KAREN BUTLER

43 | FINDS WORK AN UPLIFTING EXPERIENCE

It's fun and it fits my personalty. I had been in the travel field doing travel arrangements for missionaries. I did all their travel arrangements and obtained their visas for 40 different countries. It was just time for something different.

Describe the interview process.

The first one was a group interview, and then they watch you in role playing. They put you in groups, and they give you a scenario to work out. They watch you team play and interact with each other.

Who's best suited for this work?

You have to have flexibility and be punctual. Being a good team player is important because you're working with other people. You need to be able to get along, especially in a crisis situation. Their theme is positive outrageous service and friendliness. They follow the golden rule, do unto others as you'd have them do unto you.

How were you trained?

For me it was four and a half weeks of training. You have daily exams and you have to get 90 percent or above. You can take two retakes; that was it. There were drills, firefighting, CPR. We also go through annual recurrent training where we have to again get a 90 percent or above and pass all proficiencies.

When did you first sing on the job?

I was about six months into it. We were going to sing, myself and another (co-worker). The microphone died after we sang. So that was the end of my singing career. I don't sing anymore.

How important is it to have a sense of humor?

Huge. People, if they see that we're happy, it's contagious.

What are some of your most memorable experiences on the job?

One gal I remember came alone, and she was kind of nervous, and I got a chance to sit down and talk with her. She was meeting her sister for the first time because she had been put in foster care when she was younger. She'd just turned 16 where she could meet her sister for the first time. She shared her experience growing up in a group home, and I was able to share my own personal experience and then I got to bring her to meet her family.

What are some of the challenges?

Commuters having to commute in. That's the biggest because you can't be a minute late. You can't even be a second late, or it's a no-show, you might as well just go back home.

Tell me about your first day.

It was 9/11. I was driving on I-55 listening to the radio and heard it going down, but just didn't realize really just what was going down. We got to our base orientation. They said you need to call your families. I remember going to a friend of mine in tears, but I wasn't going to quit.

Every Wednesday, the Sun-Times Business Section features a mystery occupation. See if you can guess the job before the end of the interview.

Karen Butler is a flight attendant with Southwest Airlines.