So you’ve decided you want a career in the tourism and hospitality industry so where now?

Decide which jobs interest you, make sure that you have the skills and experience that are required by the job and then research the company further on the web. Once all this is completed and you are happy with the job role and the company, adapt your covering letter, attach your CV and send it off.

Below you will find some useful tips about getting to know the industry; skills that employers look for; composing covering letters, CVs and applications; work experience and preparing for interviews.

• Know your Industry
• Core Skills
• Work Experience
• Applications
• CV’s & Covering Letters
• Interviews

Know Your Industry:

Read about the industry as a whole so you can build up in your mind the type of environment that you want to work in. Talk to people who currently work in the industry and the specific field you are interested in working in. Do your skills match up?

Case Studies

Why not make your first port of call the ‘Case Studies’ feature on this website. These case studies will give you an idea of the type of jobs available, what qualifications are needed and most importantly what the best and worst parts of the jobs are.

Libraries

Check out your local reference library. Libraries are a great source for trade newspapers and magazines which will tell you what is going on in the industry, such as new venues, company recruitment drives and new legislation. Trade newspapers and magazines also include vacancies from a wide range of sectors. By looking at these vacancies you will gain a better understanding of the skills required for different jobs, the opportunities that are available and the type of salary to expect for different jobs.

Trade magazines for the hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism industry include:

• Travel Weekly – www.travelweekly.co.uk
• Travel Trade Gazette – www.ttglive.com
• Caterer & Hotelkeeper – www.caterersearch.com
• Leisure Opportunities – www.leisreopportunities.co.uk
• Business Traveller – www.businesstraveller.com
• Restaurant – www.bighospitality.co.uk/restaurants/index.html
• The Publican – www.thepublican.com

The Web

The internet is a great place to learn about specific companies, their values, mission statement and vision plus their latest vacancies and career opportunities. Check out the Useful Links section of this website which gives various websites that are worth a visit. Search engines such as Google, MSN, Yahoo, Ask Jeeves etc are also worth using when looking for particular industry related sites.

Core Skills:

What skills do employers look for?

Employers across the tourism and hospitality industry generally have a specific set of core skills that are sought after. These ‘Core Skills’ are described briefly below.

People Skills:

If you want to work in the tourism and hospitality industry you will need to have excellent people skills. People skills are important in two ways, firstly from a teamworking perspective, employers want to know that you will work well with other members of the team and other business contacts. Secondly employers want to know that you have good people skills for working with customers and delivering outstanding service to ensure customers return time and time again. It is important to show that you have these skills and the most effective way to do this is within your application form or CV. Clearly state the level of people skills you have gained from any previous experience in a customer-facing environment. You may also be asked to go into more details about your experience at interview so be prepared to explain.

Teamwork:

When working in the tourism and hospitality industry you will come into contact with many different people, which is why good teamworking skills are important and will influence the organisational success of the business. It is important to recognise that different people will require different approaches and you will therefore need to be aware of both yourself and others. As with many of these core skills, you will need to demonstrate that you are a skilled at working in a team in your initial application or CV. Support this with any examples of work experience where your teamworking skills have been used to get to the bottom of a problem or resolve a challenge.

Enthusiasm:

Many tourism and hospitality employers believe that enthusiasm is the key to a good employee and it is therefore important to show any potential employer that you are genuinely enthusiastic about working in the industry. This is not necessarily just about your attitude but also about gaining knowledge about the industry, and showing any potential employer that you have a good understanding of the company and industry in which you want to work. In any application or CV it is important to include all experience that you have had in the industry as this will show your commitment and enthusiasm for the industry. Include any experience whether it was paid or voluntary, temporary or permanent.

Communication Skills:

Showing that you have good communication skills is important when approaching potential employers. Employers in the tourism and hospitality industry want to know that you have good communication skills in order to communicate in a polite and effective way to customers and team members. Those who can showcase their communication skills will gain the attention of potential employers. Demonstrate this skill by talking about previous work experience that involved scenarios where your communication skills led to key successes.

