How to Break into the Hospitality Industry

It's always a little daunting to take the first step in pursuing a career in Hospitality. By now, most of you understand that starting a job search in any industry can involve a string of rejections and let downs. While that may be somewhat inevitable, we can take some measures to make things go more favourably for ourselves. So let's explore some tips and advice to make breaking into the Hospitality industry as easy as riding a bicycle.

1. Get To Know Your Goals

Like a coin, hospitality has two sides to it: the front-of-house, operations side, and the behind-the-scenes, corporate side. Jobs in operations include service-oriented roles, such as food service managers, housekeepers, and tour managers. On the other hand, corporate jobs in hospitality follow There's a marked difference between the types of jobs available on each side, but both aspects of the industry offer an abundance of opportunities. Take some time to figure out where your personal strengths and interests lie before sending out those applications. Reaching our goals is often easier when they're more direct, and potential employers will also greatly appreciate your focus.

2. Boost Your Academic Qualifications

While most jobs in Hospitality don't require an actual degree, having an academic background in hospitality can boost your chances of getting your dream job. If you're starting out with absolutely no skills and knowledge about hospitality, getting a diploma or a professional certification can work wonders for you in terms of getting your knowledge up to par. Joining a hospitality diploma programme can also get you into a variety of internship programmes, which in turn, leads to the building of industry connections, practical skills, and work experience that may be required by potential employers.

3. Learn a Foreign Language or 2

Careers in the hospitality industry can often take us to different corners of the world, or require us to interact with clients, customers, or guests from different countries. As such, it would be immeasurably helpful to start building those Duolingo streaks, and build up your basic French and Spanish fluency. Some diploma or certification programmes offered for hospitality will also include a language module that you can take. Knowledge of a second language is very useful if you're planning to have an international career, and a highly transferrable skill.

4. Network to Save Your Life

Building a professional network is a great way to open up a world of opportunities for your career in hospitality. Networking paves the road for further opportunities down the line, and you might even make a few genuine friends along the way. Certain job vacancies may not be publicly, or well advertised, and having a few connections in the industry can help you scope out those hidden opportunities. Using your professional network to get job opportunities can be a great way to get your name to the top of the list of candidates by way of your contact putting in a 'good word' for your name.

5. A Lack of Experience is a Ladder

Unfortunately, we can't automatically transfer years of experience to our resumes with the click of button or the snap of our fingers. We all need to start somewhere. Embrace your lack of experience and treat it as an opportunity to learn. When you're already at the bottom of the career ladder, you only have two options: stay there, or start climbing. You don't have as much to lose yet, so make mistakes, learn, and improve. Use your time in entry-level jobs to learn how everything works from the ground up. So shake off that anxiety, and start applying for those jobs!

6. Send Them an Application They can't Refuse

Making a good impression starts from the resume. So how do you write a good one? A personalised approach is a good way to start. Make sure you do your research on the company you're applying for, and that your skills match up with the level of expertise the application is actually calling for. When writing a cover letter, try to find little ways to increase a readers' engagement, it's you, telling your story, spun like thread to fit the values of your potential employers.

7. Identify Your Transferable Skills

The term that's taking the working world by storm - transferrable skills. Master them, and you can hop between career fields, almost effortlessly. Transferrable skills are not necessarily technical, although some technical skills can be transferrable. Transferable skills usually refer to soft skills such as communication, empathy, multitasking, resilience, and organisation. The hospitality industry is heavily reliant on interactions between people, so it's important to be able to practice a variety of soft skills, to make your working life more constructive and cooperative.

8. Consider Volunteering

No one will ever object to your offer to volunteer. It's free labour for the employers, and an opportunity to experience work in the hospitality industry for you. It's one way to build up your experience, skills, and professional network, through persistence and hard work. Volunteering is a great way to show off your spirit, passion, and determination to get into the hospitality industry. Fair warning however, it can take a lot longer for you to get to the places and positions you want to be in, in terms of career progression. While volunteering is mostly an option for those who want to work in the front end of hospitality, i.e. waitstaff, ushers at events, getting your name out there and making professional connections can open up further opportunities for you, even on the corporate side of things.

If you're interested in making Hospitality your career, visit https://www.bac.edu.my/bac/hospitality-culinary-tourism/.