Agents use their skills to switch roles and do a little side hustling

From working in care homes to looking after dementia patients to making face masks and baubles, travel agents have been using their skills during the pandemic to switch careers or develop a side hustle.

After 20 years in the travel industry and six months into a new job as a cruise specialist, Paula Jackson was made redundant just days before the government furlough scheme was announced.

She admits she was ‘in panic mode’, wondering how to pay her bills, so she took a job in a care home, which is not something she ever thought she’d be doing. However, after enduring cases of Covid-19 among the residents, and even deaths, she says she’s realised agents are ‘the best types of people’ to be working in that environment.

"We are people people," she said. "I’ve had tears, laughter and tiredness but knowing you are making a small difference means a lot, it’s also great to talk about holidays to people and re jog their memories.

"I was talking to a lady the other day who barely talks and noticed she had a picture of her and her husband on a cruise, I spoke to her about it and she told me it was the Queen Mary around South America, my seniors couldn’t believe it, she had barely spoken for a year!!"

Now Paula is considering training to be a nurse. "Travel will always be in my blood," she said, but urged others thinking of a career change to ‘go for it’.

Leah finds a silver lining in the (Covid) cloud

After weeks of processing travel refunds and seeing her sales commission drain away, Travel Counsellor Leah Mackay initially joined the NHS Test and Trace service, along with a handful of colleagues. Travel Counsellors had sent their CVs to a recruitment firm to help.

However, she decided the new role wasn’t for her, saying she felt ‘chained to her desk’, even though none of the staff were making any calls. She described it as ‘a complete shambles’ with a lack of management and training and left to return to the professional software services firm where she’d worked three years previously.

Leah is now working as a technical account manager on a part-time basis, which she fits around her job as a travel consultant. She says she’s probably earning more now than she did as a travel consultant.

"My days are certainly busy, which isn’t a bad thing – the first few weeks were quite hectic, but I’m managing to keep a good work life balance so I work from 9 – 6 and sometimes on weekends I spend my time researching travel enquiries.

"Most of my enquires are not urgent, mostly for next year or a ‘maybe’ for this year, depending on how things develop," she said.

"The great thing about being back in my old industry is that I’m still using my sales skills and instead of fighting my way through the corporate world, I’m now making life easier for those ex-colleagues with amazing software solutions, which is essentially what we do for travel customers – take away the pain and make it seamless.

"I’ll be able to keep on with the job until my travel business is back to full speed and the income I’m happy with – I could still earn ongoing commission for all my software sales too."
 

Undercover agent

Agent Maeve Carroll has been earning extra income selling eco-friendly face coverings online, which she makes with her daughter.

"During lockdown we wanted our own facemasks to go shopping," she explained. "Being very environmentally aware, and not wanting to add to the mountain of single-use facemasks going into landfill, my 15-year-old found a pattern on the internet and used a remnant of fabric to make one. I joined in and we posted them on Facebook, which led to lots of requests from family and friends."

The pair set up The Two Masketeers Facebook page – and the requests kept on coming.

"I’ve enjoyed refreshing my sewing skills, being creative, enjoying time with my daughter and seeing happy mask-wearing customers, although you need to look at their eyes to see if they are smiling," said Maeve.

"I don’t see it as a replacement to my travel job. Honestly, it’s a business which, because of what we are trying to protect ourselves from, I hope is short lived. I love the travel industry, first and foremost. For the time being it’s a fun diversion."

Free agents

Agent Cathie O’Dea has retired from travel after 48 years to focus on her baubles business full time, while we’ve heard of other agents doing everything from running afternoon tea collection services to driving for Amazon during the pandemic.

Are you thinking of starting a new career or turning a hobby into a full-time job? Let us know.

By Linsey McNeill, Editor (UK)