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Hi, I'm the applicant XXX. My forte(strong point) is my strength and stamina, which I built and developed through my past experiences as a cheerleader and a track-and-field athlete. Thanks to my stamina, I could regularly donate my blood. I have donated my blood more than 10 times but I never felt tired or lethargic even during the day I donated my blood. My amazing physical energy will help myself accustom to frequent attendance of long-range air route flights.

Hi, I'm trying to say these sentences in the inteveiw a few days later, and before that, I want to improve these sentences(especially the sentence in bold) so that I can practice them. I need your advice.

  1. Which one would it be better to use between forte and strong point?

  2. Would it be better to write just stamina instead of writing both strength and stamina?

    • Does 'which I built and developed through my past experiences' sound natural?

    • Does 'built and developed' sound redundant?

  4. I'm not sure how to rephrase "frequent attendance of long-range air-route flights". It is quite long and I want to shorten it. Is it okay to write"long-range flights" in stead of "long-range air-route flights"?

  5. Feel free to give any additional advice. It would be really helpful to me.

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    You might want to split these questions into three separate posts -- one for questions 1 and 2, one for questions 3a and 3b, and one for question 4.
    – Jasper
    Commented Oct 26, 2015 at 5:39
  • +1 for organizing question so well. I see no problem responding to all at once, as they are all in the same context.
    – Brian Hitchcock
    Commented Oct 26, 2015 at 7:14

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1) say "one of my strong points". (you do have others). Avoid using "forte", because either the interviewer won't know it, and will see you as talking too fancy, or she will know the word, but will "know" it's pronounced for-tay, so when you pronounce it fort, she'll think you got it wrong (or vice versa!)

"Forte" is from French; the E was originally silent. But in America, it got confused with the related Italian word, used in musical notation, spelled exactly the same way, but with the E pronounced!

https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/forte#/search

2) I think it's OK to use both, as both strength and stamina are required as a flight attendant.

3) To keep it short, say "[my experience] in Cheerleading and Track".

Don't bother to call it "Track and Field". Track is enough.(AmE)

3-2) Yes, "built and developed" is redundant. Use "developed" (you already had some strength and stamina; now you have more).

4) Say "...[my strength and energy] will help me to (easily) adapt to working frequent long-distance flights" [and "varying schedules"—which they will ask you to do!].

Your strength might also help you save lives, in an emergency ! (But don't say your energy is "amazing"—that's bragging!) https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/brag

5) a) Don't talk about donating blood; it might gross out the interviewer.

http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/gross+out

You can make your point about strength and stamina without mentioning blood. If you want to convey that your heart and lungs are strong and resilient, describe your athletic experience as a form of "aerobics" and/or "cardio" exercise, which made you "fit and healthy" and "ready for any physical challenges the job might present", or some such phrasing.

b) They may be less interested in your physical stamina than in your attitude and "people skills" (communication and cooperation), so emphasize these as well. Fortunately, you can honestly say that you developed both these skills as well, in Track and Cheerleading.

b-1) As a cheerleader, you had to maintain (and show) a positive, cheerful attitude as well as learning teamwork.

b-2) You probably spent time traveling in buses with your cheerleading squad and Track team, so you learned "how to get along with teammates" [for extended periods] "in tight quarters", (which is quite important for flight attendants.)

I know this advice goes far beyond grammar; but I hope it helps, and I wish you the best of luck and confidence at your interview. You'll do great—Happy flying!

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    Actually forte is not only French, but also Italian. The French forte is pronounced "Fort", (with the e silent), and means 'strength'. The Italian forte is pronounced "FOR-tay", and means 'loud'. It is a musical term. Like you point out, it is technically pronounced "fort" in this context, (because you mean strength, not noise), but many (if not most) people will pronounce it "FOR-tay". (I would argue that FOR-tay is a valid pronunciation as well, as you could connect "loud" with good, strong, etc., but that's just my opinion.)
    – Cullub
    Commented Oct 28, 2015 at 0:29
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    Indeed, all true. That is basically what the Wiktionary page I linked to says as well. But not all people favor the same pronunciation (you notice I didn't say which one I favor), which is why I advised OP to avoid it.
    – Brian Hitchcock
    Commented Oct 30, 2015 at 6:51

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