When you decide to become a chef, you are then left with a choice of which kind of chef you would to be. If you plan to become someone that is at the top of the kitchen hierarchy then it is most likely you’ll have to work your way up to the top positions. However, what are the different kinds of chefs? And what does each chef title mean?
Category: Career Advice
How to get a job in hospitality, leisure and tourism?
The hospitality, leisure and tourism industry has a lot to offer graduates both in the United Kingdom and abroad, and it’s still growing.
The industry covers areas ranging from accommodation and food services to health and fitness, entertainment, and clubs, bars and pubs. No matter the area you choose to pursue, there will be plenty of jobs to pick from and management opportunities.
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What Can I Do with My Hospitality Management Degree?
To get into the management sector in the hospitality industry, you often need a university degree.
However, before you make the commitment to study hospitality management, it is beneficial to know which areas you can get involved in with this degree. The opportunities available to someone who has a degree in hospitality management are very diverse – more so than you may think.
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Necessary hospitality skills
The hospitality industry can be a demanding one, however it is arguably one of the most fulfilling careers to be a part of.
If you are considering working within hospitality and have a particular field you have in mind, because there are many, there a number of skills that aren’t necessarily crucial for your success within your chosen field, but will help you immensely. Besides, there is a lot of time to learn if you are missing a skill.
Customer service
You will be interacting with people on a day-to-day basis, thus why is it important all of your guests enjoy their experiences.
Good customer service is all about meeting the customers’ expectations and sending them away happy.
Languages
The beauty of working in hospitality is the diverse customer base you get to meet. More often than not, there will be language barriers however it is an incredibly life skill to have – being multilingual will lead to success within hospitality because it is such an international industry.
Communication
Communication skills are the heart of working in this particular industry. You will be interacting with customers on a daily basis addressing their needs and ensuring the customer is happy. The misfortune of having an unhappy customer is often the result of miscommunication and being misinformed.
Finance management
It is important for employees to have an understanding of profitability, cash flow and tax liabilities. The understanding of financial management is the key to running a successful hospitality business.
Understanding
Having an understanding of the industry you are working in is vital for your success in the industry.
Make it your aim to know and understand what your guests need and what they want by keeping up-to-date with trends, what’s happening in the news and any success stories.
Cultural awareness
Possessing this skill is extremely beneficial as you’re likely to come into contact with and will need to interact with clients from a variety of cultures.
Cultural awareness is important within any career, especially in hospitality. Keeping an open mind will help you dodge any misunderstandings that can occur as beliefs and values represent a person’s culture.
The above skills will help you go forward within the hospitality industry!
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Employee Value Proposition: Is it beneficial to your hotel?
Employee Value Proposition: Is it beneficial to your hotel?
An EVP can be potentially one of the best ways to improve the amount of commitment to your brand that you receive from new and old employees, increasing their performance and overall job satisfaction. Also, having such a fantastic structure could help you attract top end employees.
But what exactly is an EVP and how can it be of help to your hotel?
EVP, in essence, stands for Employee Value Proposition, something which measures the exact balance between how much an employee gives to the hotel, in return for what they receive. Doing this allows you to measure just how happy they are in their jobs, displaying how well they perform.
The major challenge for hotels is firstly finding and then retaining fantastic employees. Logically, you want the best team member possible running your establishment, as this will give a major boost to customer service, sales and overall recommendations and performance. If you have a team full of motivated workers, a fantastic workset is sure to follow. You want your team members to hold knowledge and experience, as this gives you great amounts of diversity in your business.
What you must understand is, whilst a team member may be currently happy in their job, if they were to receive a separate offer from another business that would give them higher benefits and base salary, they must weigh up the chances and do what’s best for their future. So, following on from this, how can you implement an EVP system to counter act offers from competitors?
EVP is itself a way of comparing reward and benefit, with job performance and reward both being viewed in an equal ground. It shows your employees why improving their job performance will give them higher benefits in future. Here’s a list of what benefits the business can reap from implementing your own version of EVP:
- Have a positive impact on the application process for new employees
- Improve the overall commitment of new employees
- Increase job performance from your employees point of view
- Significantly reduce problems in the workplace
- Increasing the likelihood of staff brand advocation
Whilst all of these sound incredibly appealing to your brand, you must first implement an effective EVP into your business. Here are a few ideas into what you can do:
- Give your employees better career opportunities available to them, whilst increasing the reputation of the company
- Concentrate on the attributes of your employees that give them what they crave from their job
- Must be displaying in a way that will please the audience
- Have a consistent performance of job satisfaction from your employees through brand initiatives
What benefits can you offer to your workers as part of the EVP? Here are a few ideas below:
- A high level of job security
- Development opportunities
- Training programs conducted in house
- Better working conditions
- Flexy hours
- Team dynamics
Essentially, this will increase brand awareness, performance and most important of all: loyalty!