Commercial Awareness:

It is important to understand that whilst the tourism and hospitality sector is about delivering outstanding service and quality to ensure that customers come back, on the bottom line it is also about making money. Companies seek to grow in order to create more opportunities to attract new customers and in turn give their own employees a chance to develop as the business grows. Employers will like you to demonstrate that you have basic commercial awareness using examples of previous experience where you have saved money in any area or how you have managed to increase sales through great service and quality.

Work Experience

Many organisations invite students to spend time within the business to enable them to discover more about careers within the tourism and hospitality industry and gain some real experience. Work experience can be a day, a week, or several weeks up to a year. Positive work experience placements provide many opportunities and benefits to both employers and you.

What is the point of doing work experience or part-time work?

Doing work-experience (or part-time work) can really benefit you by:

Getting the most out of your experience at work

If you’re doing work experience just because you have to you won’t gain the most out of it. It is important that you think about what you want to achieve and then consider how you might make this happen.

Tips for applying for work experience:

Applications

For each job in the tourism and hospitality industry there will a selection of ways in which you are asked to apply for jobs, including online application forms, application forms, CV’s etc. It is important that regardless of which type of process you go through, you know how to present your skills and experience to prove that you’ve got what it takes for the job.

Application Forms:

Many organisations may request that you complete an application form rather then send in a CV. Application forms make it easier for employers to get the information they require from applicants. When completing an application form it is first important to identify the selection criteria and the skills, knowledge and experience required. Once these have been identified you must match them with the skills and knowledge you have. Where possible, when answering questions, use specific examples from the experience you have gained. In addition to this, try to use examples from different roles or stages in your life as this will give your potential employer a broad picture of the experience you have gained.

Tips:

CV’s:

Remember your CV is a written representation of you. It’s like a sales brochure. This is usually the first impression you will give to your potential employer and you need to promote your best qualities. There is less space on a CV to sell yourself than in application forms so choice of words and layout are vital. It is important to tailor your CV to the particular job you are applying for. This will help you to link the role requirements of the job to your skills and experience. CV’s should be kept brief, no longer than 2 sides of A4 and you may find that most word processing packages have templates of various CV’s that you can choose from.

CV Checklist:

• Keep your CV short and to the point but not so brief that your qualifications and abilities do not come across!
• Begin with your personal details; first name, last name, address, telephone number and email address.
• The most current information must come first.
• Highlight headings such as Employment, Skills, Education etc.
• Use short sentences and bullets to emphasise key points.
• Keep information on work experience, achievements and qualifications to the point and relevant, but make sure it brings out the best in you.
• Be honest – being economical with the truth is risky. You may get asked to explain more about details at interview.
• Print your CV on quality paper. Use a simple and easy to read type e.g. Times New Roman or Arial.
• Check your spelling, grammar and content – are you saying what you want to say?
• Get somebody else to read it as well, preferably someone with experience.

You must always accompany your CV with a Covering Letter

Covering Letters:

Your CV should always be accompanied by a covering letter. The covering letter is the first point of contact between you and an employer. This letter should be tailored to the particular job you are applying for, this avoids the risk of leaving in the wrong organisation or recruiter name.

A covering letter is made up of 4 parts

• The opening – this is where you should introduce yourself and if appropriate which job you’re applying for and where you saw the advert.
• Company – One paragraph should be used to explain why you are interested in that particular job and working for that particular company.
• You – This next paragraph or two should be used to tell the potential employer why you are a good candidate. You should use the key points mentioned in the job advert and match them to your strengths accordingly.
• The Ending – It is worthwhile adding a sentence at the end which will give you the opportunity to follow up your application for example; ‘In a couple of weeks I shall phone to see how my application is progressing’.

Interviews

Different organisations adopt different recruitment processes which may vary depending on the job role that you apply for. People applying for graduate or trainee management jobs may be required to attend assessment centres whereas those applying for more operational positions are more likely to follow the more traditional interview process.

The key to a successful interview is in the preparation. It is always useful to run through possible interviews questions and prepare your answers beforehand.

Questions you might be asked by the employer:

Top tips for interviews: