<p>How often do you come across a Recruitment Consultant who has had a career as a Pilot and Flying Instructor? Not very often we bet. GOOSE Recruitment brings you an exclusive interview with Specialist Pilot Recruitment Consultant, Fenella Jefferson to uncover more about her unique industry experience. </p>
<p><strong><em>“My passion for flying has always been inside of me, it started from a young age and it never left.”</em></strong></p>
<p><img alt="Fenella Jefferson Interview" src="/getasset/00434538-cf55-45b4-afb4-d40a736a6fec/" /></p>
<p><strong>Fenella where did your career start? </strong></p>
<p>Originally, I am from New Zealand but when it was time to decide what I wanted to do as a career, I decided to take the plunge and move to Australia to study a Post Graduate Masters Degree in Toxicology.</p>
<p><strong>Was it after studying Toxicology that you decided to pursue your passion for flying?</strong></p>
<p>No, at the time I wanted to work in a career I had studied in. I made a life-changing decision after graduation and decided to move to London as I had always wanted to live there and a great position as a Pharmaceutical Sales Representative came up.</p>
<p><strong>Why did you decide to move back to Australia?</strong></p>
<p>I loved my time in London, it was great fun and I had a great career, but I always felt like something was missing. When you have a passion for something, it never leaves and my passion for flying was always at the back of my mind. When I moved back to Australia I decided to head for Melbourne. At this point, I was finally in a good position to finally pursue my love for flying.</p>
<p><strong>How did you start your flying career?</strong></p>
<p>After working in a good job and saving for years, I decided to invest it all into learning to fly. I was 30 at this point and had initially only intended to qualify for my private license. I ended up qualifying for my Commercial License, which was one of the best decisions I have ever made. It opened up a lot of opportunities for me and gave me the flying career I had always dreamt of.</p>
<p><strong>What flying opportunities did gaining your Commercial License give you?</strong></p>
<p>Qualifying for my Commercial License meant I could teach people to fly, so I started working as a Flying Instructor which was amazing.</p>
<p><strong>Did you always know you wanted to be a Pilot?</strong></p>
<p>Yes, I did. Even throughout my time studying and working in Pharmaceuticals I always knew that at some point, if I could, I would follow my passion for aviation.</p>
<p>I explored several options and when I was younger I had even considered joining the New Zealand Airforce, but having thought about it, it wouldn’t have been the right choice for me and I’m glad I made the decisions I made.</p>
<p><strong>Do you believe a career in flying requires a lot of passion?</strong></p>
<p>Absolutely, you can’t do it for the money. Yes, a Pilot’s salary is typically good but it can be a long time before you make the money back. Training to be a Pilot is expensive and if it isn’t your passion you won’t enjoy it and the financials won’t add up. It has to be your passion- it is my passion. The first time I did my Training Instructional Flight (TIF), it was the scariest but the best thing I have ever done. All I could think was “this is it, this is what I want to do.”</p>
<p><strong>When did you realise you had such a strong passion for flying? </strong></p>
<p><strong><em>“My mother always reminds me that I loved everything in the sky from a very early age, as a child I would look at planes in the air, and was fascinated with them taking off at our local airport.”</em></strong></p>
<p>My mother said that as a child I would watch planes in the sky with pure fascination and every year I would insist that my parents take me to the New Zealand Airshow. Little did we know, I would be the one commanding the planes that we had spent years watching.</p>
<p><strong>What was your first flying job?</strong></p>
<p>My first flying job was working for ‘Melbourne Flight Training’ as a Flight Instructor. My next opportunity meant packing up my suitcases and relocating to Darwin (Australia) to work as a sales representative for a general merchandise business that supplied community stores in remote locations across Australia. This meant flying an aircraft and visiting these stores with our latest goods. This allowed me to combine my sales and flying skills – something I could never have imagined- two of my passions in one job. This job sent me to places I would have never planned on visiting; I met people I wouldn’t have even known existed. Some of the places were so remote there were times before coming into landing that I would sometimes think to myself – “do I really have to land there?”</p>
<p>Regularly delivering to remote locations was an incredible opportunity for me to not only progress as a Pilot but also learn about different cultures. It was a really interesting job and it was fascinating to go into different communities and learn about their way of life. For example, Aboriginal communities in Australia. I truly believe that my experience of working with so many different cultures means I can now apply this when supporting Pilots and airlines, from all over the world, with their recruitment needs.</p>
<p><strong>After such a successful and enjoyable flying career, why did you decide to become a Pilot Recruitment Consultant?</strong></p>
<p>My husband received a job offer from his company to relocate back to the UK, where he is originally from. I saw an opportunity with GOOSE Recruitment for a Specialist Pilot Recruitment Consultant role that combined two of my passions; People and Aviation. It seemed too good to be true at first but I applied and shortly after received a phone call from GOOSE Recruitment’s Founder and CEO himself, Mark Charman inviting me for an interview.</p>
<p>I couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity. My experience means I know the calibre of candidates our clients want to hire and I am in a great position to support candidates with offering valuable career advice and finding them their dream opportunities.</p>
<p><strong>What advice would you give aspiring Pilots?</strong></p>
<p>Follow your passion and your dream but remember you’ll have to work hard for it.</p>
<p>At GOOSE Recruitment our team of consultants come from either Aviation or Recruitment backgrounds, making them experts in their field. Whether you are looking for a Pilot opportunity or need great candidates to join your airline, we want to hear from you. Our consultants are always happy to hear from you, so be sure to get in touch by calling us. We operate over a global scale and below you’ll find the details of each of our offices.</p>
