This is a great story about Flight Attendant Ron Akana.

Mr. Akana has held the No. 1 spot at United for the past five years, since Iris Peterson retired after 60 years of service at the age of 85.

While many of his older colleagues are still flying because they have to, Mr. Akana said he does not work for the paycheck alone. At one time, just after he turned 70, Mr. Akana was among the highest-paid flight attendants at the airline, earning $106,000 a year through a combination of pay, pension and Social Security — a situation that has earned him a “triple dipper” label by younger colleagues and airline bookkeepers.

Decades ago, hiring policies ensured that the ranks of flight attendants remained young. Stewardesses faced mandatory retirement by 32. If they married or became pregnant, they were out. In 1966, a New York Times classified ad for stewardesses at Eastern Airlines listed these requirements: “A high school graduate, single (widows and divorcees with no children considered), 20 years of age (girls 19 1/2 may apply for future consideration). 5’2” but no more than 5’9,” weight 105 to 135 in proportion to height and have at least 20/40 vision without glasses.”

Over the years Mr. Akana has taken his wife and two children all over the world free, including vacations to Australia, New Zealand, Europe and Hong Kong. There were also weekend jaunts to Chicago so the children could try deep-dish pizza.

Read the whole article at the New York Times.

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Flight Attendant Job Interviews

In addition to performing flight duties, flight attendants sometimes attend or even conduct open house and interview sessions. You just might be interviewed by a flight attendant you will be working with in the future.

Language
Excellent language and communication skills are essential. Applicants must use good grammar and speak clearly with a pleasant voice. Often during the interview process, applicants are asked to demonstrate basic abilities. Languages spoken will vary depending on the company. US airlines require that you speak English fluently. Languages include but are not limited to: English, French, German, Spanish, Cantonese, Hindi, Chinese, and Japanese. Applicants who desire to fly internationally generally must be fluent in a foreign language such as French, Spanish, German or Japanese. Bilingual applicants are desired and, may help increase chances of initial employment with domestic carriers, and may be required by some airlines.

Possible Interview Questions
Some of the questions you may be asked in a flight interview include but are not limited to:

• When were you last through emergency and first aid/defibrillator training? (bring copies of all training certificates.)
• Are you experienced on our type aircraft?
• Do you have culinary skills and are you good with food presentation?
• Do you know how much this job pays? What are your salary requirements?
• How do you feel about being away from home for extended periods of time?
• Do you have a current passport?
• Are your immunizations current for specific travel?
• Do you carry a paging device/cellular telephone?
• Do you have a current aviation ID card, such as Universal, Air Routing, or IBAC?
• Do you have reliable transportation to and from the airport or our facility?
• Have you ever worked as a Flight Attendant before?
• Do you speak a foreign language (if applicable to the company's operation)?
• Do you have a credit card for travel expenses until reimbursement?

Other requests or discussion topics during an interview include:

• What do you think the flight attendants primary responsibility is as a crewmember?
• You may be asked to perform a mock emergency briefing, pointing out the operation and usage of all emergency equipment, doors, window exits, etc. (this is normally to gauge the quality of your voice and self confidence)
• Do you have three to four references from past employers.
• How do you feel about a dress code and professional standards?

The Avjobs Applicant Portal has an "Online Practice Interview"
Spending 30 minutes a week practicing your interview skills is critical. The staff at Avjobs along with other industry wide personnel offices agree, the interview can make or break an applicant regardless of experience or training. It has been the experience of Avjobs and its employees that there is a "best" preparatory procedure for interviews.

The Avjobs "Online Practice Interview" section describes this preparatory process and provides tools and tips for you to be at your best. The "Online Practice Interview" includes audio, video and hundreds of sample questions. So turn up your sound and practice those interview skills.

Are you a Contributor or a Participant at work?

The important part of the answer is not what you think, but what your do. Actions speak louder than words, and realistically this directly translates into the fact that at work and in business, how others view your contribution is more important than how you view your efforts.

