In February, Flight Centre was thrilled to welcome its very first novice recruit in almost a year. Tara Nguyen became the brand’s first post-COVID recruit and her first day as a Flight Centre consultant was 16 February 2021.
With the global pandemic halting recruitment activity and a significant number of Flight Centre’s people previously on stand down, there hadn’t been a need to fill any new roles with external candidates this past year. However, with travel on the rise, the usually busy Palmerston store in the NT needed to hire a new consultant. We asked Team Leader, Lisa Eisermann-Bhatia what advice she had for job seekers who want to work in travel right now.
“Finding the right people with the right, can-do attitude is always crucial - not everyone has that."
“This is a career, not a job so we look for people who want to be in it for the long haul. It is an amazing industry to be a part of, but you need to be resilient...especially during the pandemic,” she offers.
We were excited to learn more about our newest recruit, Tara Nguyen, so we sat down to ask her a few questions.
Would you mind telling us a little bit about yourself/your background?
I was born and raised in Darwin. I have always loved sales and business as it allowed me to meet so many people from different walks of life.
What made you want to work in the travel industry?
What attracted me to the travel industry was having a love for travelling myself. Visiting different countries makes you realise how diverse the world truly is.
What made you consider applying for a travel consultant role, given the current climate?
I wanted to develop my sales and customer service skills, and I read that Flight Centre was a great ladder-climbing business.
Was there anything that surprised you when you first started working?
It surprised me how many components travel consultants go through to make an entire holiday booking, versus what I go through without an agency.
What are you looking forward to most when things return to normal?
Looking forward to being able to book international holidays for families and hearing all about it when they return.
Can you tell us a little bit about your own travel experiences? And if you haven’t travelled much, what’s on your bucket list?
I’ve always travelled around Australia and South East Asia, however, when safe to do so, I’m really hoping to do more island hopping and cruises.
You managed to secure a permanent role during a pandemic - you must be pretty happy with that! What advice would you give to job seekers who want to get into the travel industry?
Allow your true personality to show. Don’t doubt yourself.
What appeals to you most about the culture at Flight Centre? Or, what do you love best about working at Flight Centre?
I love the team! They go above and beyond to support you. Everyone is treated equally and you get regular check-ins, not only from people in your state but other states too.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding travel and borders, TL Lisa is looking forward to the travel boom from Darwin locals and if her predictions ring true, the team will be busy and Tara will get to fulfil her wish of booking overseas travel for her customers.
“I think as soon as the international borders will open again, we will see an absolute boom, unlike any we’ve seen in years! I think Bali will be our number one destination out of Darwin,” Lisa says.
FCTG couldn’t be happier to welcome Tara to the family; she has been an amazing addition to her team and is already kicking monumental career goals. Her first full month at Flight Centre she was the number two consultant in the country in terms of booking numbers. We can’t wait to see Tara continue to flourish and achieve even greater success in the future.
