26 years. How do you compress more than a quarter of a century into one blog? Well, C&amp;M have reached our huge 26th birthday (the one everyone celebrates, right?) and we thought we'd celebrate by highlighting the six things that have really made us who we are today. So&hellip;where to start?
It's all about the team
Ok, we&rsquo;ll start with the obvious. It's a clich&eacute; but it's true &ndash; we're nothing without <a href="/about-us/">our team</a>. Like all companies we've made mistakes along the way (we'll come on to that very shortly), but our staff here at C&amp;M are fantastic and we couldn't possibly write this article without thanking them. Our retention rate of staff is excellent, with many having been here for more than 10, 15 or 20 years &ndash; and some have even gone on to successfully start their own recruitment businesses as well as securing very senior roles within the industry too.
Most of our staff actually applied as candidates looking for travel jobs, so we explained the benefits of working in travel recruitment and (thankfully!) many of them started a hugely rewarding new career path.
Trying to get too big too soon
But like so many companies, our egos probably got the better of us.
We were up to 50 staff at our largest point, and we had five offices in London, Manchester, Surrey, Brighton and Birmingham. Our temps market was very big in the early days too with over 200 temps working for us.
Opening these offices came at a huge, huge cost. And in hindsight, our egos and growth plans got in the way of thinking about what was actually fundamental in running a business. Because we were quite new to it, we didn't realise the full cost of keeping all of these offices. Also, we took on too many staff &ndash; and we held on to some of them for too long simply because we wanted the right number of bums on seats!
As well as opening new offices, we looked at expanding into new divisions related to travel. Some have been very successful, such as Evolve Hospitality, which started as a division of C&amp;M before becoming a thriving hospitality and events recruitment business in its own entity. But many of our other expansion plans didn&rsquo;t go quite as well!
You have to try these things and you have to take risks, but we were too happy to take the big risks. That's a lesson learned. Don't grow too quickly just because you think it is the right thing to do. Big isn't always best. We were na&iuml;ve, but God we had some fun along the way.
Celebrating in style
We believe massively in looking after our staff and we have a very good benefits programme, but we also love to do incentives. We've been to the F1 at Silverstone, tennis at the O2, horse racing at Ascot, white water rafting and too many posh restaurants to mention. And we also really enjoy taking part in charity events together &ndash; including Tough Mudders, triathlons, London to Brighton cycling races, a 100-mile nighttime bike ride for Rubens Retreat&hellip;and even an ultra-marathon for Issy's Silver Linings!
But nothing beats an overseas incentive trip with the whole team. We've been to all sorts of destinations from Palma and Marbella to Iceland and skiing in the Alps, but it's hard to think of a better one than last year's trip to Marrakech, which was outstanding.
The pandemic was hugely challenging in terms of staffing and ensuring we survived (before we could even think of thriving again) - so to get the whole team together in Marrakech and celebrate what we'd all been through was truly special. The early morning hot air balloon ride over the Atlas Mountains is something none of us will ever forget.
Global events
Talking of the pandemic, it would be impossible to recite the big events of the last 26 years without mentioning Covid, 9/11 and the recession of 2008/09.
When 9/11 happened, we were sitting in our office in the Barbican, all the phones stopped ringing, and we all just thought what the hell has happened? So everyone gathered around my computer and we watched it play out before our eyes. We just didn't know what would be around the corner. From a business point of view, it led to many retractions of offers, and candidates accepting roles and then having their job offers withdrawn. But after two months, thankfully it picked up quickly.
Of course, the biggest challenge that we've ever faced as a business was the pandemic. We've written about this before, but let's just say it took a huge amount of effort to keep C&amp;M going, and there were many, MANY points where we thought we wouldn't make it. We scaled back, cut down on our overheads, got rid of our offices and somehow we got through it with hard work, quick business decisions and managing the cash.
We had to make redundancies after all of these events. As a business owner, that is something that's very difficult to do. When you have good people in the business and you're forced to make them redundant, it's a really difficult decision to make. But it has to be made and it has to be made quickly in order to save the business. Luckily on all three occasions, we managed to bring some of these employees back, which we're very proud of.
Our first big night out
In terms of highlights, one of the initial things that comes to mind is the first award we ever won. It was at the Travel Bulletin Awards where we were named Best Recruitment Consultancy &ndash; and it was a hell of a night! That was in the early days, when we'd only existed for a few years. It was our first ever nomination, so we hired a table, took some clients with us (who also won!) and we were all dressed in our black tie finest. I've got great memories of it and it was an amazing feeling - we were all so proud.
Winning our first ever award made it such a memorable night and then it all rocketed from there and we ended up winning awards at TTG, Travel Weekly, TravelMole, The British Travel Awards, Sunday Times' Best Businesses to Work For and others. A really personal one for me was the AWTE 2021 Business Impact Award, which was a true honour.
Filing cabinets and roller indexes
Looking back, it's crazy to think how much has changed since we started. Some of the main <a href="/jobs/">travel roles that we recruit for</a> now, didn't even exist back in 1998! Yes, lots of those old positions are still around &ndash; <a href="/jobs/#/business-travel-consultant-team-leader-manager">Business Travel Consultants</a>, <a href="/jobs/#/leisure-travel-consultant-reservations">Reservations Agents</a> etc &ndash; but there are so many other vital travel role these days, and that's mainly because technology has advanced. There is now many more ecommerce and <a href="/jobs/#/marketing-pr">digital roles</a>, and specific online skillsets that are now required by lots of companies.
And the emergence of job boards and other technologies means the way we recruit has changed hugely too. Back when I started, we were on the phone 80 per cent of the time. I remember we used to work with filing cabinets and roller indexes with CVs in them - and then we used to fax CVs to clients!&nbsp;
Things have changed a lot in 26 years. We've had marriages and babies from C&amp;M staff &ndash; and we've made friends for life, even with the people who have left us and moved on.
Here's to the next 26.
By Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment

We've reached our 26th birthday and we're celebrating by highlighting the six things that made us who we are today

C&M is 26! Here's the 6 events that made us who we are

Predicting the future is a risky game &ndash; will travel be busier than ever or will economic and global worries slow everything down? I don't know. Frankly, no-one does.
In <a href="/team/harri-goode/">my 10 years recruiting for temps at C&amp;M</a>, I've seen a lot. So here's my tips on why temporary hires could prove to be an invaluable addition to your business during this uncertain year.
It's all about the flexibility
One of the key advantages of <a href="/clients/">hiring temporary staff </a>is, of course, the flexibility they offer. Whether it's to cover peak seasons, special events, staff shortages or simply the unforeseen, temp employees can be brought in as and when needed. This flexibility allows businesses to scale their workforce up or down based on demand, without the long-term commitment of hiring full-time employees.
What's more, taking on temp staff can be a far quicker process than recruiting permanent employees. Temp recruitment agencies can provide a pool of pre-screened <a href="/candidates/">candidates</a> who are ready to start work immediately &ndash; and allow companies to carry on doing what they're good at without any disruption.
Everyone's on holiday all at once
All companies do their best to manage the strains of annual leave, but there are always certain times of the year when many people are away on holiday - particularly around the summer and Easter months. Research suggests nearly half of all staff will be on annual leave at the same time over these periods &ndash; just imagine the impact that has on the remaining workers!
Aside from the office feeling empty, this can cause huge pressures on team members with increased workloads&hellip;and increased stress levels. Taking on a few temps during the busiest holiday periods is an easy way to keep permanent staff morale high while also keeping customers happy.
But it's not just about short-term cover
A big misconception is that 'temp' means a short-term placement lasting a few weeks, but we've placed many great candidates in temporary travel roles lasting multiple months &ndash; and sometimes years. They're a great option to cover employees on maternity leave, those on long-term sick or when you have an unexpected increase in business.
No recruitment budget? No problem
Many travel companies are looking to take on permanent staff at the moment. 
But for those who have exhausted their recruitment budget (or simply don't have a budget at all), hiring temporary employees can be a cost-efficient and extremely effective way to fill any staffing gaps. Temps are typically experienced, well-trained and adept at jumping into a new role with minimal preparation, so this is a great way to cut down on costly onboarding processes.
Try before you buy
The other fantastic perk of taking on temp staff is that you can effectively use it as a trial period for both you and the employee. While they're helping you cover the workload, you can evaluate their performance and skills, and decide whether they're the right fit for your company &ndash; and many temporary roles end up going permanent for this very reason.
At C&amp;M we recruit for all temp roles within the travel industry including <a href="/jobs/#/leisure-travel-consultant-reservations">travel consultants,</a> <a href="/jobs/#/finance">finance</a>, <a href="/jobs/#/administration">admin</a>, <a href="/jobs/#/business-travel-consultant-team-leader-manager">BTCs</a>, reception cover, operations, <a href="/jobs/#/business-development-sales">business development</a> and <a href="/jobs/#/marketing-pr">marketing</a>, so we're your one-stop recruitment shop!
We have access to many fantastic qualified and experienced candidates looking for short or long-term temporary travel positions, so if you need a few extra pairs of hands then we can help - just contact me at 020 7397 1278 / <a href="mailto:harri@candm.co.uk">harri@candm.co.uk</a>.
By <a href="/team/harri-goode/">Harri Goode</a>, Senior Account Manager - Temps at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment

Need cover for peak seasons or busy holiday periods? Want to try before you buy? Taking on temp employees could be your best decisions this year

Why 2024 could be the year of the travel temp

The headline figure is that wages for <a href="../../../../../jobs/">new travel jobs</a> are up by 11.4 per cent since last year and by 19.1 per cent since before the pandemic &ndash; which is great news! Everyone's benefitting and we're all now earning significantly more, right? Not quite.
For those in standard travel jobs (those paying less than &pound;40,000), pay increased by a very healthy 16.1 per cent between 2019 and 2022. But in the past year, it&rsquo;s risen by just 3.6 per cent &ndash; less than the rate of inflation.
And for those in junior travel jobs (those paying up to &pound;22,000), pay has increased by just 1.9 per cent so far in 2023. Those in <a href="../../../../../jobs/#/26-000-34-999">mid-level travel roles </a>(those paying between &pound;22,001 and &pound;29,999) have seen an even smaller annual rise of just 1.1 per cent.
Since 2019, pay for those in junior travel roles has increased by 9.8 per cent to stand at an average of &pound;20,942, while those in mid-level roles have seen wages rise by 4.7 per cent to reach an average of &pound;26,553 &ndash; an increase of only &pound;1,198 in four years. Just think about how much more expensive everything else has got in that time!
So what accounts for the big overall increase in wages? Rather inevitably, it's at the top. Pay for <a href="../../../../../jobs/#/40-000-49-999/50-000-59-999/60-000-69-999">executive roles</a> (&pound;40,000 and above) has risen by an average of 7.23 per cent in the past year and the overall figures have been skewed by a big increase in placements of higher-paid executives.
With an average wage rise of just 3.9 per cent (or less than inflation) for all new entry or mid-level roles (those paying less than &pound;30,000), how do we expect to entice candidates to work in the travel industry? And don't forget that from next April, minimum wage increases to &pound;11.44 per hour, meaning it will be illegal to pay any full-time employer aged 21 or older less than &pound;22,308.
In order to attract more talent into the industry, we need to see wages for junior and mid-level travel roles at least keeping pace with those of more senior positions &ndash; and preferably rising faster. That's how we create a talent pipeline for future years.
Travel's a fantastic industry, but we can't continue to be a low-paying one. We're already losing too much great talent to other sectors, and continuing to offer poor salaries to junior members of our teams will ultimately hurt us all.&nbsp;
Many travel companies are currently experiencing difficulties in <a href="../../../../../clients/">recruiting quality talent</a>, and unfortunately this is a byproduct of our history of low pay &ndash; many talented travel professionals have left our industry in recent years and they're not looking back. And with far better salaries in other sectors, how can we blame them?&nbsp;
Some companies simply don't get it. They want candidates with years of travel experience, but are only willing to offer salaries that already looked miserly five years ago. It should go without saying that it is proving more and more difficult - almost impossible - to find talent for these roles.
This is on us. As difficult as it is, for the health of the travel industry, we simply must offer better salaries to our junior and mid-level team members.
Otherwise, we're creating real problems for future years.
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By Barbara Kolosinaka, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment
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We've heard for some time now that salaries are increasing continually in the travel industry, but when you dive into the stats, is that actually true? Well, yes…but also no…

Travel salaries are going up and up (…or are they?)

2022 was a fantastic year for travel recruitment &ndash; the <a href="../../../../../news/press-releases/travel-salary-index-2022-overview/">most successful in C&amp;M's 25 year history</a>. But it was always going to be an anomaly. Cut to halfway through 2023 and activity levels are roughly where we were before the pandemic.
Vacancies and placements are both down compared to last year of course, but this is no surprise. Many companies &ndash; especially TMCs &ndash; cut their headcount so deeply during the pandemic, they had to do a colossal amount of rebuilding and hiring last year.
They recruited so heavily in 2022 that they simply do not have the capacity or budget to continue at that pace in 2023. Expecting anything else would be unrealistic.
There's no reason to worry about this and it is no indication of where the year is going.
The truth is, for us at C&amp;M, last year was actually too busy. Our team were almost firefighting &ndash; they were manically busy, trying to react to the huge demand. They were working far longer hours than we would like and were stretched to capacity trying to fill all of the roles that we had on. It was our busiest and most successful year ever, but you can only maintain that level of activity for so long.
With fewer vacancies this year, it means we're able to <a href="../../../../../clients/">focus on each client</a> and manage each role much more thoroughly. And, importantly, it means our Consultants have more time to advise and guide our clients through every step of their hiring process. Although not at the level of 2022, we're still placing a large number of candidates in new travel roles every week &ndash; and we're now able to do it more efficiently with even better service and dedication.
Salaries going up and up
Wages in the travel industry have increased by around 11 per cent from the first half of 2022 and this is great news. It's long overdue but they need to continue rising as they have been historically low for far too long.
Quality candidates are still in short supply. The best were receiving four or five offers last year, with some companies even getting into price wars over certain applicants! However, with <a href="../../../../../news/press-releases/">vacancies falling and candidate numbers rising in recent months</a>, this imbalance is now less pronounced and is beginning to rectify itself.
With wages increasing across the whole industry, there are now lots of <a href="../../../../../jobs/">attractive travel jobs</a> sparking the interest of both active and passive job seekers. These factors should combine to mean that companies will hopefully begin to have a bigger talent pool to choose from in the near future.
Widen your horizons
Of course, not all of these candidates will have the appropriate experience or qualifications to be the right fit for each specific role. But more and more of our clients are listening to us about broadening their requirements and looking outside of the industry for talent &ndash; and, we're glad to say, many are finding great success with their hires.
For any companies thinking of hiring later in 2023, we would advise them to do it now. Summer is always a quiet period for travel recruitment with normal pre-pandemic seasonal variations, but from September onwards things really heat up.
That's when all companies resume their recruitment&hellip;and they all fight each other for the best candidates! So for any travel companies that have the resources and time to recruit straightaway, we would advise them to jump ahead of the competition and <a href="../../../../../clients/">secure the top talent</a> before their competitors have even written their job adverts.
By Barbara Kolosinaka, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment

After a monumentally busy 2022, travel companies are recruiting less in 2023 – here's why that's actually a good thing

