Pre-Employment Medical

There seems to be a lot of confusion about the pre-employment medical for Emirates. This is the medical you will complete after you get your Golden Call. After you get your Golden call you will have access to the candidate portal which you will complete section by section.

One thing I would outline is that the pre-employment medical is not the overall medical that is required by Emirates. It is a preliminary medical. It is just the part of the medical that you must undertake in your home country before travelling to Dubai.

From my understanding (I went through this 2 weeks ago, and have now gained my 'final approval' status) this is what you need to complete in your home country, at your own expense before travelling to Dubai:

• Appendix 1 (Summary of Medical Standards). (You just discuss this with your Doctor, it does not need to be uploaded).
• Appendix 2 form (Medical history). This must be filled out by you, signed by you, and uploaded to the candidate portal.
• Appendix 4 form (Certificate of Dental Health). You must get your dentist to fill out this form, sign it and then you upload it to the candidate portal.

What needs to be completed either in your home country or in Dubai (cost will be deducted from your salary if they are completed in Dubai):

• OPG X-ray. This is a panoramic, dental radiograph. This may be completed in your home country or during your first four weeks in Dubai.
• Blood Tests: HIV/AIDS, VDRL, Haemoglobin, Hepatitis B.
• Chest X-ray for Tuberculosis: for signs of active TB.
• Cervical Smear test report: for females only.
• Vaccinations: Polio, Diphtheria, Tetanus, Typhoid, Hep A, Hep B, Yellow Fever, Varicella, Meningococcal acyw 135.

All medical reports must be in English, and be clearly written. Personally, I did all blood tests and vaccinations here in my home country, and will bring all the original documentation with me to Dubai. 

With regard to the sight and hearing tests, from my reading I don't see it stated anywhere as being compulsory to have these done before you travel to Dubai. As far as I am aware these are done by the Emirates Medical Clinic upon arrival. Perhaps it is different for somebody who wears glasses/contact lenses. 
Please refer to 'Vision' and 'ENT' sections in Appendix 1 (summary of medical standards).

I hope this is a definitive account of the medical, this is correct from my experience so far. Please let me know if I've made any errors!

The Interview Process

I am not the most tech-savvy individual so this blog is mainly intended for brief updates and photos of my new adventure as a member of cabin-crew with Emirates airlines. Also I would like to share some information about the process so far, as I know it will help some of those who would like to join Emirates.
 I am moving to Dubai on the 19th October and am very excited!

My interest in this job started back in February '12 when I spotted an Emirates recruitment advertisement in the newspaper. I applied online (which wasn't really necessary at that point as it was an Open day), but it helped as that needed to be completed later on. I had no idea that there was such interest or competition in getting these positions. I did very little research prior to attending the Open Day, only to make sure I complied with exactly what they specified on their website. There were about 150 people at the Open Day. I was very surprised to see that many who turned up were not even dressed appropriately. Anything you need to know about these Open Days can be found on their website.

https://ekgrpapplications.emirates.com/careersonlineapps/CC_OPENDAYS/CabinCrewOpenDays.aspx 

The open day begins in the morning, it was 9am (sharp) for us. Don't be late. Arrive half an hour early as there are some forms to fill in. The recruiters will take you to a room to watch a video about Emirates and Dubai. Afterwards there is an opportunity to ask some questions. From my experience, I felt some people were asking silly questions just to get noticed. I didn't ask any questions as I hadn't anything in particular I needed clarification on. After this there is a break where you can get tea/coffee. Then you line up and wait for your turn to present your CV to the recruiter. This happens 1:1, however you will only speak to them for about 2-3 minutes. They will check your height, perhaps ask you what you are doing at the moment, and why you would like to work for Emirates.

In the evening, I received a call from the recruiter asking me to return the following day for the Assessment Day. There were two groups of us, with only 10 people in each. I was in the afternoon group and I again dressed in business attire. I wasn't sure what to expect although from looking online, I knew that it was a group-based assessment. We were brought into a conference room and we each gave a brief introduction of ourselves. The recruiter then asked each of us a random question. She asked me 'Tell me something interesting about yourself that is not on your CV'. After this we did a group task, which involved building a 'monument' out of paper, straws, paperclips, etc. This was just to see how we worked together and to give more of an insight into the different personalities around the table. The assessment day lasted about 3 hours. The recruiter then told us who was successful and would be put forward for the Final Interview.

The Final Interview was not until a month and a half later. There are quite a few documents and photographs (both passport size, casual, and dressed in business attire), that you are required to bring. You will be told exactly what is required to bring with you. There is also a personality test to be completed online. It will be sent to your email about a week before the final interview. All I would say about this is to answer every question honestly. Don't try and answer them according to the type of personality you think Emirates are looking for. The final interview lasted about 1 hour. It is just you and the recruiter alone in a room. They will ask you scenario based questions based on your previous employments. For example, 'Tell me about a time you showed initiative in the workplace', or 'Give an example of a time when you had to deal with an angry customer' etc. A lot of this can be prepared beforehand as it can be difficult to think of these situations when you are under pressure in the interview. Most importantly, be happy to be there, smile and BE YOURSELF!

About a month after the final interview, I received an email telling me that I was successful. Then in July I received another email telling me I had been put 'on hold' for three months due to 'fully booked training courses and specific operational requirements'. Don't be disheartened if you receive this email as it generally means that you will be called in due course. I won't lie the waiting process is painful. At least I was still working which got me through it. 

I got my 'Golden Call' at the beginning of August. My date of joining is 19th October. There is a pre-employment medical to get through before travelling to Dubai, which involves getting blood-tests, vaccinations, dental records etc. This is all explained and sent to you via email if you reach this point. 

Hope this helps somewhat, and good luck to anyone going through the interview process!