Career Exploration Project - Essay Example

Career Exploration Project Contents Introduction 3 Skills Used 3 Work Conditions 4 Education 5 Affiliations 5 Outlook 6 Conclusions 7 of the Student Name of the Professor Name of Course Date Career Exploration Project Introduction Development of professional skills is an integral part of overall curriculum of a student. Professional skills include an array of elements like knowledge about the job, development of skills pertinent to the jobs and developing a suitable mindset for the jobs. It has been emphasized that development of professional skills is a dynamic rather than stagnant process (Guskey 67). Some of the common skills required in the hospitality industry include that of supervision over subordinates, skills in written and verbal communication, specific service skills and ability to satisfy the customers (Kay and Russette 52-63). In this light, the purpose of this report is to take up informational interview with two key employees of Hilton Group to explore the dynamics that are required for survival in hospitality sector. Mr. Walter Jones works as a supervisor for the hotel for three departments mainly front-desk manager, food and beverage and customer complaint and the Mr. Alex Jordan works in developing the customer relationships. This research is a primary one that will be further used for my own personal development in the professional environment. The interviews have occurred over telephone. I had to obtain the permission of the respondents before conducting the interview and this was done by e-mailing them in advance. The timing of the phone call was discussed over e-mails with the consent of the respondents. The findings from the interview are presented below. Skills Used Mr. Walter Jones has worked with the Hilton Group for the past six years and he acts as a supervisor of three key areas namely front office, food and beverages delivery and resolution of customer complaints. Three most important skills have come up in the conversation with Mr. Walter Jones, namely, communication, problem solving and self-management skills. He explained that most importantly it is mandatory to manage one-self before managing others. He said that resolution of customer complaints requires having excellent communication skills. These finding is consistent with the findings of Mallinson and Weiler (2000 cited in Barron 78) who had also found that communication is most important requirement of supervisors. Problem-solving has also featured in their works. Mr. Whitman has also added that the organization has also been trying to improve its customer service experience for which it has encouraged every employee to take up computer learning skills. Mr. Whitman informed that he has recently learned internal computer software that makes his job easier. The second interview was conducted with Mr. Alex Jordan who works as an assistant banquet manager at the Intercontinental Hotel Group. He has worked in the post for the past three years. The skills required in this job are knowledge about alcohols and permit of food service as is required by the government authorities. Mr. Jordan replied that he needs skills of leadership and management, communication and strong capacity of reasoning. In a similar research it was found that it is imperative for members in the hospitality industry to have skills pertaining to leadership qualities, in order to handle customers in an effective manner (Sigala and Christou 6-15). Other researchers have found that it is also important for workers responsible for the alcoholic beverages to have adequate knowledge about the legal responsibilities and safety conditions (Baum and Nickson 75-79). Work Conditions Mr. Walter Jones has been enthusiastic to inform that the working conditions faced by him are highly challenging as he had to deal with employees with different cultural and ethical backgrounds in a regular day. “The working hours often exceed standard times mainly due to staff shortage” Mr. Walter Jones complains which is stressful. Stress levels are considered to be high but Mr. Walter Jones does not complain about this. He expresses that effective management can easily come from proper planning. He says the job requirements has made him learn that collecting information from all the departments, processes and customers is a key way to coordinate activities and he finds opportunities in all these spheres. This approach often makes his works easy and he can manage stress. A similar finding was also made recently by researchers who suggested that coping with stress requires perceiving the stress as opportunities (SunnyHu and Cheng 1337-1350). Mr. Jordan replied that the working conditions faced by him are intense. There are stringent deadlines which need to be met. Multitasking is also an important part of the job and work hours often goes beyond the usual timings. Despite the pressure, Mr. Jordan says that every difficult situation acts as a source of new learning which can be treated as the best part of the job. Other researchers have also suggested that treating the job as a challenge is a good way of stress release (Lo and Lamm 23-27). Education Reaching the current job position was not an easy task for Mr. Walter Jones. He had completed his degree of hotel management from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. He had Food and Beverage as his major subject during his bachelor’s course after which he had pursued his MBA program. After completing his formal education he did an internship as a front office assistant at a leading hotel chain which he refuses to disclose. He had later taken up a job at Marriot International as manager of food and beverages department where he had worked for seven years before joining the Hilton Group in 2008. Mr. Jordan has done his bachelors degree program in food service and management before joining the job. He informed that formal education is required, but it is on-job training that is more important in doing the job in an effective manner. He said that it is also beneficial for a candidate to have a certification course for the particular job as it helps in understanding the job requirements in a better manner. He informs enthusiastically that his certification course has helped him to gain a deeper knowledge regarding management of inventory and other analytical skills which his formal education has not provide him. He has joined the company back in 2011 in a campus recruitment drive from the college where he had obtained his technical education. Affiliations Mr. Walter Jones has informed that he has been lucky enough to choose Hilton as employer because the management of the hotel does not discourage him to any memberships. He is personally an affiliate of Park Plaza Hotel and Interstate Hotels & Resorts. Mr. Walter Jones is also a member of two leading organizations namely the Institute of Food Technologists and American Hotel and Lodging Association. He believes that development of professional skills is a continuous process and sharing of ideas is a key way in which this can be achieved. Being a member of these two associations has allowed him to update himself regarding the latest technology that is introduced in his industry and he can implement