BA Ramp Agent interview
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 90
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From: Finland
BA Ramp Agent interview
Hi everyone,
I am just out of education and want to get into the industry and will take anything in the short term, I have got an interview with BA for a ramp agent at LGW and I know its not a big job but being my first main interview i've done can anyone give any hints/tips or advice? I've got some good info off the ba website about the interview process and although by knowledge of the industry and BA is good I will swot up on the role and the company even more before hand but any other advice/info would be appreciated
thebeehive
I am just out of education and want to get into the industry and will take anything in the short term, I have got an interview with BA for a ramp agent at LGW and I know its not a big job but being my first main interview i've done can anyone give any hints/tips or advice? I've got some good info off the ba website about the interview process and although by knowledge of the industry and BA is good I will swot up on the role and the company even more before hand but any other advice/info would be appreciated
thebeehive
Guest
Posts: n/a
Hi mate,
Sorry can't exactly give you advice on the specifics of the job as I don't do it. But generally read up on what you think is relevant. Don't over do it though as some people have a habit of reading, reading and reading even more then when it comes to the interview they struggle to remember anything and just mumble & stumble on.
Be confident. This is VERY important. Now to me theres a difference between confident and cocky. Don't answer questions and solve problems as if they'd be easy. Instead be objective and put forward you're best opinion and advice that would solve a problem. If you've got low experience then you can only really guesstimate as to what would be the best solution.
Generally big interviews give you questions which are embedded with prioritisng and expendable traits. i.e. what is the most important and needs immediate priority and who is the most expendable and is not needed. If you can do this but justify your answers then you should be ok and this can show you're confident to make the decisions. Remember a good employee/manager is someone who can make the decision regardless or whether it's right or wrong but also stick up for the decision and keep the wheels turning as effeciently as possible after that decision. IMHO anyway.
Don't forget in the aviation industy you will never please everybody. In fact you'll probably upset more people than please but so long as the planes keep moving and flying, your boss should be happy.
Be yourself too. Don't be afraid to talk about your weak points. The fact that you know you have some, shows that you know you can always improve on areas. However try to balance this with good points. Punctual, eye for detail etc. Share you experiences and ambitions. If you have a real drive to get somewhere, like ATC or Pilot, then you will find it easy talk about the subject really enthusiastically and energetically.
Try not to get too nervous. I know it's hard but go into the interview looking forward to it as a learning experience. If you can remain calm and confident then this should overpower any nervous feelings.
Hopefully people will add more to this and be advised my advice may not be the best. However it is my personal experience on how I handle interviews.
Hope it helps mate and good luck.
Sorry can't exactly give you advice on the specifics of the job as I don't do it. But generally read up on what you think is relevant. Don't over do it though as some people have a habit of reading, reading and reading even more then when it comes to the interview they struggle to remember anything and just mumble & stumble on.
Be confident. This is VERY important. Now to me theres a difference between confident and cocky. Don't answer questions and solve problems as if they'd be easy. Instead be objective and put forward you're best opinion and advice that would solve a problem. If you've got low experience then you can only really guesstimate as to what would be the best solution.
Generally big interviews give you questions which are embedded with prioritisng and expendable traits. i.e. what is the most important and needs immediate priority and who is the most expendable and is not needed. If you can do this but justify your answers then you should be ok and this can show you're confident to make the decisions. Remember a good employee/manager is someone who can make the decision regardless or whether it's right or wrong but also stick up for the decision and keep the wheels turning as effeciently as possible after that decision. IMHO anyway.
Don't forget in the aviation industy you will never please everybody. In fact you'll probably upset more people than please but so long as the planes keep moving and flying, your boss should be happy.
Be yourself too. Don't be afraid to talk about your weak points. The fact that you know you have some, shows that you know you can always improve on areas. However try to balance this with good points. Punctual, eye for detail etc. Share you experiences and ambitions. If you have a real drive to get somewhere, like ATC or Pilot, then you will find it easy talk about the subject really enthusiastically and energetically.
