1. What exactly do you do?
- What field is your job in?
Travel/Tourism - What is your job title?
Travel Coordinator - Please provide a brief description of the firm or organization that you currently work for (size and general description of what type of organization it is)
Over 5,000 employees. I work for an online travel booking service and am in the sales department taking calls from customers who wish to book any aspects of their travel needs.
- How long have you been employed in this position?
I\'ve been with this company for just under a year but have been a travel agent for 18 years. - How many hours do you work a week on average?
40+ - Please provide a BRIEF description of your duties and responsibilities. (job description)
40+ - Please provide a BRIEF description of your duties and responsibilities. (job description)
I book air, cars, hotels any or all. I also book excursions at select destinations along with show tickets and/or sporting event tickets.
- What was your gross income last year? Please include any bonuses or incentives received.
37000 - What is your expected gross income for this year? Please include any bonuses or incentives you expect to receive.
37000 - Please list any benefits you have (Please include number of weeks vacation, sick leave and type of health insurance, retirement plan 401k)
401K, health, dental and vision insurance, life insurance. I earn 4 hours of personal time every 2 weeks to use for vacation or sick time and also have up to 6 weeks of Family/Sick leave. I also gets substanial discounts on all of the services I sell. - Do you feel you are under/well/over compensated at your current position?
I feel pretty well compensated but of course always would like to make more.
2. Work environment!
- Does your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this something you like/dislike about your job? Explain
I work from home at scheduled hours Monday through Friday from 10am to 630pm with scheduled breaks and lunch time. My company provided me with my computer and all the hardware and software I needed. I just needed to have a landline without callwaiting and fast speed internet and a dedicated home office or quiet workspace. I like this for the purpose of being at home but I sometimes do miss face to face communication. We do have chat with all of the employees so we are always in the loop of what's going on with the company.
- Do you work collaboratively with supervisors/managers?
Yes - Do you work collaboratively with your co-workers?
- Describe your work location (e.g., office, home, theatre, in the field) and what you like/dislike about working in it
I work from home office. I like the freedom but sometimes miss social interaction.
- Please rank in order of importance from 1-8 (1- most important 8- least important) Assign each number once.
- 2 Income
- 7 Work Environment - co-workers
- 6 Work Environment - supervisors
- 4 Benefits
- 3 Hours
- 5 Level of responsibility
- 1 The actual "work" you do at your job
- 8 Job Title
3. How should someone new to the workforce get a J-O-B like yours?
- If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
At the very least get some travel classes at a community college so you know geography and learn major tourist destinations and airport codes. Most companies will train you the way they want you to book their services.
- What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours? Please be specific and explain why (e.g., social skills, organization skills, technical skills)
Social skills, sales skills, computer literacy, geography, familiarity with different hotel, airline and car companies, familiarity with geography and major tourism destinations. You also need to familiarize yourself with what documentations and medical requirements to might need for travel to International locations.
- Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
Yes, if not education then experience in the field. If you don't at least know geography you get lost fast. - What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
Take advice from your co-workers and supervisors. It always helps. And just start slow to get your grounds and then you will speed up naturally. And a big hint always put yourself in the customers shoes and be courteous.
4. How did you get your J-O-B
- How did you find your current job? (e.g. newspaper, internet, referral, etc.)
I searched online for a host agency that fit right with what I was looking for. I applied, had a phone interview, was offered the job and took it. - What was the application process for your job? (e.g. submitted resume, paper application, electronic application, all, etc.)
I applied to an online application and submitted my resume along with it. I then had a telephone interview was offered the job and took it. After I accepted I had to submit identification information like driver's license, social security number and banking information for tax and direct deposit reasons. - Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail? (e.g., number of interviews, who you interviewed with, group interview, individual interview, etc.)
I had a telephone interview with the training supervisor and then she submitted to hiring department for approval. - If you can remember, what questions were you asked at your interview?
I was asked scenario questions as if I was the agent and they were the client. Also what my experience was and what duties I had performed at my previous employment. I was also asked what hours I would be available and if I had a dedicated home office or quiet workspace away from the main areas of my home. they asked if I had high speed internet or could get and if I had a landline telephone or could get one. They also asked what I would exspect to get paid. - Is this the job / field you planned to work in?
Yes - If your job is in a different field from your original plan how did you get here? Explain (Plan can be from high school/college/post college/personal plan)
This is notg applicable to me as this was the field I've worked in for 18 years and what I always planned on.
5. Background: Are you qualified?
- Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
Yes, even though I had years of experience in the travel field I still went through six weeks of full-time training to learn their website inside and out, their policies on phone sales and the booking path of the website. We also worked on sales skills, customer service and closing sales. - Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain
Absolutely, they gave me all the skills I needed to sell on their website and more. They also gave me new techniques to use to help in getting and closing the sale. - Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain
Yes, I have an Associates Degree in Business with an emphasis on travel and tourism. - If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare you for your job?
6. The Future and Beyond (FINAL SECTION)
- If someone were to observe you at work, what would he or she say is "fun" about your job?
Booking people's vacations that are exciting and sometimes exotic. - What is (are) the most fulfilling aspect(s) and least fulfilling aspect(s) of your current employment? (e.g. fiscal, spiritual, type of work, hours, commute, compensation, etc.)
Most fulfilling is having the confidence that I've booked someone's vacation that I know they are going to love and when they return calling to thank me. They then return to me for future bookings and refer me to their friends and family. The least fulfilling is when someone's trip has a glitch that ruins their vacation and they have a bad experience or when something bad happens to a customer where they have to cancel their trip. - Is your current employment part of your career plan? Why or why not?
Yes, for now anyway. I'm always looking to make more money and advance my career. - What are your current career goals? (Can be broad or specific)
To make more money and to keep making people happy with their vacations. - Is there anything else you would like to share about your career?
I just want to say, for me anyway, this industry has been very rewarding. It's what I always wanted to do and has allowed me to travel to so many places I would otherwise not have been able to afford.
7. A Day in the Life Of...
- 7 am - 8 am
N/A - 8 am - 9 am
N/A - 9 am - 10 am
N/A - 10 am - 11 am
At 10am I clocked into work to start my day and prepare my workspace to accept phones call. This is generally the busiest time of day so I usually catch up on emails or make callbacks to customers from previous days that I have not closed the sale with yet and made appointments to callback. - 11 am - 12 am
This time is usually about the same as 10am to 11am. - 12 am - 1 pm
- 1 pm - 2 pm
Today between this time I booked a couple hotels for customers and then a whole flight and hotel package to Puerto Vallarta from Phoenix, Arizona. - 2 pm - 3 pm
At 2pm I took my 1/2 hour lunch and when I came back phone was very busy with people just shopping for prices. - 3 pm - 4 pm
At 10am I clocked into work to start my day and prepare my workspace to accept phones call. This is generally the busiest time of day so I usually catch up on emails or make callbacks to customers from previous days that I have not closed the sale with yet and made appointments to callback. - 4 pm - 5 pm
Between this time today I didn't have any sales and the calls had slowed down so I went into my email to catch up on company busines and website and travel updates. - 5 pm - 6 pm
At 5pm I took a 15 miute break and when I came back I booked a family of 7 2 rooms plus airfare to Aruba from Salt Lake City, Utah. - 6 pm - 7 pm
Finally at 630pm it had slowed down quite a bit and I clocked out for the day. - 7 pm - 8 pm
N/A - 8 pm - 9 pm
N/A - 9 pm - 10 pm
N/A - 10 pm - 11 pm
N/A - 11 pm - 12 pm
N/A