Student Stories: How Serena Graduated & Landed a Job with Flight Centre on the Same Day

Imagine nailing your final assessments, graduating from your course and being offered a job in the same day! This was the reality for recent Flight Centre Travel Academy graduate Serena Brillanti.

We caught up with Serena to hear about the whirlwind journey that landed her a job with Flight Centre. 

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"After returning home from an overseas trip, I knew straight away I wanted to work in travel. My first step was searching the Flight Centre website, where I discovered the Flight Centre Travel Academy.

As I was changing careers, I felt studying travel at the Academy was the best way to learn about the industry and get a foot in the door. That easy, right? Well, it kind of was!

The travel courses on offer at the Academy are so flexible. I could complete the course and still work full time, which was really important to me.

I arrived at Flight Centre Travel Academy excited for what was ahead and how much there was to learn about jobs in the travel industry.

Over the next two weeks, I was exposed to so much new information, discovered what my strengths and weaknesses were, and figured out what tourism jobs were going to be the best fit for me – which, I might add, was different from what I initially thought I wanted to do coming into the course!

The classes were so enjoyable, but also a challenge. It was an incredibly social environment with lots of engagement and participation. Hearing others’ stories and experiences all added to my learning.

My trainer's encouragement and feedback along the way combined with the practical work were so beneficial.

It really boosted my confidence and gave me great insight into how I perform under pressure.

My advice to other students (in addition to completing your online work before coming to class!) is to have patience with yourself and try not to compare yourself too much to others. This is your journey!

So here I was thinking (and hoping) Flight Centre is perfect for me – the only thing standing in my way was the final class assessment. I arrived on the last day feeling pretty nervous – this was my career on the line after all – but the morning was a breeze!

I whizzed through all my systems and destination assessments and nailed my sales roleplay with a Flight Centre recruiter.

That afternoon we received our final feedback and toasted our last day together with a glass of bubbles. 

I was definitely not prepared for what happened next. That afternoon, I was offered a job at Flight Centre, met my new Area Leader, signed a contract and was booked in for induction to start work in two days!

My advice to anyone wanting to work in the travel industry is to get in touch with the Flight Centre Travel Academy.

They really opened my eyes to what’s possible. The program gave me the opportunity to be recruited by Flight Centre based on how well I performed over 10 days – that's so much more realistic than what a recruiter can learn about me in a short interview!

It's now two weeks into my induction at Flight Centre and I feel like I’ve had a huge advantage over other potential recruits thanks to the Travel Academy's training and experience.

And so, as I continue to chase my travel dreams, I wish you luck with yours too!"