Glassdoor is your free inside look at Alaska Airlines interview questions and advice. All 37 interview reviews are posted anonymously by Alaska Airlines employees and interview candidates.
Declined Offer – Interviewed in Seattle, WA (US) – Reviewed May 10, 2013 New
Interview Details
First a phone interview by the hiring manager
They make you feel like you are top of their list, and that applies to all applicants
Followed up by on-site interview at headquarters, usually with the hiring manager and another peer and HR. Small group interview. Nice atmosphere.
Did NOT get to see the actual work place or talk to future colleagues.
Interview Question –
They do not hire smokers, oddly enough.
Not a problem for me, but the innocent comment that I smoked a cigar a while back did raise an eyebrow. It was not a big deal as I otherwise don't smoke.
View Answer
Reason for Declining – Pay wasn't that great, other offers I had were more palatable.
Accepted Offer – Interviewed in Seattle, WA (US) May 2012 – Reviewed May 09, 2013 New
Interview Details Group interview, 4 rounds, very exhausted, and extremely fun
Interview Question – What is a common misconception people have of you Answer Question
Negotiation Details – No negotiation
No Offer – Interviewed in Portland, OR (US) Apr 2013 – Reviewed Apr 24, 2013
Interview Details Ok...I just had to post this!! I went to an Alaska Airline hiring event yesterday April 23,2013 in Portland OR. and wanted to let everyone know what to expect when Interviewing with Alaska. I would say at least 150 people came...and they chose around 17 ppl. It was VERY disappointing to say the least. First, what Alaska tells you to expect on their website is not what to expect when it comes down to whom they are looking for as an employee. They chose VERY odd individuals...A bartender, a barista, a hairdresser...not the nurses...the ex-flight attendant's...really no one with good experience. They tell you right away that if there is a 911 on the plane...your it!!! Well then wouldn't you want a nurse or a ex-flight attendant to help you on the plane....not a bartender or a hairdresser? They ask you to tell them something about yourself that is not on your Resume and to give yourself bragging rights about that something...two of the individuals they chose of the 17 spoke of awesome grandkids and the other spoke of being a avid sports fan of the LA lakers. Then a ex-flight attendant whom they didn't choose stood and spoke of something not on her Resume which was that she had been giving a reward for catching the "fake hi-jacker" in a mock up when she flew for the airlines...Again...wouldn't you want an ex-flight attendant on your flight that has those bragging rights..not the individual that say's..."GO LAKERS" and her grandkids are cute!! ODD Alaska Airlines...I have such a different opinion of Alaska Airlines now....NOT GOOD!!!
Interview Questions
No Offer – Interviewed in Seattle, WA (US) Feb 2012 – Reviewed May 07, 2013 New
Interview Details Applied online 01/13, got an email the next day asking to schedule a phone interview. Passed phone interview, was very basic customer service questions. Had a group interview 2/12/13 in SEA, and it was a blast. Started with movie, then group interview, then F2F, then panel. Out of 80, I believe only around 10 got hired. I made it to the final panel, but was not offered a position.
Interview Question – What is a common misconception about you? Answer Question
No Offer – Interviewed in Seattle, WA (US) Apr 2013 – Reviewed Apr 26, 2013
Interview Details
The hiring process is a different one. They start promtly with a video about the company followed by a overview of the position that you are interviewing for. Next you are broken into 2-3 groups (mine had 8 people). In the 'group interview' you have to stand, say and spell your name and are giving scenario cards. You are told that there are not right or wrong answers but thats obivously not true. After each person reads their card and gives an answer you're broken into 2-3 more groups and have an activity and presentation.
During this whole process I showed up early, was smiling and attentive to everyone speaking. When I was speaking I tried to speak clearly, loud enough to hear without yelling and keep eye contact. I dressed professional, sat like a lady and had all my documents ready to go, with a killer recommendation letter! They only asked ONE question about us as a person (Tell me about yourself, something that would not go on a resume). From this they picked the people the wanted to one-on-one with and I was not one of them. In fact, I'm not sure how they do decide. I have 10+ years in a faced paced customer service environment and they chose a girl with PURPLE hair over myself and many other more than qualified applicants. There was a lady in my group that gave by far the best answer to the scenario question and was not chosen.
I found the whole process to be very impersonal from a company that uses "caring" as one of their values. After going through this process I'm not sure that Alaska is a company I would like to work for. It seems that qualifications and experience are not chosen. It does not matter if you "dressed-for-success". I'm not necessarily referring to myself, there were plenty of people that had more customer service experience than me or more experience in general. I know from chatting with people on breaks that quite a few of them knew about the position because of an employee at Alaska. So maybe that is the trick, who you know gets you an interview. Sad. I think that they missed out on quite a few great, loyal employees that day.
