Busabout Adventures

If you want to experience Europe from behind the wheel, consider a career as a Busabout Coach Driver. This is your chance to be part of a highly reputable company and be trained by the best, to be the best in the business. You will drive state-of-the-art coaches around some of the best destinations in Europe. Travelers of all ages and from all over the world choose Busabout, meaning you’ll never have a dull moment, and make lots of new friends along the way.

To work for Busabout as a driver you need to meet the following criteria:
> Hold an EU Passport.
> Hold a full, unrestricted Class D (PCV) driving licence issued in a European Union country.
> Be in possession of a Digital Tachograph card.
Alternatively, if you hold a European Union Passport* you can obtain a UK Class D (PCV) licence by sitting the relevant tests. Full details of testing and licence requirements are available on the UK Transport Office website.

You will need to obtain a provisional licence first, pass a medical, pass a written test & hazard perception, then pass a practical test. This would take approximately 6 weeks to complete. Busabout can arrange a fully inclusive training package for suitable candidates, which cost around £1200.00. Busabout can (at our discretion) arrange financial assistance to suitable candidates.

* European Union Passports are those issued by Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom.
The first step is to download and fill in the application form.
You must complete this by hand (typed or incomplete forms cannot be accepted), attach a recent colour photograph and post it back to the address on the form. Interviews will be taking place from November. Please specify if you are available to be interviewed in London, Sydney or Melbourne at the top of your form.
We will email you on receipt of your application and let you know if you are invited to attend a group interview. Please make sure you check your emails regularly.  

Once you have completed the application form; including attached copies of your passport, drivers licence and passport size photo. Please post to:

Busabout (Recruitment)
7 – 11 Bressendan Place
London, SW1E 5DD
United Kingdom

Once we received your application, we will be in contact with you via email.
Interviews will be held in London - November 2009 to March 2010.
There will also be interview sessions held in Australia - December 2009. 
If your interview is successful, you will be offered a place on our Training Trip in April 2010 (Dates to be confirmed).

Are you addicted to travel? Do you love to share your adventures and stories with anyone who’ll listen? Working as a Busabout Guide, you’ll get the opportunity to not only experience the best Europe has to offer, but you’ll share those experiences with a coach full of excited travelers from all over the world!

To become a Busabout On-board Guide you should:

• Be friendly, approachable, and fun
  
• Have a thirst for knowledge
  
• Love interacting with people
  
• Be familiar with Europe through personal experience
  
• Be able to relate to people of ALL ages (our core clientele are 18 to 35 year old)
  
• Be computer literate.
  

The following are not requirements, but are helpful:

• Experience leading groups
  
• A second (European) language.
  
• Experience talking in front of groups of people.

• A confident and clear microphone manner.
  

So how do you apply?

The first step is to download and fill in the application form.
You must complete this by hand (typed or incomplete forms cannot be accepted), attach a recent colour photograph and post it back to the address on the form. Interviews will be taking place in November / December. Please specify if you are available to be interviewed in London, Sydney or Melbourne at the top of your form.

We will email you on receipt of your application and let you know if you are invited to attend a group interview. Please make sure you check your emails regularly.  

At the Group Interview you will be required to give a short talk before the panel and fellow applicants. You will be assigned a topic in advance. These group interviews will be held in London and Australia (dates/cities to be advised). At the group interview you’ll get the opportunity to learn more about Busabout as a company, as well as a chance to ask us any questions you might have.
If we think you fit the profile we’re after you’ll be invited to a personal interview, this is quite in-depth and lasts about 45 minutes. Individual interviews will be held either the same afternoon or the following days.

If you are successful in your individual interview you will be offered a place on our Training Trip. Training starts in April 2010 (dates to be confirmed). The Training Trip lasts for approximately five weeks. During training you’ll visit and study all the destinations we visit on our coach network. This is a VERY intensive course designed to be demanding and thorough. However, the benefits you’ll receive on completion far out-weigh the work you’ve put in. Those who complete the training will be offered a position to work with Busabout during the summer season of 2010. Sounds tough, however the people we want working for us will make it through, and get the best job in the world!

To secure a place on our training program you are required to pay a training bond of £200.00. This is fully refundable to you upon completion of two full summer seasons with Busabout. All crew are expected to make a minimum commitment of one season and must have an English bank account. Wages are paid directly into this account on a monthly basis.