Travel recruitment in 2023 – and why 2022 was just TOO busy 

2022 was an extremely busy year for senior recruitment in the travel industry with a real jump in activity from the second quarter onwards. Business was growing, confidence was back and many companies were backfilling roles that they lost in the pandemic.
Although recruitment at the start of 2023 has not been quite as busy, it's still at a similar level to pre-pandemic times with slightly more relaxed deadlines than we saw in the previous 12 months.
Fewer active candidates
Last year was all about recruitment, with lots of new job openings and many people being vocal and proactive in terms of job searching. That isn't the case this year &ndash; those candidates have now settled into their roles and there are fewer people looking to move. This has resulted in a really limited number of quality active candidates in the senior travel market.
The candidate pool has become much more passive in 2023, with fewer people putting their CVs on job boards and applying for roles. But there is still quality out there. It may be harder to access these candidates, but if you can, then many are still very willing to consider moving&hellip;but it must be for the right opportunity.
Referrals and recommendations
One of the ways we're finding success at the moment is through&nbsp;<a title="Refer a friend to C&amp;M" href="../../../../../../news/press-releases/earn-250-by-simply-recommending-a-friend-/">referrals</a>, where candidates that we have worked with are recommending friends to us who are not necessarily active on job boards. For instance, we recently approached one person about a role and, although they weren't right for the job, they recommended someone who put us in contact with someone else who successfully got the role.
This was an experienced travel professional who wasn't on any of the job boards, wasn't actively looking to change roles and would have been impossible to find without these recommendations from past candidates.
No hybrid working? No applicants
For candidates, flexibility around hybrid and remote working is now just as important as the&nbsp;<a title="C&amp;M's Travel Salary Index" href="../../../../../../news/press-releases/travel-salary-index-2022-overview/">salary</a>&nbsp;package. This didn't used to be the case, but it is now absolutely commonplace. These days it is very rare to recruit for roles which are based full-time, 5 days a week in the office &ndash; and companies that want this are finding it a real struggle to fill these roles because flexibility is now seen as a must-have for almost all candidates.
Unlike the lower levels of the travel industry which have historically been poorly paid, salaries for senior and management roles in travel are very comparable to other industries. There are some small companies out there not offering top wages, but there are many travel tech companies, airlines or large OTAs paying really generous salaries. Of course, anything that travel companies can do to improve their salaries and overall packages will make it easier to attract top talent and stand out from their competitors.
Broaden your criteria &ndash; consider other sectors
This won't apply to all senior roles in travel, but depending on the position, we often suggest that companies consider widening their talent pool by looking at candidates from other sectors and industries. If it's a sales or marketing role, then companies will usually only consider candidates with travel experience. But if it's a finance or IT position, then there are a lot of great candidates out there from other industries who have the transferable skills to become a success in travel as well.
At the lower levels of the industry there is currently a huge shortage of talent, with the best candidates able to pick and choose from multiple offers. While this isn't quite the case for senior recruitment, those companies currently recruiting need to explore all options to find a successful hire in this challenging market.
By&nbsp;Tim Robinson, Sales Manager &ndash; Senior Appointments at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment, and&nbsp;Ben Lidbury, Senior Account Manager &ndash; Senior Appointments at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment

With a shortage of people looking for senior travel roles right now, how can companies find talent, how can we attract passive candidates and how can recruiters help?

Senior travel recruitment outlook – how can we attract passive candidates?

Candidate-driven market
Experienced travel candidates have all the power right now &ndash; they can pick and choose their next role, so if you're not offering a distinct reason why they should work for you, you're likely to be left behind.
Flexible working used to be a real selling point for a vacancy, but now it's expected. However, while the majority of travel roles are now hybrid positions, there's still a lack of pure homeworking positions &ndash; and these roles are highly sought after by candidates.
Travel wages MUST increase
Salaries have always been an issue for our industry. We commonly say that people work in travel because they love it, and while that's still true, it's not enough anymore.&nbsp;Wages simply have to increase&nbsp;across the whole industry. It's unacceptable to just offer minimum wage &ndash; especially when there's such a fight for talent going on. Many, many people have left travel, so how do we expect to tempt them back if we continually offer such derogatory pay?
Why should talent choose your company?
The pandemic has made many people question what they want from life and where they want to spend their working day, so travel companies really need to spend time thinking about their <a href="../../../../../../about-us/">brand </a>and what they stand for. What does your company represent? What are your values? Why would someone want to work there? What's your reputation? And, if necessary, how can you turn it around?
Candidates &ndash; particularly younger ones &ndash; are now focusing much more on these aspects. Any company that can offer a positive and engaging working environment, attractive salaries and benefits, as well as mentoring or career development opportunities will find they have a much bigger talent pool to choose from.
Identifying your key players
With the entire industry experiencing recruitment challenges, it is crucial to do all we can to keep our current talent content and happy &ndash; and, in particular, our key players.
Whether it's to do with their fantastic sales skills, morale-boosting positivity or guidance for other colleagues, we all have these star performers, and it is vital to assess what would happen if they leave.
How would team morale be affected? What would it mean if they joined a competitor? Would our company reputation be impacted? Could we replace them - and if so, how long would it take and how much would it cost?
With demand for talent far outstripping current supply, this is achallenging time for travel recruitment. But the opportunities are clear for us all to see. And by adjusting a few aspects of our <a href="../../../../../../clients/">recruitment</a> and retention policies, we can give ourselves the best chance of making the next year a hugely positive one. By Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment

So how do you stand out from your competitors when recruiting? What are candidates looking for? How can you keep hold of your current employees? And have you got a plan in place if your key players leave?

