The assessment day when it goes wrong: the candidate who fainted, the fire alarm, the recruiter who did not turn up and what the airlines do when the day breaks

Recruiter, Cape Town, and the assessment day threads describe the day as it should go. Here is what happens when it does not, because it happens more than applicants think and the candidates who cope with the broken day are the ones the assessors remember.

The candidate who faints

At least once a season in a hot hall with 300 people who have not eaten. The assessors stop the group exercise, the first aider (usually an ex crew assessor) handles it, and the candidate is looked after and, if they recover, allowed to continue. What the assessors notice: the candidates at the same table who helped, calmly, and the ones who kept presenting. The fainting candidate is not marked down for fainting. The table is marked on how it responded.

The fire alarm

The hotel evacuates, 300 candidates in business dress stand in a car park for 40 minutes, and the assessors watch. The candidates who stay calm, help the ones who are struggling, and keep their documents together are noticed. The ones who complain loudly are noticed differently. It is an unplanned group exercise and every assessor knows it.

The recruiter who does not turn up

A flight delay, a sickness, and the day runs with one assessor short. The group exercises run longer, the interviews run later, some candidates are asked to come back the next morning. The candidates who accept the change and come back fresh are fine. The ones who cannot come back because of a job are given a slot by phone or video where the airline can manage it. The airline does not lose a good candidate to its own logistics if it can help it.

The documents the candidate forgot

The passport at home, the certificate in the other bag. The desk gives a window to produce it (a photo on the phone, a family member driving it over) and the candidate who solves it calmly continues. The one who argues with the desk does not.

The group that does not work

A table of eight where one candidate dominates everything, or where nobody speaks. The assessors intervene lightly (a question to the quiet ones, a 'let us hear from someone else'). The candidates who respond to the intervention are the ones scored well. The dominant candidate who does not hear the intervention has failed the exercise and does not know it yet.

The hall that is too small

Twice the expected candidates, a queue around the building, the day running to 10pm. The assessors are exhausted and the candidates are hungry. The ones who brought water and a snack, as the threads advise, are the ones still presentable at 9pm when the final interviews run late.

What it tells the assessors

The broken day is the cabin at hour eleven with a delay and a medical. The candidates who handle the broken day are the crew who will handle that. The assessors do not plan the breakage and they are quietly grateful for it.

For applicants

Bring the documents, the water, the snack and the patience. When the day breaks, be the candidate who helps. It is the best assessment you will ever get and nobody wrote it on the invitation.