The job was posted on the Emirates Group careers site for months and the closing date keep moving. That in itself should've been an indication on what's to come. My application was made online in what was a simple but laborious process. After months of waiting and giving up,I received an email from one of the coordinators at HR informing me that i was shortlisted for the position and I was asked to make myself available for a phone interview (screening process) with the VP of the function and HR Specialist, a few days later. Emirates expects you to drop everything you're doing for this phone screening. regardless of the fact that some of us had locked in meetings/appointments etc with/for their current employers. Once you've consented to the Skype Interview/screening call, a JD or what masquerades as one is sent to you. The JD consists of vague roles and responsibilities with a detailed breakdown of the non-negotiable salary package. It's a case of take it or leave it, with Emirates. If you accept the terms and package being offered and have managed to reschedule your meetings/appointments, you will have your first interaction with your superior and HR person via a Skype call. The presence of the HR Person here, is unnecessary and serves no purpose other than fulfilling whatever criteria that's been specified for its hiring process. The Skype call, which took all of 30minutes or less, was pretty much simple and straight forward, with the usual questions - Tell us about yourself, What do you do for (insert name of current employer), Why you'd want to join Emirates etc. Pretty run of the mill stuff and you could tell the interviewers were just following the systems and processes that they were told to strictly adhere to. At the end of the Skype call and should you be successful, you will be told to expect a trip to Dubai for an assessment centre within 7 days. This being Emirates, 7 days became 14days and just 3 days before the assessment centre, I was notified by an email that I have been shortlisted for the assessment center and will be required to fly to Dubai, courtesy of Emirates for a series of interviews, activities and role-plays as part of the process. The email from Emirates, sparked another round of running helter skelter trying to move meetings/appointments to accommodate this request. Don't bother sending HR any questions during this time. They will only reply if/when it suits them and go missing again. The assessment centre is another process driven initiative by Emirates. It doesn't evaluate a persons competency of the role he/she is interviewing for, but rather his/her ability to talk. If you're the sort of prefers to let his/her work do the talking, you're definitely one of the favorites to be eliminated. Those who talk big, make empty promises or upsell themselves without any substance to back these claims are a shoo-in. If you manage to up sell yourself and talk your way into Day 2 of the selection process, be prepared for a face to face meeting with the psychologist who expects you to tell him answers he'd want to hear, not what you think is the right answer. I have learnt from the entire experience, Emirates prefers not to hire those with an opinion or who might not agree to its current practices. Opinions and suggestions mean nought in this company. Expect to be a yes man/woman to carry out tasks as what was decided by your superiors. Remember, you have no opinion. You're an order taker and are expected to do as told. Finally, after meeting the psychologists and telling the interviewers what they would like to here, you will be offered a job at the airline. From my own personal experience, the interviews are a merely formality and to comply HR procedures so they can give you the spiel about Emirates being an equal employer and how it hires only the brightest and best. That to me is pure hogwash. They would've decided who they want to hire even before you could set foot in the assessment centre. Do yourself a favor and don't waste your time if you have something better to do or more important meetings to attend.

Phone interview with a 2-day assessment and interviews when successful. 6 candidates - preparation of a PR case, group discussion, and presentation of the case in front of HR and hiring manager. Successful candidates (3) invited for the next day: psychological testing, verbal and abstract testing, interview with psychologist and then HR and hiring manager.