Priscilla Cassar, from Sliema joined Emirates, the Dubai-based international airline, as a cabin crew member six years ago. Having seen much of the world, she is taking on a new challenge as an Emirates cabin crew recruitment officer.

"I really wanted a career where I could travel. Malta is quite a small country and when I joined Emirates in 2001, it was an expensive place to travel from. With experience in both the hospitality sector and at Malta airport, I thought a career with Emirates' cabin crew was the perfect answer and a way to earn a good salary," Ms Cassar, 29, tells The Times.

After five weeks of intensive training at state-of-the art facilities in Dubai, which covers everything from familiarisation with the Emirates culture and impeccable standards of service right through to dealing with a medical emergency, Ms Cassar reported for duty as crew member.

"My first layover was to Johannesburg. I was apprehensive, but the other crew were very supportive and helped me through my initial stages... I made friends with one of the Australian crew members and we are still friends today, six years on.

That's one of the great things about working for Emirates, so many different nationalities and cultures... you learn so much. It really broadens your horizons. It's also been the perfect preparation to make the switch into recruiting," she says.

Emirates will tomorrow hold the third recruitment Open Day in Malta this year.

Ms Cassar defines such an activity as an introduction to Emirates and life in Dubai.

The recruitment officer speaks to candidates about their background and experience and answer any questions they may have. The candidates will be asked for a CV and receive information about the package available to cabin crew (more details about this, including the tax free salary on offer, concessionary travel and high quality furnished accommodation is available on the website www.ekgroupcareers.com). Promising candidates will be asked to submit for further assessments and eventually a final interview.

"The recruitment process," Ms Cassar explains, "is designed to assess who is likely to be most suitable for a career onboard Emirates. Cabin crew must be able to speak English fluently. We also look for people who have pleasant personalities. Emirates has both a multi-cultural team and clientele, so cultural awareness and sensitivity are important traits. But the best way to find about the recruitment process, if one feels one is suitable, is to attend one of our recruitment days and see for oneself."

In addition to the above, the airline looks for those with customer-service orientation, maturity, initiative and a well-developed sense of responsibility. As the job can be very demanding, other requisites are resilience and a commitment to continually perform well.

"I know the traits to look out for and the personalities that will really work in the aircraft environment. It's very satisfying to see someone you have recruited up and running as a new cabin crew member.

"This happened a few days ago with a girl I had been involved in recruiting during an open day. She had just completed her training in Dubai and was returning from her first flight. It's great to see people appreciate the opportunity. Provided you are prepared to put in the effort, there are a lot of opportunities to undergo further training and develop your career within the company," Ms Cassar explains.

She is evidently impressed with what she describes as "one of the most exciting cities in the world today. All around us, records are being broken with massive projects like the Burj Dubai (the tallest building in the world). It's a place where you can ski in the morning, go to the beach in the afternoon and visit top shopping malls in the evening. And this is just when you're on the ground! You can imagine how many destinations you get to see with one of the world's fastest growing airlines. We fly to 97 destinations at the moment in 61 countries - but that won't last for long. We'll be flying somewhere else before you know it!"

The amount of time crew members spend at a destination of course depends on the destination. Routes like Doha, Bahrain and Muscat are quick turnarounds but in the case of longer routes, such as Sydney, Bangkok and Jakarta, crew members can stop for a few days. In the Seychelles, for example, a crew member can remain for five days. "My favourite place would have to be Bangkok: There are so many clothes and souvenirs to buy and it's a fabulous place to do Christmas shopping," Ms Cassar admits.

What would be the salient differences between living in Malta and living in Dubai?

"Malta and Dubai are two very different places and, of course, each place has its different attractions. But it's the fact that they are so different that has made my life so interesting. On a more practical level, one difference that springs to mind is that, in Malta, if you want to go out in the evening during the winter you can only go out at the weekend. In Dubai, you can go out any night of the week, all year round.

"Dubai is a city that never stops and is such a good base to see the world. Even though I'm not cabin crew any more, in my new role I still travel to places that I've not been to before. In just seven months of being a recruitment officer, I've visited Romania, Hungary, Uzbekistan, Bahrain, Korea and Toronto."

The Open Day will be held at the InterContinental Hotel, St George's Bay, St Julians, tomorrow starting at 9 a.m. Short-listed candidates will be invited to attend further interviews, which will be held between Sunday and Tuesday.

Candidates must be aged 21 and over and should present their curriculum vitae, together with a full length and passport- size photographs in business attire.