When Hello Kitty meets Iroha Ramen Causeway Bay Hong Kong

I'm sure most girls like cute things - including food! I'm always search for food that's yummy for the tummy as well as pretty for the eyes! I knew I had to visit Iroha Ramen in Causeway Bay when I found out it's collaboration with Hello Kitty!

Here are a few pictures I took when I went to visit. The ramen was delicious, although a little on the saltier side and I was chugging water down after the meal - maybe due to MSG.

The restaurant looked like Hello Kitty vomited all over it - it was definitely the cutest vomit i've seen though!
EVERYTHING had the kitty face on in the restaurant!
Ramen Time!! 
Obviously, before you eat the ramen, you have to take a picture WITH it!
We went to grab a green tea latte from Via Tokyo after lunch as it was right round the corner and I found a frog in my latte!

Hope you enjoyed the photos and the short review! I'll be back with more cute foods that I try out!

My Emirates Cabin Crew Interview Experience - From CV handing in to Golden Call (Hong Kong)

I remember couple months back when I received the email for attending the Emirates cabin crew open day, I was frantically searching online for tips and advice for the interview! I read blogs (english and chinese), forums, asked friends - I did everything I could think of (this is how much I wanted the job)! I swore that if I got the job offer, I would write a blog post on my own experience so that I could help others. So here it is!

It all started a few months back when I applied for the Emirates cabin crew position, for an interview in Hong Kong, online. A few weeks after applying, I received an email invitation to the Emirates open day. Once I got the email, I was sure to get everything prepared for the day.


OPEN DAY
I arrived about an hour early but luckily I wasn't the only one so there were a few girls there to talk to whilst we were waiting for the day to start. As the hour went by, more and more people arrived. I made a guestimate of 350 applicants that day. There were too many people and so the recruiters didn't play their introduction video and got straight down to business. We were told to hand our CVs to them with a photo, starting from the applicants who were standing up. Some people misunderstood and queued up to hand in their CV even if their seat was right in front of the recruiter - unfortunately, they didn't get through to the next round.

emirates cabin crew interview
This is the photo I attached with my CV and application form. It could be a casual photo, but I wanted to show the recruiters that I could take on the Emirates look so I snapped a picture at home before the interview. Make sure you have a big smile in the picture! They sure do like it!
This round is all about first impressions! This is a great tip I gathered from reading all the blogs I could google on Emirates cabin crew interviews. Although many people didn't, I was sure to dress according to the dress code, which was business attire. I wanted to let the recruiters see how I would be with the Emirates look. I made sure I had my hair neat and tidy in a low bun, red defined lips, groomed brows, tidy uniform, knee length skirt and a big, confident smile at all times. I found Lisa Single's videos particularly useful for this!

emirates cabin crew interviewemirates cabin crew interview
I tried out the Emirates look days before I attended the interview to make sure everything was ok and I felt comfortable! 

I was one of the last to hand in my CVs and I still remember being very nervous when I was queuing up. When I got called over, I remembered to greet the recruiter by her name and I have a habit that worked well for me which was that I asked her "How are you?". I made sure to remember her name as it shows off your friendly side and that you have a good memory and are observant - I heard recruiters like it! We had a nice little chat whilst she flicked through my CV briefly - this is VERY important! Please note: I sat in front of the recruiters and saw that for candidates who didn't talk at all had a big "NO" written across their application form on the spot. It's very important to be friendly as a cabin crew and that's what the recruiters are looking for.
We all left after handing in our forms and CVs. I went to meet my friend for ramen and 2 hours after the interview I received a call! I was SO happy - the recruiter called back to invite me to the Assessment day which was happening the day after. I was assigned number #15 as my number for the selection process. I was so happy that I even forgot to ask about the time and location but I assumed it would be the same as the Open Day.