How to recruit top travel talent and retain your key players

With stats showing that <a href="../../../../../../news/press-releases/travel-s-gender-pay-gap-narrows-in-2021/">travel and tourism has a gender pay difference of 6.5 per cent</a>, some could be tempted to celebrate that we have a much smaller equality gap than many other industries. But this isn't recent to cheer &ndash; travel SHOULD be leading the way on this issue.
Travel and tourism is seen as an industry of inclusivity with a diverse range of people working in it, so it stands to reason that we will be ahead of many other sectors when it comes to equality. The concerning thing is that a <a href="../../../../../../news/press-releases/travel-s-gender-pay-gap-narrows-in-2021/">gender pay gap</a> still exists in our industry at all.
There are many positives to be taken from the figures &ndash; not least of which is that&nbsp;the gap has fallen from 14.2 per cent before the pandemic. Things are clearly changing, and the industry is beginning to make headway with the issue.
Both in travel and other industries, we are all more aware of gender inequality, and bigger companies are now required to declare their pay disparity. Measures like these are certainly helping, but they will only go so far.
What's really heartening is that we're also seeing female candidates in our industry becoming more confident in negotiating&nbsp;better salaries&nbsp;for themselves when looking for a new role, with many feeling increasingly comfortable about having conversations with their bosses regarding wage increases.
For many years, men have been far more vocal regarding their pay, while women traditionally remained quieter, but thankfully this is now changing with more women understanding their worth and importance to their company. Changes brought about by the pandemic &ndash; such as homebased and hybrid working &ndash; are also creating positive results, with more women and those with children now increasingly likely to put themselves forward for bigger jobs.
One of the main reasons for travel's overall gender pay gap is due to the large number of women being placed in entry level roles in the industry. This has always been the case, but the percentage of females joining the industry in lower-paid positions has increased in recent years from&nbsp;68.7 per cent in 2019&nbsp;to&nbsp;73.3 per cent last year.
However, in time, some of these women should progress through the industry into more senior roles and will then have the ability to implement their own diversity and inclusion policies at their future companies, helping to eliminate any salary disparities between genders.
Every year since C&amp;M's figures began in 2014, male travel executives have significantly out eared their female equivalents&hellip;until last year. But while this is a clear example of the progress being made, we can't be pleased with a one-off anomaly &ndash; we need to see this happen more consistently.
Ultimately, this isn't about paying women more or reducing men's salaries so that they fall in line with their female colleagues &ndash; it is about equality for all. Companies should carry out salary audits to ensure they are paying their employees fairly for their position &ndash; regardless of their gender.
Travel is a wonderfully inclusive place to work, so if we don't lead the way with true pay parity across our whole industry, who will?
By Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director of <a href="../../../../../../about-us/">C&amp;M Travel Recruitment</a>

With stats showing that travel has a smaller gender pay difference than other industries, some could be tempted to celebrate, but this isn't recent to cheer – travel SHOULD be leading the way on this issue.

Why travel should be leading the way on gender pay parity

From backpacking around Asia and Africa as a teenager to becoming Director at the UK&rsquo;s largest specialist travel recruitment company and being named one of the 100 most influential women in the travel and tourism industry, my career has taken me in many unexpected and wonderful directions over the last two decades! These are my experiences and tips about how to make your dream career become a reality.
The early years
I was initially planning to follow my interest of food and nutrition dietetics at university, but after spending a couple of years backpacking around the world, I realised I&rsquo;d fallen in love with travel and I was soon enrolled on a travel and tourism degree course.
After I graduated, I was really lucky to get <a href="../../../../../../jobs/">my first job in the industry</a> at an airline and I fell into the corporate side of the sector as an Account Manager / Business Development Manager working for a tiny little French airline out of City Airport, selling to the likes of American Express and HRG.
After a couple of years, I was fortunate enough to get a job working for Holiday Autos as an <a href="../../../../../../jobs/?query=account%20manager">Account Manager jobs</a> selling to the leisure market including tour operators and OTAs. A short time later, my career changed completely&hellip;
Finding my place at C&amp;M
Completely unexpectedly, the recruiter who found me my role at Holiday Autos, Angus Chisholm, got in touch to say he had just launched his own recruitment company and asked me if I&rsquo;d like to come aboard. No-one actually decides to be a recruiter, so his offer took me by surprise! He thought my experience meant I&rsquo;d be great for the role and I thought I&rsquo;d give it a go. And almost 18 years down the line, I still love <a href="../../../../../../about-us/">working at C&amp;M</a> &ndash; we have a great team and colleagues and I haven&rsquo;t looked back since.&nbsp;
I worked out pretty early on in my career that I&rsquo;d be much more suited to working at an SME in an entrepreneurial business rather than in a corporate company because I&rsquo;m ambitious and wanted to work my way up the ladder quickly and believe that at an SME you&rsquo;re more than just a number. I learnt a lot working for a corporate organisation, but I am far better at a company where I can roll up my sleeves and truly get involved.
I joined C&amp;M when it was still in its infancy - and this was a great time to come on board. Working for an organisation that&rsquo;s young and is almost like a start-up means there will be opportunities to make your own mark.
I&rsquo;ve held lots of different roles during my time here &ndash; starting as a Recruitment Consultant and working my way up as a Team Leader, <a href="../../../../../../jobs/?query=sales%20manager">Sales Manager</a>, <a href="../../../../../../jobs/?query=business%20development">Business Development Manager</a>, Business Development Director and then Sales Director before becoming a Director and then Managing Director.
Personal sacrifices
Of course, not everybody wants to rise up the ladder. Some people are happy as a Recruitment Consultant or an Account Manager. That&rsquo;s obviously completely fine, but I wanted different strings to my bow. I&rsquo;m very ambitious and wanted to grow intellectually and professionally, and I wanted to learn more. I pushed for it. I let people know what I wanted and how I was going to get there rather than just expecting it to come to me.
I told my boss what I wanted and he told me what I would have to do to get to the next stage, and then the next stage after that. I just kept pushing &ndash; and I worked my butt off!
It&rsquo;s not for everyone, but I put my absolute heart and soul into, and some things took a back seat as a result. My work-life balance probably wasn&rsquo;t as good as it could have been and I had to give up certain things. I did make sacrifices in my personal life because of my career and that was a decision I decided to make.
Hone your skills and prove yourself
Career advancement is all about honing your personal skills. Whether it&rsquo;s a direct Manager or a mentor, I believe it&rsquo;s important to have someone who can identify and develop those skills to help that person get to the next stage. You need to have a really clear plan of where you want to be, what you want to do and why you want to do it? What&rsquo;s the next stage?
Some people haven&rsquo;t got that ambition - they are happy doing what they do and earning good money. And why not? There is nothing wrong with that at all. Everybody&rsquo;s different.
But if you really want to get to the next level, then you need to be aware that you are not going to get that promotion just because you want it. It&rsquo;s not as simple as, &lsquo;I&rsquo;m doing this job and the next natural stage up is x.&rsquo; You have to prove yourself. You have to know what you want and possess the attitude and energy to prove you can do it.
It&rsquo;s much better to do this first rather than having to demonstrate it later, because by that point you will have a lot to prove to your peers, your managers, your staff and yourself. Show what you can do, and then get the rewards that come with it in terms of status, job title and salary.
It&rsquo;s also important to have humility and realise the disciplines that you still need to work on. Improve them and employ people around you who are better than you in certain areas.
Still lots to learn!
After two decades, I&rsquo;m still hugely ambitious and want to develop personally and professionally. Nobody is fantastic at everything &ndash; there&rsquo;s always more to learn. There are areas of my role that I want to improve on and there are more things in the business that I want to do &ndash; and hopefully, as I develop, the business will too.
There are loads of things that I still want to achieve, but I know that these will have to come from me. I&rsquo;m now beginning to work with a mentor / coach to help me develop up to the next stage from Director, which is something I feel I&rsquo;m ready to do. I&rsquo;m not complacent. I never think that I can do it all. People might think that they&rsquo;ve reached their optimum level, but they haven&rsquo;t &ndash; there are always ways to improve.
Barbara Kolosinska is the Managing Director at <a href="../../../../../../about-us/">C&amp;M Travel Recruitment</a>

C&M's Barbara Kolosinska shares her tips and experiences about making it in the travel industry

How to make it to the top in travel: Passion, determination…and sacrifice!

