Out and about with our recruitment team

Ask anyone at Virgin Atlantic why working here is so special and the answer is always the same: ‘It’s the people’. Ok, sometimes it’s because you can nip over to Los Angeles or Hong Kong for the weekend, but mostly it’s all the great colleagues you’ll work with over the course of your career. People who work at Virgin Atlantic tend to be incredibly proud of what they do, and being part of the Virgin family means you’ll meet and work with the best – and have the chance to travel the world. It’s hard to imagine anywhere else that would offer so many opportunities.

Our challenge is to find the right people with the skills and personality to join our team. We always look for those who are a great fit with our brand and – most importantly – can deliver dazzling service to our customers and look after their safety and security. But this is easier said than done, especially when you’re also looking for people with ideas, energy and passion. That’s why our recruitment team recently spent a week at the Farnborough International Airshow, meeting the best and brightest aviation professionals and enthusiasts who might be interested in joining us. With over 500,000 visitors at Farnborough, it was great to meet so many like-minded folk who share our love of flying, travel and customer service.

The world’s your oyster
You don’t have to be a pilot or cabin crew member to come and work for us – although if that’s your passion we’d love you to hear from you. We’ve got room for many different talents, from engineers to sales agents, designers to lawyers, IT experts to beauty therapists, analysts and accountants to doctors and nurses! There really is a huge variety of roles within the company.

And when you work for us, don’t imagine you’ll always stay in the role you applied for either. We’ll help you develop your skills so that if you start working in our customer service centre, for example, but decide you’d like to work as a Turnaround Coordinator in one of our airports, you’ll be have the opportunity to do so with the confidence that you have our full support. We even have several people who’ve switched careers and are currently training as pilots under our pilot cadet scheme.

The Virgin Atlantic recruitment team at the Farnborough airshow

This short video gives a taste of what it’s like to work for us and if it leaves you thinking you’d like a change of career, here’s some tips for applying for one of our roles:

• Check us out on LinkedIn – we’ll always share our newest vacancies, along with all our latest news.
• Sign up for job alerts – it only takes a couple of minutes to register, and if there’s a particular role you have in mind you’ll be notified straight away.
• Write a great CV and cover letter – if you’re taking the time to apply for a role, be sure to demonstrate your personality and passion. Read some great tips on how to stand out from the crowd and get noticed here.
• The skies aren’t the limit – our Future Flyers programme can help you fulfil your dream of becoming a pilot. Registering for the scheme is a great way to get your foot in the door without having a pilot’s licence.
• Know your stuff – we love working here and we want you to feel the same. If you’re invited to an interview, you can prepare for the day with the help of our fantastic careers site, which has tons of info about our history, culture and structure.
• Looking for even more opportunities? Maybe your future lies with another Virgin Group company. Visit the main Virgin careers page which serves as a portal to the many companies in the group.

So how do we recruit a recruiter?
When it comes to interviews, you probably think all the pressure is on the person being interviewed, right? Think again. Finding the right candidate is a huge responsibility for our recruitment team. We need to find that certain someone who will fit in with our culture and understands our brand, but more importantly has the right set of skills to look after our customers and each other and ensure everyone’s safety and security. Getting it right – every time – is essential. That’s why most of our recruiters are sourced from within the company. They already understand what makes us tick and what it takes to really make a difference. It’s a specialised and varied role – one they take extremely seriously. And it’s a constant search which can lead them to unusual places. After all, not every recruitment team gets to hang out at an airshow!

Not your normal day at the office. The Airbus A350 and RAF Red Arrows fly past our recruitment display.