Cobham Aviation
 

Has anyone heard of/worked with Cobham? I have been invited to a recruitment day with them in January and would love to find out any info anyone could share!

Hi Brindabella:) Is Cobham the same as National Jet Systems in PER? If so I have a friend who works for them. She has been there for almost 4 years now. She started out with NJS then worked for the Qantaslink side. Its a little confusing but what I can gather is that NJS (Cobham) operate Qantaslink flights in WA and you can choose to work for the NJS (charter side) or the Qantaslink side. My friend loves working there. I was invited to a RD with them a few years ago but already had a job offer by another WA airline so turned it down. Hope this helps a bit... Good luck!:ok:

I work for Cobham in the UK.

The company has quite a large operation in Australia flying 146's on "feeder" routes for Quantas...i think i'm right in saying it also runs some (or all?) of the coastwatch stuff as well.

Cobham plc :: Home

should tell you everything you need to know.

Happy New Year!

Thanks guys! I had no idea Cobham was so global! It's pretty exciting. I really am looking forward to the RD and really hoping against hope I do well. It'll be my first official RD for anyone and so I'm pretty nervous but I'm dying to get this job! I'd love to break into this industry and reach my ultimate goal of working for a big Australian airline and working for a slightly smaller one like this seems like the right way to start.

Any tips for the recruitment day?

Hi Ive worked for NJS or Cobham as they are now called for 6 years. Not sure which side they are recruiting for but i know there is a ground school going through for QFLink in Jan. You will probably find it will be for charter devision as they have won the Gorgan contract and need a lot more crew. You unfortuantly cant chose which side you want to go too and they stopped transfers from charter to Link. But I would still go to recruitment day as charter is a great way to start your career. I could be wrong and it could be Link but who knows.
Anyway good luck

I finally got my notification that the recruitment day is on January 29. Has anyone else here been invited? I don't know what it's going to be like at all - how many people will have been invited, what we will do, what will be expected of us, how long we have to wait to find out if we're successful. It sounds like a day long process as it starts at 9:30am and the email says that they are providing lunch. This is the first invite only RD that I have ever been to, so I was wondering if this is standard? I once went to an Emirates open day and that was certainly an all day affair (for which I didn't stay) but only because like 300 people showed up I think.

Can anyone give me any tips or advice for the day? I am so so excited but also super nervous! Can you tell me what I might be doing on the day? Or what I can expect? I know it's different for every airline pretty much but anything anyone could tell me, particularly anyone who has worked for this airline before, would be very appreciated. Even things like what to wear and how to do my hair! (I have in mind what to wear already - I have a great, very business like looking tailored dress which I call my interview dress - or flight attendant dress...depending on where I am wearing it! - which pretty much makes me look like a flight attendant already! I've been told by a friend of mine who works for Jetstar to wear my hair in a neat bun and be nicely made up make up wise. The only thing I am undecided on is shoes - should I go with the pointy black heels which are slightly patterned, or go and buy this pair of plainer looking (aka much more flight attendant looking) heels I saw in a store recently, which have a more block-ish kind of heel and look more sensible? It also just occurred to me that the shoes I wear might have an impact depending on what we do at the RD - are heels what everyone wears? Are they practical for what we will be doing?)

As you can see, I'm full of questions and really eager to get prepared and ready to blow them away at the RD and would love all the help I can get!

Thanks in advance!

The best thing to do at any airline interview is have knowledge about the company that you are applying to. This is ever more important with a company such as Cobham because they are not an "airline" in the normal sense like Virgin or Qantas. Go on to cobham.com.au (not cobham.com) and do some research.

When I did the Cobham interview, it was similar to other airline interviews involving a series of group tasks which take about 20 minutes each. The tasks can be intense, and a couple of recruiters will stand behind or walk around the group watching everybody's contribution and taking notes the whole time. You will quickly forget they're there, though, as you immerse yourself in each group task. Just have lots of fun in each task and you won't feel stressed at all. Smile the whole day no matter how tired you feel.

During each task, make sure you don't say too much, or say too little. There are usually no right or wrong answers to the tasks; the recruitment team are simply looking to see how well you interact with others at your table, and for each task you will move around and be with different people each time. Don't latch on to another person (in case they get the boot), but don't be aloof.

Never get into an argument with another candidate during a task, and try to include others in the group who are a little quiet. Aim for complete diplomacy. The recruiters will weed out those who are aggressive, or are too quiet - they are looking for confident, assertive people to fill the role. Cobham are very good at not discriminating on age, sexuality or gender.

Regarding dress, go for the more conservative heels. Aim to look handsome, not flashy. Make sure your dress goes below your knees. Wear your hair in a bun if it's longer than 30cm, but however you tie your hair, use tortoiseshell to cover elastic bands, and hide any bobby pins. Also wear sheer or support black stockings.

Regarding jewellery, wear pearls or diamond earrings only, just one ring on each finger of silver or gold, avoiding coloured stones. Make sure you wear a watch, but it should have a silver, black, brown or gold band.

That should get you through the interview, if you can remember all the above! Lol. Good luck!

..."Cobham are very good at not discriminating on age, sexuality or gender"

That's good to know, considering that when the company was known as National Jet Systems, they discriminated against male applicants to such an extent that there were no male crew for 11 years. Then for the next 3 years they only had one!

Lol that part of it's history is true, although it's not true anymore, and Cobham is a non-discriminatory employee. Virgin had the same problem regarding age (as is well known), and were successfully sued. They don't discriminate anymore, either.

Brindabella, good luck. I enjoy working for Cobham. Like all airlines, it has its faults, but just enjoy the whole experience - it's the best thing I've ever done as a job, and a good company to work for, imho.

Also, as kjay said earlier, it's an important foothold into the aviation industry. Once you've done two or so years there, if you apply with other airlines you often get to skip the 'group interview' and progress straight to the panel interview.

Cobham pay & conditions
 

Would anyone know how Cobham pay & allowances compare to other airlines?
Do they do overnights, and if so, approximately how many on average per month?

Any info would be very welcome.

Assessment Day
 

Has any one been invited to Assessment Day 27/03/2010?

I got invite, not sure if I can make it....As they say timing is every thing..:ugh:

Bases
 

Would anyone know what bases they are potentially recruiting for ie. PER, ADL, DRW, BNE?

Is the AD in Perth?

Hi RoyBoy,

I've been invited to Perth..

They don't have a base at BNE, only Cairns.