Continue to try until you succeed. These are the words that must have inspired flight attendant Janine Factor to make her long-held dream a reality. She had fourteen failed attempts before becoming a PALexpress flight attendant, and I am honored to share her success story with you.
It is not easy to become a flight attendant because of the skillset and qualifications that are strictly required to take on this job with significant responsibilities. Flight attendants are the airline’s brand ambassadors in addition to being safety professionals and people who help others. PALexpress and Philippine Airlines are also tourism ambassadors for the Philippines. As a result, getting on an airplane is never easy.
Many people want to be PALexpress flight attendants because they want to work for Philippine Airlines in the future. The best way to get into Philippine Airlines is to first join PALexpress. Janine is one of them who aspires to be a flight attendant for Philippine Airlines. PAL is a highly sought-after airline to work for due to their competitive pay, benefits, layovers, work environment, and, of course, the prestige of being a PAL flight attendant.
A long-time dream brought by her love for service
Janine has wanted to be a flight attendant since she was a small child. She adored the fact that flight attendants get to travel all over the world. However, her love for service, fostered by her family’s business, drove her to pursue her dream of becoming a flight attendant. Janine’s determination to become a flight attendant grew stronger as a result of her experience and the fulfillment she gained from working in customer service for her family business.
“I can say that this is the job that I see myself growing old and still loving what I do because it’s a combination of my love for travel and passion to be in service for others”, shared Janine.
Janine’s flight attendant journey was a difficult but fulfilling one
Janine then began applying for jobs as a flight attendant with various airlines. Her journey, however, was not without incident. Her first attempt was rejected. Even though it was heartbreaking, Janine refused to give up. She tried again and failed this time. Then a third, which also failed. A fourth attempt was made, and it failed.
Each failed attempt was heartbreaking. Typically, airlines will not tell you what went wrong. You are on your own in determining what went wrong and correcting it. Janine, on the other hand, continued to improve with each attempt. She needed to lose weight first because her BMI was close to being overweight. Janine also struggled with applying her own make-up, so she had to teach herself.
Janine’s biggest flaw was a lack of self-confidence. She had to work on it over and over again. All of this, however, was no reason for her to give up. Janine persisted in her quest to become a flight attendant. A tenth unsuccessful attempt, an eleventh unsuccessful attempt, and so on until her fourteenth unsuccessful attempt.
Janine decided not to give up just yet, just when she thought it was time. She tried for the fifteenth time at a PALexpress cabin crew recruitment day. This time, all of her hard work and determination paid off. She finally made it through the PALexpress rigorous training after passing the initial screening.
After 15 attempts, Janine has finally realized her long-held dream of becoming a flight attendant! She is now a PALexpress flight attendant, and she intends to go above and beyond. Her next ambition is to work for Philippine Airlines.
Struggles teach us an important lesson in humility.
Janine’s experience of turning her flight attendant dream into a reality humbled her, seeing all of the struggles and challenges she faced. “A lot of people thought that you only needed to be pretty to become a flight attendant when in fact being pretty, smart, or coming from big schools/universities doesn’t guarantee you a spot because it still depends on your performance and how you present yourself,” Janine explained.
This is why I always advise people to remain humble, especially if they are fortunate enough to face few obstacles on their way to becoming a flight attendant. Never act as if you are impervious to failure and adversity.
Janine is finally proudly flying the flag! However, this is not the end of Janine’s story; rather, it is only the beginning. Her next goal is to work for Philippine Airlines, which is the ultimate goal of the vast majority of Filipino cabin crew candidates.
Janine will be eternally grateful to PALexpress for making her dream a reality after so many obstacles. She intends to stay with PALexpress until she is recommended for a transfer to Philippine Airlines.
“Rejections and failures are much better than missed opportunities; it’s better to know you tried rather than being afraid of rejections and not trying at all because these rejections and failures actually make your success sweeter,” Janine shared.
Janine became a flight attendant after fifteen attempts and fourteen failures. So, what is your reason for quitting?
First love never dies. I fell in love with airplanes and aviation when I was a kid. My dream was to become a pilot, but destiny led me to another path: to be an aviation digital media content creator and a small business owner. My passion for aviation inspires me to bring you quality content through my website and social accounts. Aviation is indeed in my blood and blog!
