About Ryanair
Ryanair is Europe's largest low-cost airline with key bases in both Dublin and London Stansted airports.
The Irish company was founded in 1984 and since then has grown exponentially to offer flights to 200 destinations in 40 countries around Europe, as well as North Africa and the Middle East.
Ryanair primarily flies passengers in Boeing 737-800 aircrafts and has a fleet of over 400 of these planes.
Transporting over 50 million passengers annually is no mean feat, so Ryanair employs a staff of 19,000 people to ensure everything from the company's marketing right through to the safety of the flights is taken care of.
Changing the face of flying thanks to their low cost, no-frills model, Ryanair is one of the most innovative airlines out there and joining the cabin crew is a fantastic opportunity for those wanting to work in the aviation industry.
Ryanair Application Process
The Ryanair application process involves multiple stages including assessments, personality tests, phone calls and interviews, so it's important to make sure you're fully committed to the process and the length of time it may take.
At each stage, Ryanair recruiters will assess how well you did and decide whether you can progress to the next part of the process.
Since the pandemic, Ryanair has moved to a primarily virtual recruitment process.
Ryanair Online Application
The online application is your first chance to sell yourself and make a good impression on Ryanair's recruiters.
The online application form aims to gather as much relevant information as possible from every candidate. You'll be asked to share details of your education and previous employment so recruiters can determine how much experience you have.
You'll also be asked whether you believe you match the character requirements for cabin crew. This includes being confident and outgoing, friendly, and able to keep calm in difficult situations.
There will also be a short section of yes/no questions to check you're able to take on the role if you're hired. These include your right to work in the EU, ability to meet the physical demands of the job and whether you have a criminal record.
Ryanair Aptitude Tests
The online assessments are a crucial part of the recruitment process as they examine whether you have the necessary skills to work in a busy, unpredictable and sometimes stressful cabin.
As well as assessments to better understand your character and personality, there is also a verbal reasoning test designed to determine how strong your English and comprehension skills are, and a situational judgement test that aims to see how well you'd cope with hypothetical situations on a Ryanair aircraft.
To move to the next stage of the recruitment process, you'll need to show you possess the relevant skills and strengths in each assessment. The best way to set yourself up for success is to try and practise as many mock tests as you can to increase your speed, skills and confidence. It really could make all the difference.
Ryanair Verbal Reasoning Tests
The verbal reasoning test will be set to ensure your communication skills are as good as they need to be to meet the demands of a busy cabin.
In this timed test, you'll be given short passages of text to read, before being asked a series of multiple-choice questions on what you've just read. You'll also be asked to identify synonyms, antonyms and analogies.
Taking some mock verbal reasoning tests beforehand is a great way to feel comfortable with the type of questions you might be asked and gives you the opportunity to brush up on any weaker areas you may identify.
Ryanair Situational Judgement Tests
Situational judgement tests assess how well people are likely to cope with challenges specific to working in the cabin of an aircraft helps Ryanair recruiters gauge whether you're the right type of character for the job.
You'll be given a hypothetical scenario to read through, before a possible scale of multiple choice answers. Your task is to order the responses to reflect how you personally would act or behave in that situation.
While keeping the company's values and objectives in mind is helpful, it's important to answer honestly. Training to become cabin crew is a long process and it's important for both you and Ryanair that the people likely to excel at the job are ultimately the people that get hired.
Ryanair Personality Tests
Personality tests are yet another good indicator of whether you display the character traits that tend to mean you'll be an effective member of the cabin crew.
Similar in style to the situational judgement test, you'll need to read through various statements and select responses in accordance to what sounds most or least like you.
Again, honesty is essential in this test, but it's also worth having a think about what kind of character you need to effectively deal with customers on a day-to-day basis.
Ryanair HR Phone Call
If you do well on the tests, you'll be invited to have a phone call with Ryanair HR.
This call is essentially a screening before final interviews. It gives Ryanair the chance to ask any questions they may have after reviewing your online application and assessment results. You can expect to answer questions on your background and verify the information you've provided so far.
This call is more of a formality than an in-depth interview. If you pass the call, you'll be invited to a final interview.
Ryanair Final Interviews
Pre-pandemic you'd have been invited to join an assessment centre where you'd take part in numerous group activities and face-to-face interviews.
If you're invited to an assessment centre you can expect to be asked to take part in or complete:
- An English test, as well as multiple skills tests
- Group activities that seek to better understand the role you take within a team, and whether you exhibit leadership qualities
- A presentation
- A final interview
Currently, this is more likely to look like a virtual interview with a hiring manager, or panel of people.
In this final interview, you have one last chance to sell your expertise, relevant experience, passion for the job and unique qualities to Ryanair, and make them see what a valuable part of the team you'd become.
As well as answering any final questions they may have, you should also come with a few questions of your own prepared. This will show that you're engaged, interested and excited to potentially become a member of Ryanair's cabin crew.
