WHAT WENT DOWN AT QATAR AIRWAY CABIN CREW RECRUITMENT NAIROBI KENYA.

Last sunday, qatar airline made an open call interview for a cabin crew position. The interview was to be held at intercontinental hotel nairobi kenya. Now for the past, a friend of mine johnmark, who works in aviation industry kept telling me to try applying for the cabin crew job coz he believes I have the potential to be one judging by my character. Deep inside I was not for it coz after all I wanted to be an accountant somewhere in nairobi counting monies and auditing companies. I could turn down all the interview alerts that he informed Me in the past years, because I felt that was not my thing and he was just bothering me after all. Sorry to say this johnmark. This time round,
I thought it was a viable opportunity for me to try and toss my dice , going by the fact that the interview was an open call and it was to be held on a sunday, a day I did not have much engagements. i applied for it online and I received feedback inviting me to meet with them and submit my cv and it was to comence from 0900hrs to 1700hrs.

I had anticipated for a massive turn out because the interviewer had really publicized the recruitment especially on facebook and this being kenya, no one is left behind interms of internet and technology in general. renowned kenyan blogs could occasionally post links on there blogs regarding the recruitment. Everyone was aware of it even those who hadn’t applied. The day before sunday, I went to take photos in a certain studio along mfangano street, for we were to take a full length photo with us on that particular day. I found there over 50 girls who had came for snaps. They had a big mouth and judging by there kimbelembele and eaves droppings, I knew they were coming for that interview as well.’ That was going to be tough’. I thought. But like the blog I did before titled “One night with the king”
(I will reblog it on wordpress because its on blogspot. Ketrayakoya.blogspot.com) I kept my anchored hope alive just like esther did.

On a usual sunday, I wake up at 0800hrs, but on this particular one, I was up by 0500hrs to ensure punctuality .I remember arriving at the venue that sunday morning by 0740hrs and mine oh mine!!! I found guys had already checked inn! Perhaps they had spent the night at the intercontinental hotel to avoid the hussles and bussles of striving to beat the time that morning. I thought to myself.

0900hrs Was the time for the commencement of cv submission and yet by 0750hrs people were already on the ground. The whole of parliament road was full of people lined up waiting for there chance to meet with the interviewer. The queues were three long rows stretching right from the beginning of parliament road to its end. Girls had applied on a lot of make up,each one battling to stand out from the rest for the position. The foundation applied on there faces seemed as if they had been smeared with clay, like in the process of pot moulding, where smooth clay is applied on the pot, after joining the long rolls, ready to be tossed in a kiln for dry up. there 6 inch heels made them uncomfortable and tired of standing, and so they had to take them off and step on the ground bear footed only to put them on when there chance was nearing. I spotted several ladies on the queue, most of them public figures in the modeling industry. Others were the parrots I had met the previous day at the photo studio. Gentlemen were relaxed in there cool black suites and most of them, black ties on a white shirt. By this time, I wasn’t even dressed in oficial atire. The weather was too cold and it drizzled a bit. I joined the queue to position myself somewhere. I was in black jeans trouser and a pink trench coat, quite a big black handbag which I had carried in the change of clothes and in my foot, flat shoes. Everyone stared at me in surprise of my appearance, and being not intimidated by there thoughts on me, I cared the less. I stood behind a lady fairly tall, almost like me 5ft6″ . She had looks like those of a air hostess. I decided to indulge her. Her name was sheila. she was welcoming and friendly. She opened up to me. She told me of the other 2 interviews she had attended before concerning similar position and what could probably turn out for this particular day. She gained a little bit of my trust and so I asked her to book the space for me while I rushed to those public toilets adjacent to teleposter towers to change into official attire.

As I made my come back, nothing much had changed. The queue were still at the same spot I left despised the 15min I had spent away, only that they had gotten much more longer. It was a free show for every passersby and drivers who were in town that morning. They glanced at us in awe. some ladies who came after me stood on the other side of holy family basilica wondering whether to loose hope and just go back home or to join us. There was this news paper vendor who encouraged them and shouted at them.” Msikufe roho, pangeni line. Unaeza kua wamwisho kwa mstari lakini ni wewe wanataka.” (don’t loose hope. Join them. You might be the last one on the queue, but you maybe the one they want.) He said those words in a sarcastic way that left everyone in stitches of laughter.
A number of paparazzis showed up, some taking photos of us while others taking the video. This was unwell scene with the interviewees, some turned their backs to the paparazzis while others covered there faces with the resumes they were holding in there hands. No one wanted to be caught on camera.

At exactly nine o’clock, about four hundred interviewees who were early birds were let inside the intercontinental hotel conference room. The queue moved a little bit. Every one waited eargerly for there chance. Some discussed on the possible questions they were to be asked, others facebooking, tweeting, others making calls, while others just stood staring at each other. Others murmuring like in questioning of how short the skirts of some ladies were. Mshenehe, mhahe. At this time, sheila told me that we were not going to be questioned. All they wanted was to see us physically and then submitting our cvs. The long stand made me to spread the lesso that I had on the pavement, pulled out the coffee I had from my bag , sat down and began to seep it right there with some muffins. I wasn’t bothered by what people could think, after all it was my stomach I was taking cares of. It revived me.

Events that followed saw one of the employees of intercontinental come and tell us to drop our cvs in the box that was at the gate and leave to wait for the phone calls later on. This was unwell news. People hesitated to do what they had been asked. They stuck on the queues despise the clear instructions they had been given. 30 minutes later after the information was conveyed to us and we were stagnant standing there, now everyone engaging each other in talks, we saw landrovers full of police officers carrying there guns. Others were on motorbike. Perhaps we had turned to be a security threat. I was heart broken. I was jerked from my worrisome thoughts as I slipped on a patch of slush and almost fell over. Somebody laughed. We later surrendered to there instructions, everyone living the place very much disappointed and disgusted.

The question that lingered on our minds as we left was whether for real, all those cvs were going to be analysed and then they get back to us or they were to be scrapped. Yolo turned out to be my comfort zone at this particular time and so I left and went to join my friend mimi mtesa at tribe hotel for a change of air.