Ever wonder why some people always seem to get all the breaks? The reason is probably not what you think. We're not talking about brown nosing here. The answer is that they aren't "Breaks" at all. They're rewards for contributions, and to be clear, we don't mean efforts. We're talking about results, commitment, dedication and contribution.

Take a closer look at your own career. When it comes to promotion or raise time, do you get what you deserve or do get what you've earned? Where are you now and where do you really want to be in your career? What have you done to get where you are, and what are you doing to get to where you want to be? More importantly, what are you going to do today – before the end of your day? This concept applies to all industries and all job titles from entry level to senior executive.

But hold on one minute. Before you can really understand all of this you need to do some serious soul searching. Ha… Funny! You can't be serious? Really? Who really values their "Job" over their personal life? The answer to that one is easy too. Nobody. So then why do we even bring this up? Easy, because a job is not a career and that's the whole point. You first have to decide if you are working a job, or working to build your career. Employers are looking for career minded employees. The value of someone just looking for "Job" or a "Pay Check" is next to ZERO.

There is a distinct difference between a job and a career, and it mostly has to do with mindset.

So what does this mean and how do I understand how all this applies to me?

We've provided some further explanation and a few examples to help you better understand. Keep in mind, everyone's situation is different, and we know that. But at the end of the day, it is what it is and the same general rules apply to everyone. Some of you are going to hate the truth that follows. Some of you are going to disagree and exclaim that these concepts are ridiculous. Some of you are going to think you possess some of these things in yourself. And yet some of you are going to agree with everything that follows. The difference is the reality of how others view your contributions and not how you view yourself.

The best way to read the following is to understand that "you don't know what you don't know".

You should also understand that your opinion of yourself and your efforts only matters to you. Others will always determine your value at work and in business based on what's important to them (not you), but that you can change that through your actions.

If you like sports this is an easy concept to understand. As a part of the team, do you want to win? How much do you want to win and what are you willing to do before during and after the game to insure a victory? On the other hand, you may just want to be a part of the team. Maybe you're the cheerleader type? Lots of team spirit and participation, but everything comes from the sidelines.

Don't confuse team spirit with touchdowns. More importantly, don't confuse effort with results.

Most employers seem to agree that a good employee displays qualities such as communication skills, dependability, ethical standards, punctuality, initiative, a positive attitude toward the job, ability to get along well with others, flexibility, motivation, organization, ability to perform assigned duties, ability to follow instructions, critical thinking, team player, and knowing your limits. And most employees and job applicants would look at this list of expectations and find it reasonable.

It's human nature for people to do their best unless they purposely plan something different. The problem is that these qualities and behaviors are automatically assumed by employers and make up only minimum expectations. More or less indicating "This is what you need to do to get the job". After that, employers expect more in order to keep the job. Most employers do not provide programs to train their new employees on how to develop loyalty, project a good attitude, or show up on time each day. And why would they? Everybody that graduates from high school or college has these qualities and more, don't they? They must have displayed these qualities before and during the interview, right? Well… That's really not the question here. The real question is, are they self-motivated enough to use these qualities? Do they have an agenda, or are they just looking to collect a paycheck?

These days employers are complaining more frequently about the work ethic of new employees and are frustrated with the degree to which they lack the basic skills and behaviors necessary to succeed in their jobs. Employees are not showing up to work on time (or, in some cases, not showing up at all), abusing sick days, not willing to perform the tasks assigned to them, and not taking the initiative to look around and see what needs to be done. Employees are spending more work time chit chatting with co-workers and surfing social media site than they spend working. One research study found that 28% of the average Facebook users work day was spent using Facebook. If you factor in coffee refills, bathroom breaks, lunch periods and regular office chit chat, the average worker spends less that 40% of an eight hour day actually performing work related tasks. Often these same individuals have portrayed themselves in interviews as dependable, flexible, and willing to take initiative. So what's the problem? How does this happen?

It all comes back to jobs vs. careers, contributors vs. participants.

There is a distinct difference between the two, and it mostly has to do with mindset. As employees, we're not hired for our time or our physical presence or even our skills. We're hired to contribute, to shape thinking. We're hired for the value we provide. We're hired to contribute.

