hospitality sector

Developing a career in the hospitality sector is not only a smart, future-proof investment but it’s also a great way to build an international career. According to published data, the hospitality, tourism, and travel industries are among the fastest-growing industries worldwide, accounting for over 10% of global GDP. The latest reports also indicate that 10% of the global workforce is employed in hospitality thanks to the variety of specializations available.

While the global pandemic may have slowed things down in the hospitality sector, the industry is on an upward trend in 2022, with hotels, restaurants, and tourist agencies reviving their business models. This is a great time for you to consider developing a career in hospitality, whether you’d like to do so locally or move abroad for work. Let’s see how you can start a career in hospitality and which potential career choices you can pursue with Jobs OneGlobe.

Hospitality Sector Career Paths to Consider

As we’ve mentioned, the hospitality industry is rebounding from two years of difficult business conditions introduced by COVID-19. Due to the nature of hospitality businesses, hoteliers, restaurant owners, and café managers couldn’t sustain their businesses without taking a hit.

Based on recent reports, the hospitality sector’s annual revenue for 2021 was $83 billion lower than projected ($284.7 billion), with $342.6 billion projected for 2022 as the industry continues to recover. Owners around the world are starting to hire new staff and invest in their hospitality businesses again – this translates to new career opportunities in hospitality. Here are some of the careers you can pursue, depending on your interests, talents, and past professional experience:

  • Hotel staff and management
  • Café and catering staff
  • Professional chef or cook
  • Kitchen and restaurant manager
  • Housekeeping staff and management
  • Event planner
  • Wedding coordinator
  • Tourist agent or guide
  • Casino staff and management
  • Maintenance worker

These are only some of the career choices you can consider in the hospitality sector based on your affinities. Some will naturally have a higher bar for entry than others, but they’re all doable. The industry is vast and employment opportunities are available for both entry-level positions and senior hospitality professionals. Using Jobs OneGlobe to find hospitality job opportunities will help kick-start your career more successfully, so don’t waste any time. Here’s what you can do to begin your career on the right note.

Steps Toward Hospitality Sector Career Development

1. Explore Niches to Specialize In

The hospitality industry is a very broad field with a plethora of various job placements you can pursue. This means that you’ll have to narrow your choice down to a certain specialization and stick to it if you want to succeed. Some of the businesses you can look into include but are not limited to:

  • Cafés, cafeterias, bars
  • Hotels, hostels, motels
  • Travel and tourist agencies
  • Various lodging and catering businesses
  • Restaurants, diners, and fast-food chains

Depending on what you’d like to do, there are plenty of different job options within each business. For example, you could work as a cook both in a hotel and a restaurant, or work as a desk clerk both in a motel and in a travel agency. Weigh the pros and cons of working in each of these types of businesses based on your personal preferences and the minimum wage you’d settle on.

Don’t worry, since the hospitality sector is an industry with a very broad horizontal career development path. You can easily acquire a certain set of skills and shift between different businesses in the industry without losing a beat if you don’t vibe with the first option you go for. Hospitality industry trends change just like in any other field and you’ll always have something new and exciting to look forward to here.

2. Review your CV for Potential Skill Gaps

Many professions within the hospitality industry have a lower entry bar and you can easily start working in a coffee shop, a fast-food business, or even a hotel. However, you should review and update your CV before applying for any jobs to make sure you don’t have glaring CV gaps to worry about. Learning a new language is always a plus in the hospitality sector – it’s why picking up OneGlobe Language Learning can be beneficial for your career prospects.

Your potential employers will always ask about that one period of 6 months during which you were unemployed, or why you’ve changed so many jobs. Skill gaps are another matter to think about, as you may want to develop new skills and competencies for higher-paid hospitality jobs. It cannot be overstated how important it is to have a good CV in hand when applying for work. Think about your CV gaps and how you’ll address them during the interview and no hospitality sector employer will give it a second thought.

3. Look for Internships and Part-Time Learning Opportunities

A great way for you to get a feel for how it feels to work in hospitality is to do so through part-time work or internships. While the latter is rarer in hospitality, the former is a great opportunity for you to learn new skills, network with professionals, and improve your CV.

More often than not, college students tend to spend their summers working in hospitality, whether as clerks, bartenders, cooks, or in any other entry-level hospitality position. This is a good chance for you to feel how it is to work in hospitality and to pick up on what works and doesn’t work for you. That way, you’ll be able to focus on a hospitality sector niche you feel passionate about instead of dedicating months or years of your life to a job you don’t like.

4. Work on your Teamwork Skills

Nearly every hospitality sector job is a team-based position. You’ll rarely come across a position that is isolated from others and won’t require you to collaborate with other hospitality professionals. This is why you must acquire and work on your teamwork skills ahead of time.

Learn how to play well with others and every hospitality business out there will be happy to have you on board. While you can learn as you go, employers prefer hiring people with some level of teamwork or leadership potential in them from day one. Being a team player is a huge plus in hospitality and you should play up your social skills in your CV and interview as much as possible.

5. Learn How to Present and Sell Yourself

As someone working in the hospitality sector, you’ll have to talk to guests, clients, and customers day in and day out. If you’re introverted and lack the experience of talking to clients, you might want to start working on it now. Extroverts shouldn’t have issues talking with others but they still need to learn to do so professionally.

This is where “selling yourself” comes into play, as potential employers will ask you to pitch your skills and expertise to them. Why are you the right person for the job? What makes you different from other job candidates? Learn who you are and how to use that to your advantage and you won’t have a problem landing the job you want in the hospitality sector.

6. Consider Looking for Hospitality Employment Abroad

Hospitality is one of the industries in which traveling abroad is almost a given when it comes to great job opportunities. You can find work as a chef in Germany, a barista in the UK, or even a hotel clerk in France if you choose to. All you need is the courage to take the first step and find work abroad.

Prospective employers are constantly on the lookout for job candidates from around the world who will make their businesses more international. Given that the hospitality sector is home to millions of travel professionals, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. You can completely forgo looking for a job locally and turn your attention toward a placement abroad instead.

7. Pick Up Useful Hospitality Industry Literature

A great way to pass the time while you’re looking for hospitality sector employment is to read more about it. The industry is chock-full of amazing influencers and professionals who’ve succeeded at building their careers and businesses in hospitality. Here are a few notable books you should pick up and go through:

  • The Heart of Hospitality: Great Hotel and Restaurant Leaders Share Their Secrets by Micah Solomon
  • Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business by Danny Meyer
  • 12 Golden Keys to Hospitality Excellence by Frank H. Benzakour
  • Overbooked: The Exploding Business of Travel and Tourism by Elizabeth Becker

Beyond that, you can check out a range of bloggers and online influencers from the hospitality industry. Learn as much as you can about the practical ways in which you can contribute to your new job, whether you want to work in a hotel, a restaurant, or a resort. By going through these books, you’ll have an edge over other job candidates and understand what it means to work in hospitality, warts, and all, which your employers will appreciate immensely.

Start Working in the Hospitality Sector with Jobs OneGlobe

By now, you should have a good idea of what it takes to start building a worthwhile career in the hospitality sector. While the road to success isn’t easy, it’s the first steps that’ll be the hardest for you. Whether you have formal education in a hospitality niche or want to shift your career into tourism or catering – go for it!

Jobs OneGlobe will provide you with all the support you need to grow, as well as the platform to find your next hospitality job position. All you need to do is to create a job candidate’s account on our platform, build your CV by using our professional CV builder, and start applying. Be patient, be persistent, and the right employers will recognize the passion you have for the hospitality sector.

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