It&rsquo;s no secret that <a href="../../../../../../jobs/?query=adventure">adventure travel jobs</a> is facing a true battle for talent at the moment. Many candidates left the industry during the pandemic and aren't looking to return, while others are showing increased loyalty to their current company.
But a major problem that's been underreported is how Covid effectively extinguished the traditional way for new talent to enter our industry. Travel was banned during the pandemic and, with it, went any opportunities for young people to gain first-hand destination knowledge from gap years.
So if we don't change how we recruit, where do we expect new travel employees to come from?
Increased training?
Firstly, and most importantly, we need to increase the opportunities for people to enter our industry.
Companies like STA Travel were really essential to the sector. They brought in well-travelled, energetic, young people who wanted to get into&nbsp;travel sales. These new employees would go through a full induction programme, get fully trained up, work there for a couple of years and then move on to work for other tour operators.
This was the gateway into the industry for many young people, but a lot of these companies are either no longer operating or are still struggling from the pandemic, so this avenue into travel doesn't currently exist. And when you couple this with the small pool of young people who have even had the opportunity to travel in the last couple of years, we have a real problem.
To counter this, we need all <a href="../../../../../../jobs/?query=adventure">Jobs in adventure travel</a> companies to be more flexible, bring in less experienced people and train candidates from a lower level. Rather than focusing on the number of years that a candidate has had in a previous role, they should look at which applicants have the right DNA for their company, those who love to travel or have the right educational background. If they&rsquo;re more open to those candidates, it will definitely help them fill their job vacancies.
Things need to change. Many tour operators would never traditionally have done this sort of training in-house, but if they can&rsquo;t afford to pay the top salaries to secure the few great candidates in the market, then they have no choice but to consider offering that initial training themselves.
We really have got to do this. I truly believe that if adventure tour operators refuse to offer chances to new people, then this problem will just continue to escalate and will result in a price war with everyone trying to grab those few remaining quality candidates.
Increased salaries?
Of course, the best talent in the market will have their choice of roles and will naturally gravitate towards the jobs that are paying more or that offer increased flexibility and homeworking.
Wages in the travel industry have been a problem for a number of years, and all travel companies will need to re-evaluate their&nbsp;salary&nbsp;banding going forward. The lack of candidates in the market has undoubtedly pushed salaries in the adventure travel sector up and they will continue to go up. In order to get experienced and talented candidates, companies will have no choice but to offer a relevant wage.
Increased flexibility?
Full-time homeworking has undeniably become more important to jobseekers, so this is another option that we all need to seriously consider. The pandemic has meant that about 90 per cent of adventure travel companies have now opened themselves up to hybrid working, but the large majority are not keen to go completely remote based. Adventure tour operators have quite close-knit teams, and the owners still believe very much in their teams all being together in the same room. Very, very few of the companies I recruit for will allow full-time remote working &ndash; the rest will want people in the office at least twice a week.
This is a big issue because some candidates now wish to be based remotely even though they never would have asked for it previously &ndash; it is an expectation that never used to exist. These roles weren't available before the pandemic, and they're still very rare now, but any company that can offer this will instantly have an advantage over their competitors.
With more travel companies now struggling to fill their jobs themselves than in previous years, <a href="../../../../../../about-us/">the role of the recruiter</a> has become more important than ever. But by creating more entry-level training opportunities with improved packages, we can deliver a pipeline of great travel talent that will benefit our entire industry. By Mark Shapiro, Team Leader at C&amp;M Travel Recruitment

Adventure travel is facing a true battle for talent at the moment. But by creating more entry-level training opportunities, we can deliver a pipeline of great travel talent to benefit the entire industry

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