From 17 Rejections to Cabin Services Assistant to Flight Attendant

Written and Contributed by Aileen Rose Madlangbayan

My sister was a former Cabin Senior of Etihad airways. Growing up, as all the usual baby sisters do, I copied every single thing my sister would do. Idol ko sya in everything eh. She was my greatest inspiration on my "ultimate" dream. I witnessed how she traveled to our dream destinations, went to places she'd never been before, enjoying the benefits of becoming a Cabin Crew.

And so when I went to college, I know in my heart that I'll follow her footsteps and took up the course in line with the job. After graduation, I immediately tried applying to a local airline (Cebu Pacific to be exact) and there you have it, my first heartbreak.

'Twas not easy coping up from that first failure. But then, I never stopped reaching for my dream. I applied at my first airline, I got rejected. I applied then at another airline, I got the conditional status (due to my weight), lost the interest in meeting the target weight and voila, 5 months had passed, I didn't make it. I applied again, I didn't make it. I attended the an airline open day, made it til the second step, guess what? I got rejected

The long list of rejections goes on and on and on. A lot of airlines! I've tried applying in all of the possible airlines I can apply at haha. And out of 18 applications, I got 17, SEVENTEEN rejections.

On my 18th attempt, having such little hope, I applied again. This time with Saudia, as a Cabin Services Assistant. On the pre-screening process, I needed to do a lot of "improvements" on my physical aspect. Lose 10 KG in 1 1/2 months, fix my lower set of teeth (there's sort of spaces in between), and change the way I do my makeup (I look mataray raw with the way I do my eyeliner). And then the most awaited Final Interview came, I was the first one out of 30 applicants to be interviewed that time. Can you imagine how I felt? Haha. But the challenge didn't stop there. I notice how one of the panels keep on pointing at my lower teeth, but that did not stop me in enjoying the interview. With God within me, guiding me, I made it! I was able to pass the Final Interview

But did it stop there? No. I even need to undergo Lasik Eye Surgery to pass the Medical exam. Was it all fine after that? Yes. But the waiting is tooooooo long! 4 months passed by, my patience was greatly tested. The reason for waiting? A SWEET SURPRISE! I was upgraded to become a Flight Attendant.

What's my point here? Never stop dreaming. But do not just dream, strive! Work hard for it! Most importantly, pray. Entrust everything in God's hands, He knows what is the best for you and me.  All glory belongs to Him alone.