Open day
A walk-in recruitment event where anyone can present a CV and photos; a short screening that decides who is invited to the assessment day.
Definition
An open day is a public recruitment event, usually held in a hotel and advertised on an airline's careers site, where candidates turn up with a CV, photographs and documents and are screened in person. Recruiters check basics — age, education, height and reach, grooming, English — and hold a brief conversation, then invite a shortlist back for the assessment day, sometimes the following morning. It is the entry route Gulf carriers are famous for, though online video screening has replaced it for many applicants.
What it means for you
An open day is your first impression, and it is mostly decided before you speak: dress to the airline's uniform standard, bring every document in the specified format, arrive early and treat the queue as part of the interview, because recruiters watch it. The conversation is short, so prepare a clear answer to why this airline and why now. Not every open day leads to an assessment on the spot — some are pure CV drops with an invitation to follow.
In practice
Emirates runs Open Days across Europe, Asia and Africa through 2026 alongside its online application route; a candidate who passes the morning CV drop can be in the assessment day the same afternoon or the next day.
Go deeper
Related terms
4 terms- Assessment dayRecruitmentThe invitation-only selection day — reach test, group exercises, English test, grooming check, final interview — that decides the offer.
- Grooming standardsRecruitmentAirline rules on hair, make-up, nails, tattoos, jewellery and proportion — checked at recruitment and enforced in uniform for life.
- Reach testRecruitmentAssessment-day check that you can touch a marked height on tiptoe — 212 cm at most Gulf carriers — so you can reach overhead equipment.
- Group exerciseRecruitmentThe observed team task at an assessment day, scored on how you listen, include others and stay calm — the stage that cuts most people.