Jo Selwyn, international travel consultant, Flight Centre, Goodge Street, London
Age: 25
Education: 10 O’ levels, 3 A’ levels and a BA Hons in Spanish and Portuguese.
First Travel Job: customer services officer for the London Tourist Board.
Training: two week intensive training course at Flight Centre’s head office in Wimbledon where she was taught how to use the computer reservations systems and instructed about company policy and how to deal with customers. Recently, Flight Centre appointed a new training manager who is responsible for training staff to become trainers themselves to teach new recruits.
Career Path: after leaving University, Jo joined the London Tourist Board. She worked in the head office for five months selling accommodation to overseas visitors and then for seven months she was based in its information centre at Victoria station, selling London attractions, bus tickets and hotels. Then she went travelling for two years to Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the Americas. Jo had come across Flight Centre during her time in Australia and applied a few weeks after her return. Her responsibilities are to deal with customers day to day, over the telephone and face to face.
Advice for people wishing to develop a career in travel: “Just be enthusiastic about travel and be confident to sell. It helps if you have travelled yourself because you know the places. Knowing a language helps but it’s not essential. Basically, you just need to be able to keep your cool under pressure and be able to deal with 100 things at once.”