BA Grad Scheme

Old Oct 24, 2014, 3:57 am
  #16  
 
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Sigh, I despair of youth today!
Thanks for the chuckle! I remember my Office Manager in my first job saying that when I left school in 1973 and started my first job! "Such basic mistakes - how did you get you fool them enough to get an "O" Level in Maths?"

Good Luck to the OP! The Graduate Entry scheme is a wonderful opportunity to experience a variety of different departments and fast-track into dynamic, challenging and rewarding management career driving our ever -evolving brand forwards.

In my day, very few went on to Higher Education - my careers officer seemed to think everyone should be a car mechanic or join the Royal Navy because those were the main vacancies in our area. I have had to pursue my career step by step, but once you're bitten by the aviation bug, there is nothing like it!
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Old Oct 24, 2014, 6:59 am
  #17  
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Haha, thanks for the humour. Rather embarrassing for me, however!

I've been applying to other schemes too and have several of those psychometric exams to complete within the next few days/weeks. I'm doing some practice ones to remember (from when I did them for my undergrad placement) the sorts of questions they asked - much harder for graduate schemes I can tell you!

Going to be applying within the first few days of the application being open and hope I fit the bill
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Old Oct 24, 2014, 9:12 am
  #18  
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Originally Posted by joe19924
Wow! Do you have any information on the application process and/or general tips that you might like to share?

PM if you prefer ^
The application process is long, tedious but stick with it and it's shouldn't be too difficult. The online questions were centered around "What if..." - These don't really have a model answer (most is multiple choice). Did you ever watch Airline on ITV? If not watch from series 2-8 on Youtube. Analyse how Jane Boulton made her decisions often not sticking with company policy. BA liked to see applicants thinking for themselves, adapting things to best serve the customer whilst maintaining the BA ethos. If you approach them with the mindset of selecting answers which continually follow the book you won't get far. That's vague so I'll give an example:

"What if a passenger was a group of friends were checking in for a flight to go on holiday. One of the group had forgot her passport. She could drive home to collect her passport but would arrive back at the airport after check in has closed. What approach would you take?"

1. Allow her to travel without her passport.
2. Be flexible with the time check in closes, possible delaying the flight for her.
3. Ask if she would like to transfer on to the next available flight which, due to the later flight being fully booked, is tomorrow.
4. Transfer her to the later flight if a seat becomes available.

There's only two reasonable answers that could be correct, 3 or 4. BA doesn't operate a standby policy as such as described in question 4 but with the circumstances suggested, a bit of flexibility in this situation would go a long way in the 'Fly to Serve' motto without costing BA. Therefore answer 4 would be reasonable with a explanation over the 'by the book' attitude answer 3 gives. It's all to do with the individual circumstances and using reasonable discretion.

The phone interview and subsequent face-to-face interviews are pretty standard like you have with any company. The old "Why BA?", "what has been your biggest achievement" etc... type questions were asked along with more situational questions requiring an imaginative solution with 'To Fly To Serve' in mind. The one I was asked was "Say you were working on check in when a family approached wanting to check in. After looking on the system you realised check in for the flight had closed a couple of minutes ago. How would you address the situation?" - My answer had several points to it:

1. Time - If the flight was the last one of the day , the last one for a few days or many hours (I said early morning flight and late evening flight), checking the family in and forcing the figures to be adjusted risking a delay would be preferable to unhappy customers who could possibly be missing a holiday of a lifetime, or be forced to deal with looking after young children in an airport for an extended length of time. I gave an example of a flight to Orlando before Christmas. The family may have been saving up for years wanting to go to Disney, the children would be bursting with excitement and if it was the last flight before Christmas Day missing the flight would result in a destroyed holiday. The hopes and dreams of the family would have been shattered due to zero flexibility and unfortunate circumstances (for I know there could have been a really bad traffic accident delaying them). Flexibility in allowing them to check in would save their holiday and portray BA in a positive light.

2. Reflected on the situation as if I was the customer. I also included the extent to which some flexibility beyond what is usual goes a long way in customer relations, brand loyalty, and good PR.

3. I introduced my own example and applied the same thinking to a situation on board an aircraft. If a passenger cannot have his first choice meal a complaint to the CSD/CSM usually results in either a Club or First meal being given. Although this is not BA policy the gesture goes a long way with the customer.