them in improving his performance. Eminent members of the hospitality industry are members of these groups and Mr. Walter Jones believes in the cut throat competitive era, being a part of them will help him to guide his subordinates more efficiently. On being questioned regarding the fact that whether he is a part of any membership program or not Mr. Jordan beamed with a smile. He explained that during the first year of his job he was not a member of any professional association. However, during the second year of his job he became aware that it was imperative for him to be a part of any professional group which could help him to improve his work related skills. He believed that this would help him to interact with other professionals working in the same profession and thus he decided to join The Food and Beverages Association of America. He recalls, being a part of the organization has helped him to learn about certain industry superior standards which have helped him to improve his overall efficiency. Outlook The career path of Mr. Walter Jones has shown that he did not hold the present job at the very beginning of his career. He advised it is possible to enter the organization at an entry level in any of the three departments that is headed by him. There are ample opportunities for promotion in the organization and fair chances are given to all the employees based on their merit and capability. The salary at the entry level is $5000 p.a. The salaries of the professionals in his rank can be as high as $50,000 p.a. as has been quoted during the interview. Mr. Jones is hopeful that the economic recovery is slow but it is happening steadily so the future job vacancies are likely to increase in the industry. He expects that the growth is likely to continue and the workforce is likely to increase by 7% every year. Empirical evidence support his notion as the industry is estimated to grow to $ 848 by the end of 2015. 73 million additional jobs are expected to be created by the end of 2022 (Hilton Worldwide, “Creating Opportunities for Youth in Hospitality”). I was intrigued to discover the kind of forces that were shaping up the hospitality industry and asked the question directly to the respondent. Mr. Walter Jones informed that the hospitality industry was undergoing dramatic changes in the past five years. He informed that consumers are no longer interested in the product that they see. The interest has shifted to the overall experience they enjoy and that is the reason Mr. Jones is keen on promoting the brand promise. I could also find similar ideas echoed in the work of other researchers who had confirmed that engaging customer will be the ultimate force to determine growth or decline of brand (Deloitte, “Hospitality 2015: Game Changers or Spectators?”). Mr. Jordan says that the assistant banquet manager can be considered as an entry level position in the organization. He was however quick to add that having an experience in the job definitely increases the probability of getting selected as the employer values experience to a great degree. The salary at the entry level position is close to $8000. Additional incentives can be earned by just putting in an extra effort by the candidates. At senior managerial position the median salary is $40000 as has been informed by Mr. Jordan. Mr. Jordan replies that new employees join every six months as vacancies come up frequently. He says that the youth is easily attracted to the industry on account of the lucrative salaries and lifestyle it offers. On being probed regarding the factors he thinks are causing rapid changes, Mr. Jordan replied that customers are looking forward to unique product differentiation and the return that they are receiving for the money they are paying. Keeping up the brand name and differentiating the products from the competitor through service delivery are going to be critical he says. In contemporary era of hospitality management this sentiment has echoed strongly in the works of multiple researchers (Sloan, Legrand and Chen 56). Conclusions The general findings from the interviews indicate that working in a hospitality sector is indeed a challenging job. I will have to say my personal values are aligned with the kind of job positions that I had just reviewed. I think I am a hard working person agile enough to learn new things. I take every learning opportunity as a challenge and try to accomplish it with hard work. I also believe that my current skills are enough for me to venture into the professional job market. Both the interviews have revealed that the employees need to have excellent skills of communication. I think I will have to improve slightly with verbal communication particularly when it involves dealing with people with different linguistic background. I believe working in the hospitality industry will allow me to interact with people of different ethnic origin and this would require me to develop on my communication skills. I think that my personality is in line with the job requirements. I believe that I am an enterprising person and have a natural ability to spearhead any activity that I am involved in. According to my formal education and the data that I have collected from the interviews I think these attributes are integral to work in the hospitality industry. My ideal job is one which will provide me with opportunity to learn every day. I think I will find a job to be complete if it allows me to use my analytical skills to solve problems in complicated situations. The hospitality industry is one which will exactly provide me with such kind of a job and I am keen on joining it in the future. Works Cited Barron, Paul. Training needs for the hospitality industry. CRC for Sustainable Tourism, 2009. Baum, Tom and Denis Nickson. “Teaching human resource management in hospitality and tourism: a critique.” International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 10.2 (1998): 75-79. Print. Deloitte. Hospitality 2015: Game Changers or Spectators? Deloitte LLP, 2010. PDF File. Guskey, Thomas R. Evaluating professional development. Corwin Press, 2000. Print. Hilton Worldwide. Creating Opportunities for Youth in Hospitality. International Youth Foundation, 2013. PDF File. Kay, Christine, and John Russette. “Hospitality-management competencies identifying managers essential skills.” Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly 41.2 (2000): 52-63. Print. Lo, Karen and Felicity Lamm. “Occupational stress in the hospitality industry-an employment relations perspective.” New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations 30.1 (2005): 23-34. Print. Sigala, Marianna and Evangelos Christou. “Enhancing and complementing the instruction of tourism and hospitality courses through the use of on-line educational tools.” Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Education 15.1 (2003): 6-15. Print. Sloan, Philip, Willy Legrand and Joseph S. Chen. Sustainability in the hospitality industry: Principles of sustainable operations. Routledge, 2013. Print. SunnyHu, Hsin-Hui and Chien-Wei Cheng. “Job stress, coping strategies, and burnout among hotel industry supervisors in Taiwan.” The International Journal of Human Resource Management 21.8 (2010): 1337-1350. Print. Read More