Try not to get too nervous. I know it's hard but go into the interview looking forward to it as a learning experience. If you can remain calm and confident then this should overpower any nervous feelings.
Hopefully people will add more to this and be advised my advice may not be the best. However it is my personal experience on how I handle interviews.
Hope it helps mate and good luck.
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 26
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From: Scotland
Worth considering how your role will fit into the "big picture" of getting passengers/freight from point A to point B. What will affect your role? How could your job impact on the next piece of the chain? It takes people within your team, and then all the teams put together, to make the process work smoothly. Re-inforce the fact that you are a proven team-player as well as somebody who can follow instructions independently.
Other than that, a good knowledge of the company and industry is always a head-start and relaxing, feeling confident and putting your points across clearly will all help.
Best of luck.
Other than that, a good knowledge of the company and industry is always a head-start and relaxing, feeling confident and putting your points across clearly will all help.
Best of luck.
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 37
Likes: 0
From: All around the world
Originally Posted by fly_high
Worth considering how your role will fit into the "big picture" of getting passengers/freight from point A to point B. What will affect your role? How could your job impact on the next piece of the chain? It takes people within your team, and then all the teams put together, to make the process work smoothly. Re-inforce the fact that you are a proven team-player as well as somebody who can follow instructions independently.
Good advice by the way............
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 90
Likes: 0
From: Finland
Thanks for your help, it is more than I expected to recieve! I will take it all on-board, prepare and do my best, thats all I can do and hopefully I will be offered the job although I won't take it personally if not as it's my first proper interview so bound to be nervous and inexperienced.
Thanks again all and will let you know if I am sucessful
Thanks again all and will let you know if I am sucessful
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
From: U.K
Ovbioulsy aswell mate if they ask why you chose BA give them the usual like "well BA is a major player in the industry" you no the usual stuff and say you want to advance as much as you can and you believe BA is the company with which to do that
good luck mate
good luck mate
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 90
Likes: 0
From: Finland
Just wondering where the line would be in an interview in terms of talking about the job and progression within the comapany; if one focuses too much on the actual job does the airline thing you have little drive and ambition to go further in the company, but if you talk too much of how you are using the job as a stepping stone and a way to eneter the company in order to progress etc could they take that that you aren't too interested in the role but just getting into the organisation?
Guest
Posts: n/a
Hi mate,
There is no right or wrong answer as it soley depends on your true ambitions. If you want to work as a ramp agent but no higher then say so and this is perfectly acceptable. Every applicant will be different. However you may find that when you start off you begin to get higher aspirations and this happens to a lot to people coming in at the bottom, wanting to climb the ladder. However you may not know this untill you've started.
If however you do want to climb the ladder but want to start as a ramp agent to progress your career, don't be afraid to hide the fact.
The trick to it is the way it is phrased.
For example saying this:
"Yeah i'm looking to get into dispatching but can't find any work and don't know enough so thought i'd come and be a ramp agent for a year and doss about for a bit untill a position opens up where i'll be able to use my current status as a spring board"
Say something more like this:
"My true ambition is to get into dispatching or higher management airside work however I don't have the experience or skills so want to start as a ramp agent to start my career.
I looked at the BA site at the job title and responsibilities and I think i'm right in saying that a ramp agent is basically a baggage handler. With the current security issues it may not be a very high staff turnover job but i'd hazard a guess that generally it is. With this in mind BA will budget and anticipate high staff turnovers and know that many of their ramp agents are doing it because it is earning a living rather than having a true desire to do the job. So don't worry about not sounding too interested in doing the job if you want to progress. The truth that you wanting to progress is the important thing to BA.
In the end it is reliant upon where you are, where you want to go and how you're going to get there (classic strategy management).
The easiest way to tackle this is by being as relaxed and as honest as possible. Try not to say what you think they will want to hear as this ofter makes people come unstuck. If you want to progress but need to start as a ramp agent to do this tell them. They should respect your honesty and ambitions. However if you don't want to progress, they should respect that too.
