So, you spent four years learning everything about a hospitality career and tourism, public houses, and dealing with problem clients. What can you do with that knowledge if you choose the hospitality field? Can you go straight to a hotel manager position?
Well, it’s all a matter of a career ladder. For starters, learn the job positions one might consider in the hospitality field. All vacancies vary and have both perks and disadvantages.
Keep reading to learn about the most popular hospitality positions, and choose the ones you like in the article below.
Why Should One Consider a Hospitality Career?
Globalization and technologies have made the world the tiniest it has ever been. Nowadays, one can travel from one corner of the world to another in a blink of an eye. In the morning, you’re in Canada, and in the evening, you’re entering one of the pubs in South Africa. No wonder digital nomads emerged from globalization.
For starting a career in the hospitality industry, a college degree in Business and Management is preferred. ‘Who can help me write my resume so I can discover how to get hired in the hospitality industry?’
First, let’s start with the list of professions to choose from and the skills you’ll need.
Some core skills all hospitality workers require are as follows:
- Communication skills. Your work will include communication with hotel guests and the staff;
- Interpersonal skills. Obviously, you’ll work with people and deal with problematic clients;
- Organization skills. Most hospitality positions are about managing people and work processes;
- Business and management skills. Again, the hospitality industry works like a traditional business in many ways.
Still, encouraged to go for a hospitality career? Keep reading.
1. Hotel Manager
This is the first job title coming to one’s mind in the talk about hospitality careers. All because hotels take the biggest chunk of the hospitality companies. You remember that notorious Plaza Hotel in ‘Home Alone 2,’ right?
Obviously, tourists need accommodation to stay while enjoying their trip. They also require high-quality services. So, what will your responsibilities be as a hotel manager?
- Managing the budget, hotel services, and front-of-house operations;
- Managing the financial records and creating expenditure plans;
- Dealing with complaints from the hotel guests;
- Contacting the suppliers;
- Training the hotel staff;
- Managing property checks and ensuring top security.
2. Restaurant Manager
The responsibilities of a hotel manager and restaurant manager are similar. The core difference is the business scale. Commonly, restaurants are smaller organizations and are easier to manage. The type of restaurant you’ll be managing might be a fine diner or a fast-food drive-in, among others. The main areas you’ll focus on are industry standards like safety, health, and performance.
So, which are the core skills and responsibilities of a restaurant manager?
- Ensuring customer satisfaction and dealing with emergencies will require strong interpersonal skills;
- Managing sales and the budget is all about finance skills;
- Ensuring effective cooperation of all restaurant departments requires communication skills;
- Recruiting and motivating the staff members is a matter of strong interpersonal skills.
3. Chef
Hospitality careers are not only about business and management. If you know how to cook and have proper qualifications, go for the hospitality industry. Most hotels have bars and restaurants for the guests. As a chef or a kitchen crew member, you’ll have to ensure the food meets the culinary standards. Meanwhile, introducing a menu and daily specials will be other responsibilities to consider.
Which are the additional responsibilities of a kitchen crew member?
- Managing food expenses;
- Applying the knowledge of food regulations;
- Composing food preparation lists;
- Reaching out to the food suppliers.
4. Hotel Maid
Another hospitality position to think of in your career journey. If your clean-and-clear system is greater than Marie Kondo’s, consider this career. Unfortunately, some old stereotypes might deter you from choosing this job position. Look on the bright side. The pay for the cleaning personnel is higher nowadays, and the whole vacuuming and dusting is easier. Are you still doubting whether to become a hotel maid or not? Check the job responsibilities below.
- Ensuring top cleanliness that aligns with industry standards is a must;
- Laundering the guests’ clothes;
- Sanitizing the surfaces and the hotel equipment;
- Laundering the bedding.
5. Event Manager
Customers love being entertained. If you’re great at organizing one’s entertainment, opt for a career as an event manager. Remember JLo’s character in the ‘Wedding Planner’ romcom? Yeap, this career is all about planning, organizing, and making others happy. Interpersonal skills are the core here since you’ll work with people.
A typical event manager has the following job responsibilities:
- Ensuring flawless event logistics (for instance, making sure flowers are delivered in time);
- Promoting the event and cooperating with the event’s suppliers;
- Post-evaluating the event and managing the event-organizing team.
6. Sommelier
A sommelier is a professional who specializes in wine. Sure, the job posts for this career are rare since most chefs choose wine themselves. However, fine-end restaurants prefer having a special person in their winery department. The main responsibilities of a sommelier are as follows:
- Manage the deliveries and budget;
- Considering the guests’ taste preferences and recommending wines;
- Composing wine lists;
- Organizing wine-tasting events;
- Cooperating with wine distributors.
Final Thoughts
Building a hospitality career requires strong organization, interpersonal, and communication skills. The best part of the hospitality industry is the variety of careers it includes. Depending on your work preferences, you’ll always find a job in the nearest hotel or restaurant. Additionally, the pay for traditional hospitality-related jobs has risen too.
We hope the article was helpful to you. Good luck!