Holiday repping... i would like to do it in crete, what do i do first???

Question

And what do you have to do to get in to the job, i've heard that there are a lot of audition processes, anyone experienced or in the know would be of great help!

Answer 1

I did this MANY years ago ... that's how I ended up in Greece. Bored with my life in UK ... I got as many brochures as I could from the travel agent's and wrote to the addresses on the back - with my CV (which was pretty c**p thus far!)

As I was under 21 I was only considered for 1 company. Incredibly they granted me a group interview in London - which was scary enough for a Midlander. I knew I had no chance so I was just myself - cracking jokes - making songs up for them - generally making everyone laugh (which is something I have done all my life - my family said my sister and I should have done a double act on stage). Apparently this is what they were looking for as I got through - they chose 3 out of 12 of us.

We then went for training and were placed on a Greek island (we didn't get to choose which one) To tell you the truth I hated that job! I truly hated the whinging British tourists - they even blamed me for the weather! It was extremely tiring - and there were days when planes were late that we didn't get to sleep for 48hrs.

I now know if I had been more mature I would have handled it differently.

It's really hard work

Answer 2

You would need to apply to all the holiday companies you can, the selection process can vary, but how you present yourself and confidence initially are important. You will probably be asked how you would deal with various situations. The further you go down the selection process the tougher ir gets.  

First of all, even if you get a job, you don't get to choose where you go!

You can influence your options by having some good knowledge of a country & definitely a better chance if you speak the language. This may not seem too important because you will be dealing with English speaking guests, but you also have to communicate with accomodation owners, coach drivers, airport staff etc.

The skills you need are mostly the obvious ones, communicate well with people of all ages & types, good customer service skills, a huge amount of patience at times, and you must be able to stay calm in a crisis.

The other things that aren't mentioned so much, it's long hours (even when you are supposed to be off duty, if a guest sees you & asks questions or just wants to chat you have to smile & behave as if you are working, you can't be rude or ignorant!), the pay is c**p, & despite what you see on some tv progs it is not one big party & you are not on holiday!

Although you are exhausted at the end of the season there some lovely people you have met, some laughs you've had which makes it bearable.

Don't forget that you also have to deal with 'disasters', accidents, complaints, or even a death.

I am not trying to put you off, I just want you be realistic, it can look a glamorous job to those on holiday, yes it can be fun at times, but definitely not glamorous!