In the end it usually comes down to job interview experience and this will come with time. At the minute the best thing you want to do is stay truthful and tell BA exactly what your intentions are. They may just ear mark you as 'one for the future'
Good luck mate.
There is no right or wrong answer as it soley depends on your true ambitions. If you want to work as a ramp agent but no higher then say so and this is perfectly acceptable. Every applicant will be different. However you may find that when you start off you begin to get higher aspirations and this happens to a lot to people coming in at the bottom, wanting to climb the ladder. However you may not know this untill you've started.
If however you do want to climb the ladder but want to start as a ramp agent to progress your career, don't be afraid to hide the fact.
The trick to it is the way it is phrased.
For example saying this:
"Yeah i'm looking to get into dispatching but can't find any work and don't know enough so thought i'd come and be a ramp agent for a year and doss about for a bit untill a position opens up where i'll be able to use my current status as a spring board"
Say something more like this:
"My true ambition is to get into dispatching or higher management airside work however I don't have the experience or skills so want to start as a ramp agent to start my career.
I looked at the BA site at the job title and responsibilities and I think i'm right in saying that a ramp agent is basically a baggage handler. With the current security issues it may not be a very high staff turnover job but i'd hazard a guess that generally it is. With this in mind BA will budget and anticipate high staff turnovers and know that many of their ramp agents are doing it because it is earning a living rather than having a true desire to do the job. So don't worry about not sounding too interested in doing the job if you want to progress. The truth that you wanting to progress is the important thing to BA.
In the end it is reliant upon where you are, where you want to go and how you're going to get there (classic strategy management).
The easiest way to tackle this is by being as relaxed and as honest as possible. Try not to say what you think they will want to hear as this ofter makes people come unstuck. If you want to progress but need to start as a ramp agent to do this tell them. They should respect your honesty and ambitions. However if you don't want to progress, they should respect that too.
In the end it usually comes down to job interview experience and this will come with time. At the minute the best thing you want to do is stay truthful and tell BA exactly what your intentions are. They may just ear mark you as 'one for the future'
Good luck mate.
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 90
Likes: 0
From: Finland
Thanks for all you help, had the interview today and I am pleased with how it went, lots of questions about examples of where I have shown good team work/initiative etc Not sure if I will get it but thanks again.
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 90
Likes: 0
From: Finland
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 421
Likes: 14
From: West London
I know this reply is not about interviews with BA, but ....
I had an interview with a Handling Agent at Heathrow. On the day there were 12 of us; there was a brief presentaion, and a simple aptitude test. All the answers to the test were in the presentation, and in the printed handouts given to us. They even told us there would be a test, and where the answers were located.
So, bloke tells us a bit about the company, drops several 'very large' hints about the answer to question 1, and so on.
After 10 minutes, he announces the end of the presentation, and tells us to start of the test - about 15 questions in 20 minutes.
One 'candidate' mumbled loudly "Oh no, I wasn't listening to the presentation".
Oddly enough, he didn't get a job. I've seen him since - he said "would you like fries with that?"
.
I thought that the recent crop of BA Ramp Agent vanacies were for temporary contracts?
I had an interview with a Handling Agent at Heathrow. On the day there were 12 of us; there was a brief presentaion, and a simple aptitude test. All the answers to the test were in the presentation, and in the printed handouts given to us. They even told us there would be a test, and where the answers were located.
So, bloke tells us a bit about the company, drops several 'very large' hints about the answer to question 1, and so on.
After 10 minutes, he announces the end of the presentation, and tells us to start of the test - about 15 questions in 20 minutes.
One 'candidate' mumbled loudly "Oh no, I wasn't listening to the presentation".
Oddly enough, he didn't get a job. I've seen him since - he said "would you like fries with that?"
.I thought that the recent crop of BA Ramp Agent vanacies were for temporary contracts?
