This was a while ago but this is as much as I can remember. I applied NY base Aug 2013, got a call Apr 2014 asking if I was still interested to interview in May. Just like that, no pre screening or anything, seemed to me they just called everyone who submitted a resume......
Got there very early, chatted with a few candidates, interview was late because they were not done w the previous group. You could clearly see they did not even filter the candidates before that first interview, which I thought was unprofessional because they are wasting people's time.
They did a presentation about the company and the job, after that some people were brought to another room for the group interview, the rest stays in the room to conduct reach test and language assessment. The language test was very sketchy because you are just in a corner and they ask you to read from the paper, then ask you a question in the language and that was it.
Group interview question I remember was one of those question posted on here before but I cannot recall which one. After that they tell you that if you do not hear anything for 2 weeks you are considered unsuccessful.
Here is my second experience with them Hong Kong base.
Applied late Aug 2014 email mid Sep to join recruitment day late Sep.
Arrived at Cathay City (Hong Kong) very early, apparently they schedule people with different time slot but if you get there early they squeeze you in for the talk anyway. You give them application, resume, passport photo and HK ID, then proceed into the hall, meanwhile they do the reach test as you walk down to sit. They do the talk, now they bring you upstairs.
First group interview was pretty good but definitely unpredictable. You get these cards on your table and you have to discuss amongst the group and rank the cards, I got Olympic Games and you have to rank which game to be eliminated first and explain yourself. I just did my best, talked and maintained eye contact, I passed.
Second group process was long. You have a debate then you have a role playing. This is the time where you get very comfortable with the other candidates, which should be a good thing but it's not. And I will explain why.
If you are selected in the interview, then you go have lunch, and return for English assessment and will be given a final interview date which will be one on one.
Cathay Pacific do not like people who are confident. They like people who can be easily trained, easily manipulated so to say. If you really want the job and are a very confident person, you need to act like you are very scared the whole time and not confident. I am so serious about this because when I got sent home after the second group interview, some other candidates and I left together and we were evaluating the people who got to stay, non of them appeared to be a confident person at all, they are all the submissive ones. So do not show personality, then you will do fine. Also I read somewhere that if you English is awesome you will get selected, that is complete bull. All the ones who have studied aboard or live in a western country were eliminated (because of the confidence issue).
Do not be upset if you fail because like I said in the beginning, they don't have a pre screening process like other companies, you just go to the first interview without any personality test or video, phone interview. So you can imagine they have so many reasons to reject people in the first interview. Personally I think it's a horrible experience, complete waste of my time and money, I will probably never apply them again.
Good luck!