Many young women, at least once in their lives, dream of getting a flight attendant job. It has been always a very popular job, especially for girls, and as everyone knows the competition is tough and it is quite difficult to get this job. Ms. Aoyama from the Dept. of International Studies had her dream come true when she got word last July that she had passed the rigorous screening process and would be employed with a leading airline company in Japan.

In Ms. Aoyama’s case, she started to think that she wanted to be a cabin attendant after she began job hunting and gathered a lot of information about many jobs. Job hunting is a rite of passage for most university students, often beginning in the third year. Ms. Aoyama started later than most, waiting until the very end of her third year. This is because she went abroad five times during here her college life and therefore didn’t have all the credits she needed. She had a one-month home stay in America in the summer and went to Tasmania one year in spring break when she was in the first grade, she had six-months in Fresno in the second grade, two weeks in China and a one-week home stay in Korea when she was a third year student.

Ms. Aoyama shared lots of useful information about landing her job. She shared that it was not an easy, short or strait road to get this job. She first wanted to be a cabin attendant with another major airline but she failed the second-stage exam, which was shocking and very sad for her. I couldn’t stop crying when I heard the bad news”, she said. But you have to be tough and she did not have time to keep crying. She gathered herself up, also with the help of her friend, and made Japan’s largest domestic carrier her new first choice which took her about two whole weeks. However, as she got to know the airline company, she started to think that it is really the company she wanted to work for.

One of the hardest parts she found was that there is no OB or OG network to visit and talk to, so she had to take the initiative to find somebody to advise her by herself. She e-mailed a lot of people she knew, and asked them if they knew anybody who works for an airline company. She also went to seminars which were held in Osaka, once a week for a month, to practice for the interview test.

Before the final interview, she asked her friends from International Studies to help with interview practice ? she wanted them to watch only whether or not she was smiling and talking slow enough. One of her friends, who kept practicing with her from the 2nd exam, told her “You are a totally different person; you’ve gotten a lot better”. Through continued practice and also the words of support from friends, she gained confidence and at least she was sure that she had done everything she could do, even if she couldn’t pass. This confidence must have landed her the job.

She says that one of the most delightful memories she has from job hunting was a chance encounter with a flight attendant while flying with the company. She got on a plane, as she usually does on the way and back for the exams, she talked to a cabin attendant. She told her that she wants to be a cabin attendant and just had a final interview. After that, the cabin attendant gave her a model of an airplane with a message with it: “I am looking forward to seeing you soon with the same suit I wear”.

Ms. Aoyama’s story is inspirational and gives us hope that we too might be successful in getting our dream job. Her success was the result of hard work and a spirit of never giving up. I am also sure that a lot of people stood by her side and encouraged her. She got this job because she had such a strong desire to be a cabin attendant. If you work hard with an immovable will, your dream will surely come true too.

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