ASSESSMENT DAY
I was correct! I arrived an hour early - again. I already saw some girls in suits waiting so I went to say "Hello". I found out later that they hadn't received their call but came to make sure that the recruiters hadn't missed their name. To be honest, I felt very sad for them as the girls flew in from Korea just to attend the interview but she was not selected for the assessment day.
When everybody arrived, we could see that there were only around 100 of us who were invited. First off, they showed us the introduction video that was supposed to be shown the day before and we had a Q&A session. We were given a name tag for the day, which was very useful as you MUST refer to other candidates by their names to show the recruiters that you are a team player and it shows off your friendliness and observation skills.


PART 1 - Small group discussion
We were split into groups of around 15-16 candidates and were paired up and given a card in which we had to 'think outside the box' and suggest different ways to use the item on the card. She showed us an example, it was a picture of a parachute and we had to think of a different way to use the parachute. Some people said for taking photos, then I suggested maybe we could use it as a dress - the recruiter was impressed with my idea! My partner and I were given a card with a rose on it.
As we were discussing, the recruiter would call you out one by one to do the arm reach test of 212cm tiptoeing. She also asked if I had any tattoos or birthmarks when I went to do my arm reach test. I saw many girls stretching before the test, which was very funny but apparently it works well! Some girls unfortunately didn't pass the arm reach test so they had to leave right away.
Once everyone had their arm reach test, we had to present to our group our ideas. I don't think the recruiter was really listening to WHAT we were presenting, but HOW we were presenting it. I made sure to start off with "Sally and I discussed and one idea we came up with was...". Points to remember during presentation:
(1) Refer to your partner - this is a team task, not a competition.
(2) Eye contact with your audience and the interviewer.
(3) Speak clearly in an adequate voice.
(4) Act professional - don't giggle and nudge and wobble around.

After, we were all asked to wait outside and the recruiters came out and called our numbers one by one to hand us a slip.
"Congratulations! you have been successful.." YES! I made it!



PART 2 - English test
We walked into the room and there were desks with exam papers on. It was just like an university exam! The exam was easy and most of us got through to the next stage of selection, with the exception of 3 candidates.


PART 3 - More Discussion and Role Play
This part, I would say scared me the most. We were given a scenario: We are the hotel managers and the hotel is overbooked. There are 8 guests waiting to be checked in but only 2 rooms available. We had to first discuss which two guests to give the rooms to. These guests include a family with babies, a famous celebrity who is attending a fashion event in the hotel, a travel blogger etc. The recruiter walked around us listening to our discussion. At this stage, I remembered not to be competitive and aggressive, but to LISTEN and CONTRIBUTE. Always listen first and use phrases like "I agree", "What do you think about..", "I understand, but maybe we could also think about..". TEAMWORK is the key! Be a team player. I observed that two girls were very quiet, whilst one girl was very dominant, so I actually asked the two girls (of course, by their names) what they thought so we could include their opinions too. I saw in the corner of my eye that the recruiter was impressed and she started scribbling away after I made that move.

After discussion, we gave in the two guests that we would like to offer rooms to. The recruiter then role played one of the other angry guests who didn't get a room offer. This was a very difficult part and I could see the girls shaking as they responded to the 'angry customer'. The recruiter did a very good job at role playing. I was not sure how well I did but I made sure to apologize first and give immediate solutions for the customer. For example, always offer the customer immediate service - you do not need to mention about reflecting to the management team as it does nothing for the customer. What I did was I offered a spa session and lunch for the angry customer. The recruiter said she wanted to change clothes so I thought outside the box and offered clothes from the fashion show for the 'angry customer' to change into. I think the key is to keep a smile, be sorry, give immediate solutions and don't freak out!

At the end, the recruiter again called us out one by one to receive our slip.
I was still shaking but I looked...rubbed my eyes and looked again..
"Congratulations! you have been successful.." WHAT?! I couldn't believe it! That means I will be going to the final interview!!