It's easy for employees to have a mindset of participation, which is based largely on being present or showing up. But in the eyes of the employer this is unacceptable and often results in a parting of ways much sooner than later.

Employees often don't understand and tend to resent their job over time. They don't feel valued and retreat into a false feeling of entitlement. The truth is, you're only worth your weight in contributions and that efforts without results are worthless to employers. Remember you can be replaced if you're not self-motivated enough to contribute at a level that produces your employers expected results.

While you're at work there is a fine line between what you do for yourself and what you do for your employer. Let's face it, from 8-5 your employer owns you. They are paying you and they expect you to be working on work related things not personal things like surfing social media, planning your vacation, updating your resume, or watching the clock so you get out of there ASAP. Unless it's part of your job, you have no business using social media during business hours. Sorry but that's a fact. You don't have to like it, but you do have to deal with it. If the concept upsets you, even just a little, you're probably working a job. If you really couldn't care less about that statement or feel it doesn't apply to you, you probably working at building your career.

What are some examples I can use to determine if I am working a job or building a career?

Answer the following questions as they relate to you and ponder your thoughts to better understand if you're working a job or building your career.

• Are you a Contributor or a Participant? (Really)
• Are you a Leader or a Follower? (Honestly)
• Are you a Doer or a Planner? (Literally)
• Are you a Rock Star or Groupie? (Conceptually)
• Do you produce results that are directly tied to revenues or do you just produce efforts?
• If you get up in the morning before your alarm clock goes off and you're in a hurry to get to work, you probably working a career.
• If you hit the snooze button and dread the day ahead you're probably working a job.
• Do you take a lunch break at the same time every day no matter what is going on in your work day? Or do you eat when you're hungry or when you have time, or even at your desk to make sure you're accomplishing your goals.
• Do you internalize the inner workings of the company and/or your specific job function, or do you just push the button when the red light comes on?
• Do you have a burning desire for accomplishment or achievement at work, or are you more concerned with how you're going to spend your personal time?
• Are you more interested in talking to fellow employees about current events or focusing on your current project and its success?
• A participant is normally late or arrives just minutes before their scheduled start time. A contributor is normally early.
• A participant will put off tasks until later. A contributor will get it done today, so they have more time to accomplish other tasks tomorrow.
• A participant wants a pay check. A contributor is on a mission and rarely cares about a check (as long as they still get it).
• A participant asks, what's in it for me? A contributor asks, how can we get this done?
• A participant asks, how much more work will I have to do if I speak up? A contributor asks, what does it cost me if I don't speak up now?
• A participant asks, what's the least I have to do in order to satisfy my employers expectations? A contributor asks, what would really ‘wow' them?
• A participant asks, how can I skirt responsibility if this goes down the tubes? A contributor asks, how can we all share the load for successes AND failures?
• A participant thinks how can I get out of here before 5? A contributor thinks I hope I can get this done before 6 so I can spend more time with my family and friends.

Life is too short for simple participation. It's not worth the opportunity cost. If you've spent your life participating with no real contributions, you probably wasted a lot of time.

It's your future. Make a difference, Contribute!

Department of Labor Online Interactive Advisor Offers Updated Information on Family and Medical Leave Act

The U.S. Department of Labor recently released an updated version of its Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Advisor. This online resource helps clarify which employers are required to provide FMLA leave as well as which employees are eligible to take such leave. In addition, it outlines valid reasons for leave and employer and employee notice requirements and other responsibilities under the law.

You may access the updated Family and Medical Leave Act Advisor from the DOL web site at: http://www.dol.gov/elaws/fmla.htm.

The Family and Medical Leave Act is a Federal law that entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if they had not taken leave. Examples of specified reasons include caring for a newborn or recently adopted child or a family member with a serious health condition, or an employee’s own serious health condition.

Today marks the official start of Women of Aviation Worldwide week!  Check out all of the events worldwide at http://www.womenofaviationweek.org/  There are contests, live web streaming, and much more.