One of our guides described her decision to leave her job as a travel agent and work for Busabout as; "I was selling the dream, now I'm living the dream".

Working for Busabout, you’ll have the opportunity to both live and work in Europe.Your sequence (roster) is provided to you by management and generally involves working 19 to 25 days per month.  When you’re not working you’ll be on days off in one of your favourite cities. Your role as an On-Board Guide is to help like-minded travellers have a holiday they are never going to forget! During the day, you’ll spiel about cities and countries inspiring passengers with ideas of where to go, and what to see. As our passengers get to explore the destinations in their own time, you’ll get to help them plan their trip before they arrive. 

As a guide, you are invaluable to passengers, in terms of your local knowledge and experience.  Simply understanding the public transport system in each city and then being able to explain it to passengers, saves them both time and money.  Everything including helping passengers plan their stay, booking accommodation, and completing paperwork (yes there is some administration work involved) fills up your day. But, before you know it, you’re sipping wine under the Eiffel Tower, partying it up in Prague, or laying on the beach in San Sebastian.

A job in Europe and life on the road does come with some sacrifices.  You are constantly on the move, living out of a backpack, away from family and friends.  The hours are long and responsibility high.  However the family-like bond created between crew, the sights you see and experiences you'll have, make this job what it is.  As a guide, you make the dreams of your clients come true and help create lifetime memories.  You are lucky enough to be guiding them throughout Europe, imparting your knowledge, and making their trip on Busabout one to remember!

To work for Busabout as a driver you will need to hold a full, unrestricted Class D (PCV) driving licence issued in a European Union country.

Alternatively, if you hold a European Union Passport* you can obtain a UK Class D (PCV) licence by sitting the relevant tests. Full details of this is available on the UK Transport Office website. You will need to obtain a provisional licence first, pass a medical, pass a written test & hazard perception, then pass a practical test. This would take approximately 6 weeks to complete. Busabout can arrange a fully inclusive training package for suitable candidates which costs around £1200.00. Busabout can (at our discretion) arrange financial assistance to suitable candidates.

* European Union Passports are those issued by Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom.

We get to wear jeans to work and spend our days helping independent travelers create their own lifetime memories.
 
Sound good? Then read on...

Busabout is Europe’s leading independent travel network and has been carrying independent travellers on our Hop on Hop off network for 8 years.  We also have truck trips in Morocco, sailing in Croatia, island hopping in Greece, trips in Egypt, Spain and Italy as well as awesome festival packages to La Tomatina, Pamplona and Oktoberfest.
 
Our team is small and personal - our office cosy and the craic legendary.  Our aim is to treat the first contact with customers as if their travel experience has already begun.

Who we want?
 
We are looking for two sales consultants to join our Sales and Marketing Team in Edinburgh for the 2009 season.  This is a seasonal position which will run from mid-February to early-September.  Successful candidates will then be able to travel on the Busabout network for free for the remainder of the season.  Working week is 40 hours including some evenings/weekends or early shifts. 
 
This role is split 80:20 between front line sales work and out-of-office promotions work. 
 
Responsibilities include:
 
Maximisation of enquiries to confirmed and fully paid bookings through honest and open advice and above all friendliness
Responding to enquiries, direct, post, telephone and e-mail enquiries above and beyond the questions asked.
Completion of administration tasks (e.g. mail, office management, etc)
Customer handling / check in
Customer itinerary planning
Telesales office and shop presentation and organisation
Assisting the Marketing Department with Special Projects
Attending bar & sporting promotional events in the evening and some weekends
Helping with distribution of materials to London agents and hostels
 
Visas - preference will be given to those who are available to work the 2010 season also.
 
Essential skills:
 
European travel experience
Previous sales experience
Previous customer care experience
Warm and friendly personality
Attention to detail
MS Office proficiency
 

Desirable skills:
 
Past experience of Busabout Products
Creative approach to solving problems
Past experience of reservations systems
Previous office based experience
Driving licence
 
Creativity is important to this role - how can we communicate to customers in ways which make them smile?
 
Answers to danielt@busabout.com along with a completed application form which you can download here

Interviews will be held from January 2009 in London and Edinburgh.