Our recruitment process

So, you’ve seen a job at Bristol Airport that looks right for you. But what next?

First of all it’s a good idea to find out as much as you can about the job, so take a look at the advert and role profile before applying through our website. The online application should take no more than 10 minutes. We'll gather some basic background information and, depending on the job you’re applying for, you might be asked some key questions. 

Once we’ve got your application, we’ll check to see if it matches the candidate specification. We do this each time anyone applies for any job, so it makes no difference if you’ve applied to us before or not. And when we’ve decided what happens next, we’ll always let you know – usually around the closing date for applications if not before.

If we think you could be right for the job but need to clarify some aspects of your background or experience, we might give you a quick call to ask a few informal questions. This will usually be a 10-15 minute chat with someone from our Talent Acquisition team. This isn’t a part of the formal interview process, but a chance for us to gather enough information to decide whether to take you forward to interview. It also gives you the chance to ask any questions you may have.  

If you meet the requirements of the role, we’ll invite you for a first interview. This could be face-to-face at the Airport, or it could be virtual over Microsoft Teams. We’ll usually invite you by publishing interview slots on our recruitment system, and emailing you a link to choose your slot. We’ll then confirm your slot with an Outlook invite including a Teams link if required.

This structured interview will be based on the essential and desirable skills we're looking for. It also gives you the chance to let us know more about your skills, experience and what attracted you to the job. So, be ready to tell us about some of your best work – we’ll ask for examples from your career to date that demonstrate the competencies we’re looking for. But also have some questions for us – about our business, employee benefits, or anything else that you want to know. After all, it’s a two-way process and we both need to be sure that we’re right for each other.

You may be offered a second stage interview in some roles.

For some of our jobs (typically those which are customer facing) we might ask that you attend an assessment centre. These are usually half-day events where you'll attend with other candidates and participate in a combination of activities to help us assess your suitability for the job you have applied for. We'll always let you know in advance and you'll not be expected to prepare anything in advance.

We’ve outlined the typical recruitment journey here at the Airport however we recognise that every individual is unique, and you may require reasonable adjustments to our process. If you require any reasonable adjustments at any stage of the process, please contact us on [email protected] so we can do our best to help.

After we conclude each round of interviews, we’ll decide if we’re going to take you forward or if it’s a final stage interview, if we’re going to offer you the job. We’ll let you know as soon after your interview as possible, usually in no more than five working days. Someone from our Talent Acquisition team will either call or email you to give feedback on the whole process and, hopefully, give you the good news you’ve been waiting for. We’ll always try to give you personalised, constructive, honest and useful feedback. We’ll never leave you wondering and will always make sure you get proper feedback. After all, you’ve given up your time to interview with us so it’s only right that we take the time to let you know our thoughts on how you did.

Once you tell us that you are happy to accept our offer, we’ll send you your contract, any forms you need to fill in relating to your job and your offer letter within 48 hours, through our online onboarding system HARBOUR. All you need to do is read them carefully to make sure all the details are right, then complete any forms and accept your contract online.

We use a partner company called Procius to carry out our referencing checks. Soon after receiving your offer of employment, we'll email you a link so that you can set up an online profile for referencing. The referencing process you'll go through will depend on whether your job is landside (before the security gates) or airside (beyond the security gates). We’ll email you a referencing guide that gives you the ins and outs of how to go through referencing so there are no delays.

For all roles, you will need to provide references covering the last five years. If you have been constantly employed throughout that time, you’ll just need to provide employment references. If you have been out of work for any period over those five years (longer than 28 days) we’ll ask you to provide personal references to cover the gaps. In addition to references, you will also need to complete a criminal records check (DBS check). We don’t automatically rule anyone out for having a criminal record but depending on the role you are going for and the nature of the offence, we reserve the right to rescind an offer on the basis of criminal record check results. For some roles, you may also need to undergo a Counter Terrorism check.

We ask that you complete your details on Procius as soon as conveniently possible upon receiving the form so we can get to work on the background checks straight away.

Naturally, there’ll be a few practical things to sort out, such as your security pass. To get this, you’ll need to bring the same documents as you brought to your interview - proof of your right to work and proof of address (dated in the last 3 months) along with your National Insurance Number. We'll need to have completed the referencing process before we can give you a security pass and so it is important that the references you provide are correct. If you are offered an airside job, then you'll need to complete some training before we can issue you a security pass. Most of this can be done online once you start and we'll do our best to get this arranged as quickly as possible.

Your line manager will be in touch with you directly prior to your start date, they’ll let you know your start date, time and where to report to on your first day. They’ll also make sure any further final questions are answered so you feel ready and prepared for your first day with us!

Our People Team will also provide a brief induction - usually within your first week - that covers all the important information you need for working at the airport. It’s also another chance for you to ask any more questions about working here we want all of our employees to feel welcomed and feel they have everything they need to get started.