<p><strong><em><a href="https://jobs.flightglobal.com/employer/1401494473/goose-recruitment/">Take a look at Goose Recruitment's live jobs here.</a> </em></strong></p>
<p><strong><em>“My passion for flying has always been inside of me, it started from a young age and it never left.”</em></strong></p>
<p><img alt="Fenella Jefferson Interview" src="/getasset/00434538-cf55-45b4-afb4-d40a736a6fec/" /></p>
<p><strong>Fenella where did your career start? </strong></p>
<p>Originally, I am from New Zealand but when it was time to decide what I wanted to do as a career, I decided to take the plunge and move to Australia to study a Post Graduate Masters Degree in Toxicology.</p>
<p><strong>Was it after studying Toxicology that you decided to pursue your passion for flying?</strong></p>
<p>No, at the time I wanted to work in a career I had studied in. I made a life-changing decision after graduation and decided to move to London as I had always wanted to live there and a great position as a Pharmaceutical Sales Representative came up.</p>
<p><strong>Why did you decide to move back to Australia?</strong></p>
<p>I loved my time in London, it was great fun and I had a great career, but I always felt like something was missing. When you have a passion for something, it never leaves and my passion for flying was always at the back of my mind. When I moved back to Australia I decided to head for Melbourne. At this point, I was finally in a good position to finally pursue my love for flying.</p>
<p><strong>How did you start your flying career?</strong></p>
<p>After working in a good job and saving for years, I decided to invest it all into learning to fly. I was 30 at this point and had initially only intended to qualify for my private license. I ended up qualifying for my Commercial License, which was one of the best decisions I have ever made. It opened up a lot of opportunities for me and gave me the flying career I had always dreamt of.</p>
<p><strong>What flying opportunities did gaining your Commercial License give you?</strong></p>
<p>Qualifying for my Commercial License meant I could teach people to fly, so I started working as a Flying Instructor which was amazing.</p>
<p><strong>Did you always know you wanted to be a Pilot?</strong></p>
<p>Yes, I did. Even throughout my time studying and working in Pharmaceuticals I always knew that at some point, if I could, I would follow my passion for aviation.</p>
<p>I explored several options and when I was younger I had even considered joining the New Zealand Airforce, but having thought about it, it wouldn’t have been the right choice for me and I’m glad I made the decisions I made.</p>
<p><strong>Do you believe a career in flying requires a lot of passion?</strong></p>
<p>Absolutely, you can’t do it for the money. Yes, a Pilot’s salary is typically good but it can be a long time before you make the money back. Training to be a Pilot is expensive and if it isn’t your passion you won’t enjoy it and the financials won’t add up. It has to be your passion- it is my passion. The first time I did my Training Instructional Flight (TIF), it was the scariest but the best thing I have ever done. All I could think was “this is it, this is what I want to do.”</p>
<p><strong>When did you realise you had such a strong passion for flying? </strong></p>
<p><strong><em>“My mother always reminds me that I loved everything in the sky from a very early age, as a child I would look at planes in the air, and was fascinated with them taking off at our local airport.”</em></strong></p>
<p>My mother said that as a child I would watch planes in the sky with pure fascination and every year I would insist that my parents take me to the New Zealand Airshow. Little did we know, I would be the one commanding the planes that we had spent years watching.</p>
<p><strong>What was your first flying job?</strong></p>
<p>My first flying job was working for ‘Melbourne Flight Training’ as a Flight Instructor. My next opportunity meant packing up my suitcases and relocating to Darwin (Australia) to work as a sales representative for a general merchandise business that supplied community stores in remote locations across Australia. This meant flying an aircraft and visiting these stores with our latest goods. This allowed me to combine my sales and flying skills – something I could never have imagined- two of my passions in one job. This job sent me to places I would have never planned on visiting; I met people I wouldn’t have even known existed. Some of the places were so remote there were times before coming into landing that I would sometimes think to myself – “do I really have to land there?”</p>
<p>Regularly delivering to remote locations was an incredible opportunity for me to not only progress as a Pilot but also learn about different cultures. It was a really interesting job and it was fascinating to go into different communities and learn about their way of life. For example, Aboriginal communities in Australia. I truly believe that my experience of working with so many different cultures means I can now apply this when supporting Pilots and airlines, from all over the world, with their recruitment needs.</p>
<p><strong>After such a successful and enjoyable flying career, why did you decide to become a Pilot Recruitment Consultant?</strong></p>
<p>My husband received a job offer from his company to relocate back to the UK, where he is originally from. I saw an opportunity with GOOSE Recruitment for a Specialist Pilot Recruitment Consultant role that combined two of my passions; People and Aviation. It seemed too good to be true at first but I applied and shortly after received a phone call from GOOSE Recruitment’s Founder and CEO himself, Mark Charman inviting me for an interview.</p>
<p>I couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity. My experience means I know the calibre of candidates our clients want to hire and I am in a great position to support candidates with offering valuable career advice and finding them their dream opportunities.</p>
<p><strong>What advice would you give aspiring Pilots?</strong></p>
<p>Follow your passion and your dream but remember you’ll have to work hard for it.</p>
<p>At GOOSE Recruitment our team of consultants come from either Aviation or Recruitment backgrounds, making them experts in their field. Whether you are looking for a Pilot opportunity or need great candidates to join your airline, we want to hear from you. Our consultants are always happy to hear from you, so be sure to get in touch by calling us. We operate over a global scale and below you’ll find the details of each of our offices.</p>
<p><strong><em><a href="https://jobs.flightglobal.com/employer/1401494473/goose-recruitment/">Take a look at Goose Recruitment's live jobs here.</a> </em></strong></p>