recruiter walked by — and who’s to say one didn’t — I could’ve blown it all before I even stepped inside. And just to crown the moment with irony: Virgin’s iconic uniform at that time was designed by Elizabeth Emanuel — the designer best known for the late Lady Diana’s wedding gown. Uniform or not, I may as well have been lighting up in the royal cabin and flicking ash into crystal champagne flutes.
Luckily for me, no one caught me. Or if they did, they had the grace not to stop me. They knew — there’d be plenty of other opportunities to confirm I had no idea what I was doing.
Ground School
When does the interview start?
Let me ask you…
When does the interview actually start?
Is it when you shake hands with the recruiter?
When someone with a clipboard calls your name?
The moment you step inside airline premises?
I know you’re smarter than those questions, so here’s the real question:
When do you start behaving like crew?
Why is it a better question?
Think about it before you continue reading.
Ground School
Applicant Thinking vs. Crew Thinking
“When does the interview start?”
That’s the kind of thinking that puts everything into a box
A box of time.
A box of behaviour.
It treats the interview like a stage show:
Lights on.
Perform.
Style hair.
Wear something red.
Smile.
Sit up straight.
Say something clever.
Look up and to the left to show thoughtfulness.
Then, the lights dim and the door opens.
Breathe.
Slouch.
Relax.
Box goes back into storage for six months.
Rinse.
Repeat.
This was my reality for seven years, which is how I’m able to pull those boxes out of my closet and package them into tidy little lessons and case studies.
This is also what the 99% do when they cling to cheatsheets, memorise model answers, and follow checkboxes. They’re preparing for their assessment as though it’s a driving theory test or a high school history exam. But neither the cabin crew profession nor the airline’s recruitment process is theory. It’s practical. It’s a lifestyle change that starts before the clipped wing perches on your lapel.
The right moment to “switch on” isn’t a single event. It’s ongoing, and it begins right now.
Ground School
The right moment to “switch on” isn’t a single event.
Now, shift the question:
“When do you start behaving like cabin crew?”
It’s no longer about schedules or countdowns. It’s not a performance you rehearse — it’s identity. A series of habits that don’t turn on and off at will, but stay a part of you. They show up in how you walk, how you think, how you respond — even when no one’s watching, even when under interview pressure.
Habits don’t care if it’s 10:04am on Interview Day or Tuesday in the bakery queue.
That’s what we’re aiming for.
Not reactive ➔ proactive
Not pretending ➔ aligning
Not impressing ➔ belonging
As you’ll soon see, airline recruiters look for evidence and consistency, not a performance.
And proof comes from practice.
If you’re outside the building, waiting to “switch it on” the moment you get inside — you’ve already missed the mark. It has to be lived-in. Worn not like a second skin that you take on and off like your daily knicker rotation, but your new skin you maintain like hydration.
So, let’s reset your frame and recycle that tattered old box.
You’re not preparing for an interview.
You’re preparing for your future career.
Ground School
Crew habits that you can start today
Ah, so you’re ready to begin building your habits — the real ones, the ones that show up when no one’s clapping. Good. Let’s start with something deceptively simple.
Task 1:
Stand Around and Do Absolutely Nothing.
Yes. That’s it. No clipboard. No coffee. No phone. No prop. Just you — in public — doing absolutely nothing.
Uncomfortable? Excellent. Because that’s exactly what we’re here to work on. How to look approachable and polished when you have nothing to do but wait.
Suddenly, you have no idea what to do with your hands.
And where do you look without risking eye contact?
Your arms feel like flaccid wind socks so you tug your sleeve, shift your weight, reach for your button for the fifth time and…
…if you found your phone — put the gadget back in your pocket.
That little digital rectangle isn’t just a distraction, it’s a comfort blanket. It gives your body a script. Take it away, and the silence becomes physical. But you can’t hide behind comfort blankies at the recruitment event, even though you most certainly will stand in queues, wait in silence, and be watched while doing nothing at all.
StandingWaitingMore standing and waitingAnd more standing
But you’re never really actually doing nothing.
In those moments, your body will say everything.
So, keep practising until stillness doesn’t feel like vulnerability.
While you’re at it, imagine you’re in uniform.
How would you stand if you had a clipped wing perched on your lapel?
Where would you look?
Pay attention to your facial expression.
Can you hold onto a gentle smile?
Does anyone approach you just because you appear approachable?
And while you’re doing it, notice others:
Who looks grounded?
Who looks nervous?
Who’s genuinely at ease — and who’s concealing boredom?
That’s just a taste of how recruiters read a room.
We’ll get to them soon enough. For now, let’s just say, the recruiter isn’t Sarah with the brown jumper from HR who never leaves her desk.
Of course, none of this is on my mind while I’m stood outside Virgin HQ puffing away on a cigarette, nose fogging the glass, thinking deep thoughts like “Do I have time for another?” and gawking at a gaggle of flight attendants in the lobby. Don’t be me. You never know who is watching. The walls have eyes and ears that go by the very formal name: Undercover Recruiter…but, I’m getting ahead of myself again, let’s come back to that.
