“I loved that I was able to combine my life passion of travel with work and build a solid career.”
What’s your role at Flight Centre?
Hi, I’m Keidi Urbanik and I have just accepted the General Manager role to run the Queen Street flagship store in Brisbane, Queensland.
What appealed to you about working for Flight Centre when you started?
When I first joined Flight Centre I was 18 years old and I had just moved to Australia from Europe. Like most 18-year-olds, I didn’t yet know what I wanted to do with my career, however, what I did know was that I loved travelling. I applied for a travel consultant role at Flight Centre and haven’t looked back. I loved that I was able to combine my life passion of travel with work and build a solid career. I also loved the fact that the Global Head Office is here in Australia, meaning that the possibilities and career opportunities are endless!
What do you like most about your current role?
I love the structure of it – I get to grow travel sales in my business as well as nurture future leaders while delivering amazing travel experiences for my clients. I love the challenge it brings on a daily basis as no two days are the same. Plus, I am five years into working for Flight Centre, but I still learn something new every single day.
Do you feel Flight Centre is a supportive workplace? What career opportunities have you been given?
One hundred per cent! Not only do we get support from our in-house financial planning service and health benefits, but also from the Assure program, a confidential counselling service to help with the stressful times in our lives.
Since joining Flight Centre I have learned so much through the training opportunities that have been provided to me. As both consultants and leaders, our skills are continually developed through world-class training – we are so lucky to be a part of a company like Flight Centre Travel Group.
A core principle that Flight Centre has is to promote from within, and I am testament to that. Since joining the business, I have now worked in three stores over these five years and have had various roles from novice to senior consultant, from Assistant Team Leader to Team Leader to Senior Team Leader – there is always something to strive towards. They call it your ‘Brightness of Future’, which is basically an assurance that you’ll have a supportive working community to further you along your career path goals. My next Brightness of Future goal is to become an Area Leader.
Do you find there’s work/life balance at Flight Centre? How does that work?
Working at Flight Centre, normal work hours aren’t always a reality – there are often things we do outside of usual business hours, but I love this for my personal development and building a great client base – so I prefer to call it work/life choice.
It is my choice to work a bit more than required because at Flight Centre, we believe what gets done gets rewarded. I have uncapped earning potential which means that the more I achieve, the more I earn – and for that, I’m willing to invest a little extra time. At the end of the day, we do have a great company culture with a lot of rewards and the opportunity to play after the hard work we do.
As a Flight Centre travel consultant, do you get to travel? Are there travel perks as a Flight Centre employee?
Of course! We all share a passion for travel. Some suppliers release special industry pricing so we can test their product to be able to personally recommend it to our customers from firsthand experience. There are also reward trips – we have had consultants in our store who have been lucky enough to visit South America, the Canadian Rockies, Thailand, Hawaii and even take European river cruises as part of reward trips.
But most importantly, if you work hard enough, you get to travel with the top 3,000 people in Flight Centre worldwide in July every year for our Global Gathering. The Global Gathering is an opportunity for our high achievers to celebrate their successes for the past year – this year I was lucky enough to attend the party in Berlin! The event is guaranteed to be a spectacle and this year didn’t disappoint, with appearances by Duke Dumont, Aloe Blacc, Kylie Minogue and Chris Hemsworth. Next year will take us to Vegas to party like celebrities in real style.
Sound good? Join Flight Centre in the next few months and, as a high performing travel consultant, you could be partying in Vegas next year!
Where have you travelled to?
I have been incredibly lucky to have travelled throughout Europe, Asia, South West Pacific, Africa and the US – but there is still so much more to discover. I would love to travel to some of the more exotic places that are culturally very different from us. Most people find this odd, but North Korea is high on my bucket list.
What career advice would you give your younger self?
Firstly, persistence is the key. If I had given up when I faced setbacks in my career, I would never have been able to realise my dreams this early in my life and build a career I am truly proud of. I have been able to apply this persistence in many avenues in my work when dealing with clients as well as suppliers. Secondly and just as importantly, do everything with honesty and integrity.
If, like Keidi you can see a world of opportunity in travel, click here to find out how you can get the wheels in motion.
