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[T692]The Rapping Flight Attendant

by Warren Wong, War

Since most airlines have their own training facilities for training flight attendants, the only main requirement in terms of education for this career is to hold a high school graduations diploma. However, today most airlines are delving deeper into the applications they receive for available positions and prefer college and university graduates in the flight attendant hiring process. One of the main things that airlines look for in the number of applications they receive is applicants who demonstrate a high level of customer service. This is because as a flight attendant, you would be interacting with customers (passengers) on a daily basis because in the position, you provide service to these people for the duration of the flight.

In order to submit an application for a job as a flight attendant, the first thing you have to do is find out which airlines are hiring. Once you know that a specific airline is posting ads for flight attendant jobs, then it is time to do your research. You have to read the ad thoroughly to find out what documents you must submit with your cover letter. You have to make sure you gather all the documents you need. Then you have to write a cover letter that will really stand out among the many submitted, so it is not a chore you should take lightly. If your cover letter doesn't do a good job of giving the employer an adequate look at how you can be an asset to the airline, the person reading the letter may not even bother to read the rest of your resume.

Once you have everything in place and you write the best possible cover letter to submit with your application, you cross your fingers and hope to get a call for an interview. Airlines usually hire ten or more flight attendants at the same time because they want to have enough students for a class. They usually have their own training facilities to train those selected through the interviewing process. It is important to realize, though, that even while you may be selected to complete the flight attendant training, you will not be officially hired in this position until you pass the training with a score of at least 90%.

Along with the book work, assignments and tests, you will also have to go through several modules of on-the-job training. This involves taking part in mock evacuations so that you will be prepared for dealing with emergencies on board the plane. Your instructors will act as passengers and you will act as the flight attendant as part of the evaluation to determine your customer service skills. The training that you do have to go through is gruelling, but it is worth it when you get the job.

You have to demonstrate that when you are on the job, your focus is solely on the safety and security of the passengers. You do need to have an outgoing personality, but you will also need to exercise diplomacy and tact in many situations. This is what the examiners will be looking for in the hands-on parts of the training.

The first time we meet with a prospective client to review their accounting & financial matters, we have an informal "needs analysis" discussion. A variety of common issues come up in these discussions -- cash flow, lending relationships, profitability, clarity/accuracy of financial reports, to name a few. Most business owners I talk to are experiencing one or more of these issues, but they don't all share the same problems. It's generally a combination of a few different things.

Except for one.

Before I share it with you, let me ask a couple of questions:

• Would you hire the office manager from your brokerage firm to oversee your investment portfolio?

• Would it be sufficient to use a paralegal to provide counsel on important legal issues?

• Would you be comfortable if the nurse or intern performed your surgery?

• On your next business trip, would it be OK if the flight attendant took over the cockpit controls and flew the plane?

These sound like ridiculous questions, right? But consider this all-too-common, real life business example.

I spoke to the owner of an $8 million dollar business that was struggling. Cash was tight, margins were thin, and the bank was giving them pressure. The person responsible for accounting at this company was transferred into the position from Human Resources.. . because they had some prior experience.. . years ago.. . working in.. .accounts payable.

How is this real life situation any different from the "crazy" questions above?

The One Common Problem

The one issue that many small businesses have in common is this: the primary financial person in charge of overseeing the owner's biggest investment (i.e., the company) is in most cases a bookkeeper with little or no formal training and no real experience in accounting beyond day-to-day transaction processing. And often times, even that is hit-and-miss.

The financial oversight of a multi-million dollar business is done--intentionally or unintentionally--by a clerical bookkeeper.

How is this person going to help you build value in your business?

Mission Impossible?

Many businesses today have a Mission Statement. A typical mission statement might read something like this:

•"We strive to be the recognized leader in the ________ industry."

•"To be the premier provider of ________ products."

A lot of lip service is given to mission statements these days, so let's view our bookkeeper situation through the lens of the mission statement.

Do "industry leaders".. .

• Use financial statements that are inconsistent and inaccurate from month to month?

• Wait 3-5 weeks after month end just to get their inaccurate financial statements?

• Operate without a budget, or projection, or any written plan?

• Have uncertainty as to whether or not they're going to make payroll next week?

• Rely on clerical people to assist them in building value in their business because it's "cheaper"?

Obviously, not every business can be the industry leader.. . and not every business wants to be. But if we substitute the words "Well run businesses" for "Industry Leaders" in the above set of questions, the answers are the same.

It's going to be very difficult to be the leader in any industry if you don't know more about your numbers than your competitors know about theirs. And you're not going to get there by relying on a clerical bookkeeper.

And, it's not the bookkeeper's fault. They were hired to be a bookkeeper. Not a financial advisor. Not a Controller. Not a CFO.

A Critical Competency

To build value in your business it is critical to know your key numbers inside and out. It is critical to know what happened (past), what is happening (present), and what is likely to happen (future).. . and plan accordingly. Without this critical competency, you're merely "hoping" things are going to work out.

If you're not planning you're hoping. And in the words of best-selling business author Dan Kennedy:

"Hope is not a strategy."

Article Source : Hunting Dog For Sale

About Author

Both Warren Wong & Todd Rammler are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Warren Wong has sinced written about articles on various topics from Pregnancy Problems, Pregnancy Week by Week and Pregnancy Problems. For more information on the ,. Warren Wong's top article generates over 110000 views. to your Favourites.

Todd Rammler has sinced written about articles on various topics from Careers and Job Hunting. Todd Rammler, a.k.a. The Small Business CFO is President of Michigan CFO Associates, a professional firm providing outsourced Chief Financial Officer services to small- business owners. He is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and co-author of the bo. Todd Rammler's top article generates over 880 views. to your Favourites.