JAL cabin crew interview for Japanese applicants: the rounds, the group discussion, the English and what omotenashi means at the assessment
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#1 JAL, Tokyo, seven years, international, and the Japanese carrier threads on here are from the foreign applicant side and the grooming side. This is the Japanese applicant's version of the JAL recruitment, because the process is different from anything on this forum and the applicants in Japan read it in English.
The rounds
JAL recruits new graduates and mid career applicants in separate rounds, announced on the careers site. The new graduate round is the traditional Japanese hiring: entry sheet (a detailed written application with motivation essays), a web test (aptitude and English), a first interview in groups, a group discussion, a second interview, a final interview with senior management, and the medical including the swimming. The mid career round is shorter with an emphasis on the previous experience.
The entry sheet
The motivation essays are read carefully and the Japanese applicant culture around them is intense (the essay coaching industry exists for a reason). What works: a specific reason for JAL rather than the industry, a concrete experience of service, and the ability to write about a failure honestly. What does not: the generic 'I want to contribute to society through service' that every essay has.
The group discussion
A topic given to a group of six to eight, twenty minutes, in Japanese. The assessors watch for the Japanese version of a good crew member: harmonious, contributing without dominating, attentive to the quiet member, structured. Taking over is fatal here as everywhere and more so in Japan. Silence is also fatal. The middle path is narrow and the coaching industry teaches it.
English
A TOEIC score is expected (the threshold moves; a high score is a real advantage) and the English interview is a conversation. JAL flies to the world and the English is used. Applicants who studied abroad have an advantage and it is real.
The interviews
Competency based in the Japanese style: motivation, a difficult experience, teamwork, and a lot about why JAL and not ANA, which every applicant is asked and which requires a real answer. The final interview with senior management is short and about fit.
Omotenashi at the assessment
The word means the Japanese hospitality of anticipating without being asked. At the assessment it means: noticing the assessor's cue, the small courtesy to the other candidates, the attention to the room. It is watched. It is also, and this is my point after seven years, trained: the crew who arrive with it are a minority and the JAL training builds it in everyone else. Applicants who think they lack it should apply anyway.
The honest view
JAL is a prestige job in Japan with a strong contract, a full network, an excellent training and a demanding standard. The competition is severe. The mid career route is friendlier than the new graduate route for people over 25. And the Gulf and SIA recruit Japanese speakers in Tokyo for the applicants who prefer a different culture.
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#2 Japanese, different carrier, and the entry sheet coaching industry is real and Hiroshi's advice against the generic essay is what every coach charges for. The failure essay is the one that gets read.
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#3 Japanese, and 'why JAL and not ANA' is the question every applicant fears and every applicant is asked. The answer has to be about the airline, not the logo. Mine was about the international network and it was true.
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#4 Korean Air, and the Japanese and Korean processes are siblings: the entry essay, the group discussion, the image element, the multiple interview rounds. The Korean version has more explicit image scoring; the Japanese has more essay. Both are severe.
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#5 Japanese, and I want to underline 'omotenashi is trained'. I did not have it at 22. The training built it. Applicants who read the word and feel unqualified should not.
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#6 Korean Air, and the mid career route being friendlier over 25 is the same in Korea. The new graduate round is for the 22 year olds. Everyone else should look at the mid career postings.
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#7 SIA, and we recruit Japanese speakers in Tokyo, as Hiroshi says. The applicants who come to us are often the ones who did not want the essay culture. They do well. Different door, same sky.
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#8 SIA training, Malaysian, and reading this makes our walk in look casual. The Japanese process is a career in itself before the career.