The Cornell School of Hotel Administration on Hospitality : cutting edge thinking and practice. Chapter 3: “Preparing for a Successful Career in the Hospitality Industry“, by Kate Walsh, Michael C. Sturman and Bill Carroll
Here is a link to the chapter: Chapter 3
“Preparing for a successful career in the hospitality industry” was a great read. It touched on human capital which refers to the present and future knowledge, skills and abilities we currently have and will gain in our industry. I read that it is the people that make a company profitable. I completely agree because the employees are the face of the company. As an employee, you are not only representing your company, you are also representing your fellow employees of the company. I also read that companies rely heavily on past work experiences when hiring. We all want that big promotion but we have to get in the door first. It’s important to accept small offers and learn from the most basic first. Over time, one will gain the necessary skills to reach their goals. I have learned to be open-minded, take on more task and duties, to accept and take more initiative at work, and being a leader. A good mindset to further develop myself is to have long term goals but also many short term goals. I should work and think in the shoes of my supervisors and managers. In cases I cannot handle something I will need to run it by a higher authority, but a good worker would try and challenge themselves to solve it on the spot. If we were to always pass along work, we will never grow or learn. My goals are to think in the shoes of my employer and continue to challenge myself daily. Overtime I have learned my strength and weaknesses. I will focus on my weaknesses for those are the things I need the most work on.
The article Preparing for a successful career in the Hospitality Industry was very informative. I can definitely relate. To me a job in which I can grow as a professional is much more important than just the money. If I had to choose between a job that paid good but had no room for growth or development versus a job that paid slightly less but had more opportunities for growth I would choose the one with growing potential. I want a job I can grow as a professional and expand on my knowledge. This type of job motivates me to work even harder. Another great topic the article mentioned was that in the hospitality industry you manage your own career. One thing that I believe is very important that was mentioned in the article was that when you are working try and focus on succeeding at the job at hand versus focusing on a promotion. If you work your hardest and learn to be exceptional at the job at hand the money and opportunities will come to you.