HR Manager, Qantas Flight Operations at Qantas
It’s cliché but true – I knew from the start that I wanted a grad role in an organisation that I believed in and would be proud to say I worked for. Plus, I was banking on the fact that I would get to work across a whole range of areas, in both operational and corporate teams, which is exactly what happened.
As a graduate there’s a lot of focus on getting to know as many parts of the business as possible, not just through your rotations but also through regular ‘excursions’ where I flew an A380 under the harbour bridge (don’t worry, it was in a simulator…), got trained in evacuating an aircraft (again, exercise only) and helped prepare meals in our Catering Centre.
I definitely underestimated the size and complexity – i.e. the number of people across so many departments in over 30 ports around the world that come together every day to deliver for our customers. In one day, we move over 160,000 people on over 1,000 passenger flights; we serve over 133,000 meals; and we move over 73,000 pieces of luggage and over 4,000 shipments of freight.
As you would probably expect, as a grad you will feel very well supported through your Managers and colleagues, and through the additional experiences and development opportunities that you get by being part of a formal program. But in a more informal way, one of the best things that continues to help me with career decisions post the grad program have been the relationships I’ve made with previous Managers but also just as importantly, with my fellow grads and peers.