TUI Bristol interview: what they actually want from a 22 year old nursery worker with no aviation background
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#1 Cardiff, 22, three years at a nursery, and I have a TUI interview in Bristol in a fortnight. I am excited and then every hour or so I remember I have never worked in a hotel or a restaurant and I panic a bit.
The invite says it is a half day, with a group activity and an individual interview, and to bring proof of ID and my qualifications. They also want to see a 'passion for travel and customer service' which is the kind of phrase that means nothing until someone explains it.
What I think I have: I am calm with screaming children and with the parents who are angrier than the children. I have done first aid at work every year. I am used to being on my feet all day and starting at 7am. I have travelled a fair bit on a budget. My English is fine, no second language.
What I think I lack: the sales side. TUI seems to care about onboard sales a lot, and I have never sold anything. Also I do not know how to talk about the nursery in a way that sounds like customer service without it sounding like I am stretching.
Questions:
- Has anyone from a non hospitality background got in at TUI? What did you say?
- What is the group activity usually? I have seen 'build a tower' and 'plan a holiday' mentioned.
- Is the individual interview competency based, and what are the typical questions?
- Does the Bristol base take everyone who passes or is there a waiting list for a base?
I would rather be told to get a summer in a hotel first than turn up and waste everyone's time.
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#2 TUI Glasgow, five years, and I came from a care home. Nursery is customer service, you just have to say it in their language. The parents are your customers, the children are your passengers who cannot articulate what is wrong, and the 7am starts and first aid are exactly what the job is. Do not stretch it, translate it. The sales side is trained, nobody expects you to arrive knowing how to sell duty free.
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#3 Ex TUI, now ground ops. The group activity in my year was planning a day out for a mixed group of passengers with a budget. What they watched: who included everyone, who managed time, who was pleasant under a deadline. The interview was competency style: a time you went the extra mile, a time you handled conflict, a time you stayed calm in an emergency. Your nursery first aid stories are perfect for the last one.
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#4 @cabinkate77 that is such a relief. I have a story for each of those and did not realise they counted.
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#5 Applying to TUI Manchester with a retail background and following this closely. The 'translate, do not stretch' line is going in my notes.
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#6 Same boat, Birmingham. Did anyone find out about the base question? I have heard the Bristol base is small and some people get offered a different base.
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#8 One small thing for the interview: TUI are a holiday company first. They want to hear that you understand people have saved all year for this flight. If you can say that in your own words, it lands.