In short: They want someone who give thoughtful solution to problems inspired by BA policy and 'To Fly To Serve'. As one interviewer said to me after my answer. "Policy is drawn up by people in offices who cannot possibly image every situation encountered by our frontline staff. It's is therefore vitally important to be reasonably flexible when finding a solution for the customer."

After that it was a case of talking about the roles. There was a group event thrown in that but where you had to make something reminding you about BA out of some bits of recycling on the table in front of you. For this avoid making a plane at all costs; everyone does it. My team wanted to make a plane but I got really arsey over it, ('throwing my toys out of the pram' according to one in my group when it came to reporting back about how we think it went) we ended up making lots of people spread out over a huge piece of card all connected together by string which went through a hole in the centre (imagine the string was like bicycle wheel spokes all meeting in the centre), when the string was pulled all of the people came together. The explanation we gave was BA connects people around the world bringing everyone from businesses to families together. It sounds naff but we won the prize for best creation and creation which best describes what BA is all about. That was the end of the process.

If you want any specific details just ask.
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Old Oct 24, 2014, 9:38 am
  #19  
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Originally Posted by bealine
Thanks for the chuckle! I remember my Office Manager in my first job saying that when I left school in 1973 and started my first job! "Such basic mistakes - how did you get you fool them enough to get an "O" Level in Maths?"

Good Luck to the OP! The Graduate Entry scheme is a wonderful opportunity to experience a variety of different departments and fast-track into dynamic, challenging and rewarding management career driving our ever -evolving brand forwards.

In my day, very few went on to Higher Education - my careers officer seemed to think everyone should be a car mechanic or join the Royal Navy because those were the main vacancies in our area. I have had to pursue my career step by step, but once you're bitten by the aviation bug, there is nothing like it!
Where the hell have you been?
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Old Oct 24, 2014, 9:49 am
  #20  
 
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Good Luck to the OP! The Graduate Entry scheme is a wonderful opportunity to experience a variety of different departments and fast-track into dynamic, challenging and rewarding management career driving our ever -evolving brand forwards.
Sounds like typical management drivel to me. I've never quite understood this obsession of mainly large companies who believe that only people who hold a piece of paper that says 'Degree' on it somehow qualifies you to a position of Management after 'experiencing' a variety of departments.
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Old Oct 24, 2014, 11:01 am
  #21  
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Originally Posted by BahrainLad
BA always had a consulting arm, it was called Speedwing. It ran Olympic at one point!
You learn something new every day!

To the OP, if you are interested in economics I recommend getting involved in the fascinating world of pricing and revenue management. It is one of the fastest growing industries in the world but quite well hidden. I reckon many that CEOs in 10-20 years time will have this background.
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Old Oct 24, 2014, 1:26 pm
  #22  
 
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Originally Posted by WeAreFlyingHigh
"What if a passenger was a group of friends were checking in for a flight to go on holiday. One of the group had forgot her passport. She could drive home to collect her passport but would arrive back at the airport after check in has closed. What approach would you take?"

1. Allow her to travel without her passport.
2. Be flexible with the time check in closes, possible delaying the flight for her.
3. Ask if she would like to transfer on to the next available flight which, due to the later flight being fully booked, is tomorrow.
4. Transfer her to the later flight if a seat becomes available.

There's only two reasonable answers that could be correct, 3 or 4. BA doesn't operate a standby policy as such as described in question 4 but with the circumstances suggested, a bit of flexibility in this situation would go a long way in the 'Fly to Serve' motto without costing BA. Therefore answer 4 would be reasonable with a explanation over the 'by the book' attitude answer 3 gives. It's all to do with the individual circumstances and using reasonable discretion.
Discretion at United appears to be to offer tickets a year later!
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-tees-29762691
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Old Oct 24, 2014, 2:27 pm
  #23  
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WeAreFlyingHigh thanks so much for your long response there! I'm going to save what you've written to use (albeit in my own words and style) for my application.

Will report back if I'm successful at any stage and even if I'm not.
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Old Oct 24, 2014, 2:45 pm
  #24  
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Originally Posted by Hobbes01
Discretion at United appears to be to offer tickets a year later!
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-tees-29762691
I read about that but I'm undecided on what the outcome should have been. I have sympathy for the family but depending on how the passports were lost, offering tickets for a year later seems reasonable especially if there was no availability on flights close to the original date.
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Old Oct 24, 2014, 4:40 pm
  #25  
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I joined BA on Leaders for Business six years ago, and am still with BA today. The programme certainly provides wide exposure to a range of different areas across the business, with roles giving real accountability. Feel free to drop me a private message if you need any further details.

