A flight attendant shares 9 tips for acing the interview

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Annette Long

Courtesy of Annette Long

Annette Long.

While the job isn't as glamorous as many people think, being a flight attendant does come with its own unique set of perks, among them the ability to travel the world at little cost and the flexibility to arrange your work schedule.

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Because of this, the competition among flight attendant candidates is so fierce that, for certain airlines, applicants compete with thousands of other applicants.

"You want to have your résumé ready to go because sometimes airlines like Southwest or JetBlue only open the application window for just a few hours for people to upload their résumé," Annette Long, a flight attendant with 13 years of experience, tells Business Insider.

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It's even been said that it's harder to get invited to the Delta flight-attendant training center than to get into Harvard University.

"It's very competitive, and people get passed over all the time," Long says about becoming a flight attendant.

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If a candidate has a compelling enough résumé, they may face a variety of interview techniques including video interviews, Q&A sessions, and in-person meetings. Long says that many flight attendants apply and interview several times before getting the job, having to wait six months to a year between interviews because job openings are so scarce.

"When you make that first impression, you've gotta do it perfectly - you don't get a second chance," she advises. Here are some of Long's tips for aspiring flight attendants to leave a lasting good impression.