There were 15 of us left, out of 350 the day before. Of us, there were 2 guys and the rest were girls. We exchanged contact numbers immediately and opened a WhatsApp group. It was so nice to have a group to talk to and to worry together.

That night, we were all asked to complete a personality test online which was very confusing but just go with how you really think, the recruiter said.


PART 4 - Final Interview
I scheduled my interview at 9am two days after the assessment day so I could spend a day to prepare all the things that I had to bring to the interview. There were many regulations as to the photos we had to bring to the final interview so I basically had to take all my photos again. We had to bring:

(1) 6 passport photos in a suit, with a big smile.
(2) A full length photo in a suit up against a plain background - our legs had to be together and hands were by our sides.

My full length photo!
(3) 2 casual photos, one full length and one from the waist and above - these could be any photos but be sure to find one that you have a big smile and are dressed appropriately. We were told to bring more photos to the interview so the recruiter could help us choose the best ones.
(4) Certificate of completion of highest level of education.
(5) Passport copy.
(6) Updated copy of CV.

I was early again, of course. Punctuality is a great deal for crew members and I made sure I arrived before the recruiter did as I was the first interviewee that day. The interview was very relaxed. They first asked me to fill in a form and they checked through all the things that I had to bring - unfortunately my university documents were not ready so I had to send it to them via email after the interview.
The interview questions were based on past working experience to see how I work in the workplace. Some questions I was asked were:

Q: Tell me a time when a customer was not happy with your service.

Q: Tell me a time when you helped a customer.

Q: Tell me a time when you had conflict with your co-worker.

Q: Tell me a time you had to adapt in order to respect a different culture (not exactly this wording but this is what she meant)

Q: What was the most difficult thing you experienced when you moved to Hong Kong? (I moved to HK 4 years ago, I was born and bred in the UK)

You can tell that the questions are about very personal experiences so I wont share my answers here but here are a few tips I would tell anyone who is about to attend a final interview for Emirates cabin crew:

(1) PREPARE! - it's difficult to think on the spot and I prepared my answers for the questions the night before. It was very helpful that I read many blogs and wrote down a list of possible questions and prepared them tailored to myself. I'm very sorry that I don't remember all the questions but please do search for other crew's interview experiences - it will help!
(2) Talk in detail! Tell the interviewer all the juicy bits of your story! Tell him/her how the customer felt afterwards, tell him/her how angry the customer was, how calm you were when you dealt with the situation.
(3) Be yourself! When it's a one to one interview, it's very easy to tell if you're being yourself or not so just treat the interviewer(s) as friends. Remember this job is all about being caring and friendly. Don't be afraid to treat the interviewer as your friend!

When the interviewer asked me if I had any questions for them. I was totally being myself, I asked her how to correctly pronounce her name (She had an unusual name) and we had a nice chat. Be sure to wish them a safe flight back to Dubai to leave a good impression!


PART 5 - Golden Call
Afterwards, it was all a long waiting process. One day after work, I checked my phone and saw a missed call from a number starting '+97..'! Could that be it?! the Golden Call?
I was trembling as I went to check my online status on my Emirates jobpage. It read "Joining Formalities in Progress" which means I DID IT!
Emirates do not work on Fridays and Saturdays so I waited until Sunday to receive my call.
"Hello Zoe! I'm glad to inform you that your application for the cabin crew position at Emirates has been successful" - THANK YOU THANK YOU!! I wore the biggest smile on my face for the whole day.

emirate cabin crew barbie
My dream job! haha
Now, you may be asking me when I will be moving to Dubai. I personally have a medical problem which may mean that I am not successful in the end. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the selection process and have met a lot of friends because of this interview. I am glad that I have ticked off one of my childhood dreams - to be a flight attendant. Although I may not be able to fly around due to a shortage of haemoglobin levels, but I am grateful that I have the potential to be a flight attendant.

GOOD LUCK to all of you who are about to or undergoing the selection process for Emirates cabin crew! I hope this blog post helps you out!