(Any opinions expressed are my own and not those of my employer)

Last edited by 64K; Oct 24, 2014 at 4:47 pm
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Old Oct 25, 2014, 3:23 am
  #26  
 
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Originally Posted by Can I help you
Where the hell have you been?
I became a lurker for a while as, working in cargo, my experience was becoming less and less relevant to our customers. Now, though, I am back at the sharp end helping to turn the aeroplanes around safely and punctually as a Turnround Coordinator in the Central Area (Terminals 1 and 3). Within the next few months, I should be trained in T5 procedures and then be flitting around Heathrow as needed.

I am delighted to see someone with an interest in BA's Graduate Scheme. The Graduates with whom I have worked, and hopefully helped, during my time with BA have all been of a very high calibre with a genuine interest in our business and aviation so the long-winded selection process obviously works!

Last edited by bealine; Oct 25, 2014 at 3:32 am
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Old Oct 25, 2014, 4:03 am
  #27  
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Originally Posted by bealine
Now, though, I am back at the sharp end helping to turn the aeroplanes around safely and punctually as a Turnround Coordinator in the Central Area (Terminals 1 and 3). Within the next few months, I should be trained in T5 procedures and then be flitting around Heathrow as needed.
Then hopefully we will see you around more now, both here and at LHR!
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Old Oct 25, 2014, 4:34 am
  #28  
 
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Originally Posted by Globaliser
Then hopefully we will see you around more now, both here and at LHR!
Why thank you, kind sir!

To get back on topic, the OP should also be aware that current thinking within BA likes you to throw examples into the mix to show supporting evidence of your claim. Consider this sort of scenario after you have already answered a question:

"Okay, you told us you can show empathy with a passenger who had, say, come to the airport without a passport. Can you perhaps give me a specific example of a situation where you have had to turn someone away, or reject someone, with tact and discretion in similar circumstances?"

Think about any Saturday jobs, or jobs during your holidays, that you have had or any clubs/associations where you have held a position of responsibility. Have you had someone whose credit card was declined, or was underage, or was trying to use an expired discount coupon etc? As long as you can demonstrate a link, even if it seems a bit tenuous, it will go in your favour and keep the interview jogging along.
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Old Oct 25, 2014, 6:28 am
  #29  
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Well welcome back, please stay around.
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Old Oct 25, 2014, 6:55 am
  #30  
 
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Originally Posted by bealine
Why thank you, kind sir!

To get back on topic, the OP should also be aware that current thinking within BA likes you to throw examples into the mix to show supporting evidence of your claim. Consider this sort of scenario after you have already answered a question:

"Okay, you told us you can show empathy with a passenger who had, say, come to the airport without a passport. Can you perhaps give me a specific example of a situation where you have had to turn someone away, or reject someone, with tact and discretion in similar circumstances?"

Think about any Saturday jobs, or jobs during your holidays, that you have had or any clubs/associations where you have held a position of responsibility. Have you had someone whose credit card was declined, or was underage, or was trying to use an expired discount coupon etc? As long as you can demonstrate a link, even if it seems a bit tenuous, it will go in your favour and keep the interview jogging along.
OP - this sounds like competency-based interviewing to me - google it, and the style of answer you should formulate: STARR - Situation, Task, Action, Results, Reflection. Keep your situation succinct, focus primarily on actions and results. Talk about what "I" did not what "we" did (if you get a question like "and what was your specific role in this?", it's a big clue that you have slipped up on this but it can be rescued). Even better will be if you can get a hold of the competency framework and indicators which BA will be interviewing against. Even if you can't, there should be some clues in their advertising material.

And good luck - I helped out the people recruiting for our graduate internship programme a while back by chairing a panel for a day (we're a large organisation, so several panels were running concurrently). The candidates we saw were, I think, almost exclusively graduates who had failed so far to get 'proper' jobs, and so were hunting in the internship market. I was astonished, frankly, at how good they were - several excellent candidates did not make the grade. I was left reflecting that I was glad not to be in that market myself!!!
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