Interview Question – The random scenario questions. Answer Question
No Offer – Interviewed in Seattle, WA (US) Oct 2009 – Reviewed May 01, 2013
Interview Details Panel intervew
Interview Question – Tell us about a time when you were frustrated and could not "fix" the situation? Answer Question
No Offer – Interviewed in Seattle, WA (US) Apr 2013 – Reviewed Apr 28, 2013
Interview Details
I applied online and soon after got an email that had questions to send back. Some of the questions were, why did you want to work for Alaska Airlines, and are you COMPLETELY open to relocating to one of five domiciles. Next I had a phone interview and on that same call was invited to attend their hiring event in Seattle. You have to be there at 8a sharp. I showed up at 745a were about 50 people were already there. We watched a few movies and current flight attendants talk about how much they love their job. At this point, they split us up into three groups of about 25 and told us to meet in a specific room. As we all walked out, we had to do the reach test of 80 inches and to our rooms we went.
We all got settled in and then we were quickly put into alphabetical order by last name. The first question they asked was "tell me about a time you were loyal to something and why." We went around the semi-circle answering that one question then were put into smaller groups of three and given a scenario card that we had to stand, solve and talk about to the group. The last question was "tell us something that we wouldn't know about you from your resume." Again, around the room we went. At this point the interviewers said they were done and to meet back in the main room at a specific time.
At said time, all 75 of us were back in the room waiting for the results. Only about 15 people made it through to the next step of HR interviews. All in all, this part of the interviews took just over 4 hours.
The good news was you found out right then and there if you were going to training or not.
Interview Question – Questions were not difficult. Answer Question
No Offer – Reviewed Apr 24, 2013
Interview Details Applied online, got a call a few days later from their recruiting coordinator and she scheduled a phone interview for me with a senior recruiter. After the phone interview I was asked to complete a 'charter test' and was told to expect to received an email the next day with the test instructions. The test asks you to essentially to write a mock-charter document for a fake project. They provide information about the project and give you a 5 template to fill out. I was given an hour to fill out the charter template, and once I finished I sent it back via email. This is as far as I've gone in the interview process so far, I sent a follow up email but haven't heard back yet about next steps.
Interview Question – Have you used any tobacco products within the last 6 months? View Answer
No Offer – Interviewed in Seattle, WA (US) Mar 2013 – Reviewed Mar 11, 2013
Interview Details
I applied for the flight attendant position online and received an email about 1-2 weeks later with a few questions. They were just basic screening questions like:
- Why do you want to be a flight attendant with Alaska Airlines?
- If hired, would you be able to relocate to any of their bases?
- Can you attend a hiring event on ___ date?
- Phone number and best time to call for a phone interview?
The next day I received a call for my phone interview and the gal interviewing me asked a few screening questions again:
- Do you have total flexibility to relocate?
- You have to pass a criminal background check and drug test, will there be any problems for you?
Then she asked where I had worked over the past two years and why I had left, had I ever been fired from a job in the past, etc.
Next she asked a few actual interview questions:
- So why do you want to work for Alaska Airlines as a flight attendant?
- Give me an example of a time when you provided extraordinary customer service.
After my answers, she asked if there was anything else I would like them to know and then said they would be in touch if they "still had room at the hiring event."
Interview Questions
No Offer – Interviewed in San Diego, CA (US) Jan 2013 – Reviewed Feb 15, 2013
Interview Details
I applied online back in November. Few weeks later a received a phone call from one of the representative to schedule a phone interview. So i picked a day and time later of the week and the person called me at the exact time. The phone interview was easy. she asked if u're still interested in the position and basically just talked about your past job experiences. then i was given dates and locations of their open sessions to attend. I went to the one in san diego. it is very important to be on time. there were about 75 people in the room. they started right on time with a video to introduce the company, the goods and bads about being a flight attendant. then they divided us into several groups into different rooms. before that we each had to remove our shoes and pass a reach test at the door.
at the group interview, we sat in the name order and were paired up in two. we had few minutes to talk to our partners and then we had to each stand up to introduce your partner. then we were given cards and again, we paired up in two. it was a scenario question. we had to discuss with our partner and both answer the question.
after that we were told to leave the room and wait outside for half hour or so. at the end we all went bk in the room and recruiter read out the names on people who will move forward to the one to one interview. most of the people were cut at this point.
Interview Question – tell me something about yourself that is not on your resume Answer Question
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