This article will clear your doubts regarding Airport jobs and will give the answer to your question ‘How to get a job at the airport?.
Talking about building your career can be super exciting when you know what career path to tread, you are passionate about it, and you are committed to making it work irrespective of the odds that may be associated with it; then there is a great certainty of achieving success.
Some people are eager to know how they can get a job at the airport. Getting a job in an airport is almost the same way of getting a job in other industries, although with little variations. To some, it seems almost impossible for them to get a job at the airport, this could be from their past experiences in applying for airline jobs or their encounter with those who did not succeed in their interview after overcoming or scaling through a series of processes they may have been put through.
Just as an airport is enormous and well structured, that is also how the airport requires a large number of personnel to run and manage those structures and systems that have been put in place for the efficiency of the airport. I will be sharing with you about different airline job roles, the required qualifications for them, how to prepare for these airline job interviews, and how to get your desired airline job. One thing is certain and that is the fact that you will eventually get your dream job at the airport once you follow these steps I will show you in this article.
Types of Airport jobs and their roles and responsibilities
One thing that crosses people’s minds each time they think of working at the airport for ladies is the role of the flight attendant or ticketing staff, while for the males, their thought runs straight to the pilot. This is good but that is not all that there is to work at the airport, if it were so, then most airlines would not be in business up until today.
There are a hundred and more job roles at the airport. Hold on a moment and cast your mind back to your last visit to the airport, what was it like? How many staff did you come in contact with before you gained access to the airplane? Now that is just on one end, how about those other staff whose job specifications do not involve any contact with travelers? So you see, there are lots of job roles at the airport and you will land one soon.
1. Flight Attendant
Flight attendants are those who have direct contact with travelers. They are responsible for onboarding the flight before it takes off. Flight attendants are mostly females, they are expected to display a level of physical agility and strength to aid travelers with their luggage as well show them to specific places in the plane. They are sometimes found kneeling, stooping, reaching out, helping passengers with their seat belts, push, pull or lift heavy objects.
They are also responsible for serving meals; food, snacks, or beverages on the plane, and should any traveler request for the purchase of liquor or food, they are responsible for indulging them in a highly professional and hospitable manner.
Qualifications: high school diploma or its equivalent is required.
b. Must not be below the minimum age range
c. Must be experienced in hospitality, food service, safety position, health care, aviation, or customer service.
Salary range: $33,500 per year (on the average)
2. Aircraft Fuellers
These are those in charge of fuelling the airplane safely and efficiently. They are responsible for accounting for the amount of fuel per airplane. They are also responsible for refueling the aircraft and other duties as directed by their supervisor.
Qualifications: must not be below 18years of age
b. Must be agile with a displayable ability to lift heavy barrels of fuel.
c. Must be able to perform some basic math equations and calculations.
d. Must be able to read and write and speak English fluently.
Salary: $14.85 per hour (on average)
3. Airport Cargo Agent
Cargo agents are responsible for loading and offloading or unloading aircraft cargo. They also engage in sorting those cargoes. They are majorly those individuals that are in charge of scanning those product loads that are meant for shipments.
Qualifications: Good communication skills
b. High School diploma or its equivalent
c. Must possess basic arithmetic skills.
Salary range: $35,400
4. Airline Customer Service Agent
These are those individuals who are responsible for assisting passengers or travelers. They assist with inquiries, queries, passengers check-in, etc. They are responsible for directing passengers to the appropriate desk for their complaints. They are expected to be as hospitable and empathetic with travelers as possible.
Qualifications: Must have a degree in customer relations or its equivalent
b. Must have a proven experience in aviation, sales, and hospitality.
c. Must be fluent in speaking, writing, and reading English
Salary range: $26,600 per year (the average)
5. Cabin Cleaner
They are responsible for the entire cleanliness of the aircraft. They lock out dirt and hitters from the floor, dispose of the trash basket, return magazines, fold the blankets and change sheets. Wipe or dust off the chairs, chair pockets, etc. Ensure adequate supplies of lavatories, amenity kits, and other supplies as contained in different other compartments in the aircraft.
Qualifications: High School Diploma or its equivalent.
b. Ability to read, write and communicate fluently in English
Salary range: $23,100 per year (the average)
How to get a job at the Airport?
Seeking a way to get a job at the airport is still the same way of seeking a place to purchase durable goods. You have to be intentional about what you want and ready to go all out to get it. One mistake people make is to desire a thing but they exert little or not enough energy to see their desires come through. Your effort must be commensurate with your desires if not more.
There are several recommended steps that you can follow in other for you to get a job at the airport, these steps to take are:
1. Settle within yourself that you want to build your career in the aviation industry
It is one thing to know that you would like to work at the airport, it is another thing to be ready to give yourself to pursuing that dream. Ask yourself questions; why do I want to work at the airport? Is it because of the income or salary or the perks involved in it? Always try to find out within yourself why you want this. This will help you know how to set out to get the job. It will help you identify how far you are willing to go to get the job.
2. Identify the job you want and list out the alternatives you are willing to do
Take a tour on the internet, find out different job roles at the airport, and make a list of the airport jobs you would like to do. Also make another list of the alternative jobs that are quite as good as your desired airport job so that if you do not succeed with the main job, you can apply for the alternative job.
You will also agree with me that there have been times that you may have applied for a job and on getting to the interview you were interviewed for a different position and the hiring team made you see reasons why you are more qualified for the new position than the previous. Just know what you want and what you can settle for if what you want is not available.
3. Get the required skills and qualifications
This is yet another important step to take in your quest to get a job at the airport. Having known the job type that you want and the alternative, the next step to take is to identify the required skills and qualifications needed for your selection. Are they skills that you need to get? What duration will it take you to acquire those skills? What aviation school offers such training and what will it cost you? These are questions you have to ask.
Also, you would have observed in some job listings that some jobs have a certain requirement that is not compulsory but is an added advantage for individuals that have them, right? Ensure that you make plans to acquire such skills. It could be an additional foreign language or something exclusive, see to it that that skill is added to the skills that you will acquire too, it will help you stand out from the rest of those who have the same qualifications as you. Make your findings and they have to be detailed enough so you will be well informed before taking the next step.
4. Get a professional resume
This is a very important step to take, most people fail in this area. Do not assume that you know it all, one thing that may have been keeping you away from getting your dream job may just be your resume. Most recruiters do not get to see or hear you speak until you have scaled through several recruitment stages.
In other words, your resume is your voice, they judge you or rather, their perspective of who you are and how you think is picked from what they see in your resume. So, you may be well skilled and experienced for the job but your resume may be passing the wrong judgment about you. Do consult professionals to help you look at your resume before you send it across to the recruiter. Consulting a professional will help you spot out errors that your mind may not have been able to spot out.
5. Network with those who are already in the aviation industry
This is yet another vital step to take. Learn to reach out to those who are already on your career path. Search for them on social media platforms, leverage on technology. The internet has become a global village making it possible for us to reach out to people from different walks of life from the comfort of our homes.
Go out, meet new people, find out who knows who, engage them with questions, do not give up no matter the number of times you are shut out. More so, there are career sites that let you meet with people in different industries, sign up with them and start networking.
Also, register to be a member of those organizations or associations in the aviation industry. There you will be informed of job openings, workshops, conferences, and webinars organized by them. Do well to attend those webinars because you will meet masters of industries at those meetings.
Be sure to participate, reach out, offer your services if asked to, and always look your best. Every day is an opportunity, so always live prepared.
6. Build your work experiences in line with the required skills
Most hiring managers are on the lookout for individuals who have good background knowledge in the role they are applying for. They want to save themselves the stress of training their new staff from the start and just head on to business. A good work experience will present you to the recruiters as one who has a long-term goal and is intentional about achieving it.
Your past work experiences should resonate with the job you are applying for. If you hope to be a flight attendant, your previous work experiences should project that you are experienced in hospitality, sales and you are physically strong and agile, Always ready to work when you are called upon. Be intentional about your work skills
Conclusion
Getting an airport job may seem very difficult at first, but as long as your heart is in it and you are resolute on building a career path in the aviation industry then it is going to be a reality as long as you stay focused and always persevering. Getting the job of your dreams requires a certain level of commitment; acquiring requisite skills and knowledge, constant updating of your resume, and meeting the right set of people who are on the same journey that you desire to be.
