Words: 614
Read Time: 3 minutes
Last Modified: 2025-07-02
Slam-Clicking: For When You’re Not Loud Enough to Dream
As of 2025, introversion raises more eyebrows in airline recruitment than having a sleeve of tattoos. That’s right. Tattoos are now permitted by a growing number of airlines, but mention introversion, and you’ll hear: “Airlines don’t hire introverts as cabin crew.”
In other words, being softly spoken disqualifies us faster than having inked eyeballs. (Huh?)
Yeah, that sounds ridiculous, because it is.
Airlines don’t have an “extroverts-only” boarding policy. That’s just one of many industry Old Wives.
But I fell for it because it came from an authority on the subject: the dreaded personality test.
Slam-Click
I was thirteen when a personality test asserted: “Flight attendants are extraverts.” But I really wanted to become a flight attendant, so I did what any desperate dreamer would do — enrolled in personality laser treatments (aka acting school).
Of course, it didn’t work.
For nineteen failed interviews, I wasn’t an introvert or extravert, I was just weird.
Until it all changed at interview failure number nineteen.
First, I discovered this little fun fact:
Sir Richard Branson — yes, the founder of Virgin Atlantic, the poster boy for charisma — is a self-proclaimed introvert. That was my “you’ve got to be kidding” moment. Like learning Superman had vertigo.
So, I looked deeper and discovered another fun fact.
Airlines do hire introverts. We even have our own moniker: Slam-Clickers.
So called because of our tendency to disembark from our flight, scramble to our hotel room, “slam” the door shut, and “click” the lock on then recharge with room service, bubble bath, and chocolates instead of hanging around the bustling hotel bar — sounds divine, don’t mind if I do thank you.
That’s when I realised: Being introverted wasn’t the problem. Not knowing how to use it was.
So, I traded volume for precision.
At my twentieth interview, I finally succeeded with Emirates.
Slam. Click. Exhale.
There is no one-size-fits-all personality because there is no one-size-fits-all airline.
There is only alignment, strategising your contributions, and knowing how to adapt like Crew.
Still, peeling off the label is only part of the challenge.
Being quiet won’t disqualify you, but the process itself isn’t built with introverts in mind and rarely plays to our strengths — or so it seems.
When you’re sitting in a semi-circle with twenty applicants all erupting into competitive small talk, it can feel like rush hour in the departure lounge. Loud, chaotic, and built for people who love to perform.
But it’s all about strategy.
My third discovery was the one that got me the job.
I stopped chasing the loudest moments and started claiming the quiet, overlooked ones. The bits no one else noticed.
I went from stumbling through awkward Q&A questions and catching the raised eyebrow, to hearing the recruiter say my name and smile — before round one was even over. (You can read about that here.)
Instead of trying to bulldoze your way into a fast-talking debates, read the room. Listen actively. Then find the opening no one else is using — and say something that moves the group forward. That’s what the assessors are watching for.
Being an introvert is you edge. The process is built for you, when you know how to apply yourself to it.
You don’t need to be louder. You need to be clearer.
Remember. Crew aren’t chosen for their noise. They’re chosen for their timing, their tone, and their ability to adapt. Those are skills that do play to our strengths.
In the The Cabin Crew Interview Made Easy Finishing School, we don’t laser off your personality. We help you strategise your approach so you become un-ignorable.