For more on hospitality ideas, tips and blogs, please visit our website.
Fantastic pieces of career advice
We all need a bit of career advice at times; it’s what carries us through some of the most important decisions of our life. Below are some great pieces of career advice.
- Passion is important.
- Listeners are successful.
You’re given one mouth and two ears. They should be used in this ratio. Remember that you will learn more by listening to others and their views rather than when you talk. - Know that people WILL take advantage of you.
This is a life lesson; just be sure to not do business with these people again. - Be likable.
If you’re likeable to those around you, you’ll become the very best you can be. - Be who you are.
In a group setting you should try to just relax and be yourself. It’s easy to tell people what they want to hear but it takes grit and honesty to give them the truth. - Make your own luck.
You only make your own luck by staying in the game, so do just that. - Just relax.
Overachievers are often passionate about many things. It’s important to learn not to always care too much. - You’re only as good as the people around you.
Media and culture celebrate individuals, but you should ensure that teams can succeed. - Be a humble employee.
Work is a brutal task to those who are arrogant. - Understand your weaknesses.
You should be sure to surround yourself with people and resources that can do these things well. - Practice self-discipline.
Set targets, have timetables, have clear, unambiguous goals. Life passes quickly. - You must give trust in order to receive it.
Treat people as you would like to be treated. - Aim for the moon.
Be successful and don’t follow the pack. If you want to win, be your own person, create your own success.
For more great advice and to advance in your career, simply visit our website.
10 great reasons why you should work in Hospitality
Why should you work in hospitality?
According to a survey by the British Hospitality Association, over 1.9 million people are said to work in the hospitality industry. Chances are though, that if you’re reading this article that you’re either one of two people; you’re already in the industry, or you’re considering it as a career option. Part of the beauty that working in hospitality gives is the joy you have from the role, but why else should you want to work in hospitality? Below we have compiled a list of eight reasons why hospitality is for you, and though shifts can be long and tiring at times, if you have a passion for the job then hospitality an incredibly rewarding career.
1. You can make someone’s day
Whether you’re a receptionist, a waiter, a bartender or a kitchen porter or any other hospitality job, your role doesn’t really matter in a sense of bringing joy to somebody’s day. Your presence makes their day a whole lot better; they come into your place of work for a host of reasons, whether its food, drink, service, relations or more, your job role is about people. Your job doesn’t revolve around the preparation of spreadsheets; it’s ultimately about the overall happiness of your customers.
2. It ‘opens doors’
Every single country in the world uses the hospitality industry, and it’s one of the world’s most common jobs as people worldwide are waiters and waitresses in their teenage years. The skills learnt in hospitality are easily transferable, with the personal skills that you learn i.e. customer service being needed in every single industry. You’ll constantly meet new people from new cultures, so you can always consider taking your skills abroad.
3. You can take on responsibilities
With the ever growing responsibilities in hospitality, this means you can make your way up the ladder very quickly in the industry. If you work hard and get on with customers and colleagues in a good manner, then very soon, you’ll find yourself in a senior position managing people and projects. You should always show initiative too, as this will always help your chances.
4. It’s a creative industry
Though hospitality is a people-oriented industry, hospitality is also an industry of creativity. You are creating a product and that doesn’t matter if it’s food, drink, a customer experience or more – there’s always a way to make your service more enjoyable for your customers.
5. There’s no need to get stuck
There’s enough of a scope in the hospitality industry for you to gain a level of diversity in your career, therefore you’re not getting stuck in one sector. You don’t even have to move employer, you can simply move from a receptionist to a concierge or waiter. No other industry offers this level of diversity.
6. It’s not a 9-5 job
The mundane thing about most jobs is the 9-5 routine that people learn to hate. Waking up at the same time, with the same breakfast, with the same outfit, then catching the same train into the same office isn’t for everyone. The beauty about hospitality is the amount of variety that it brings to the role, not only in the varied hours of work but also the work you do in those hours as it can change at any second.
7. It’s a safe bet
People will always need their basic human needs; food, drink and somewhere to sleep. So, even in a shaky economic climate like the credit crunch that has hit the UK in the past few years, the hospitality industry is a secure bet for a career.
8. Work can be a lot of fun!
Working in an office will often limit the perks available to you, despite getting a Christmas party with a few drinks, dire music and everyone looking a bit awkward. In the hospitality industry things are much, much different. After all, the function of your job is to be there to help customers have fun, so make sure you share some of that fun with each other.
9. Learn applicable life skills
The industry heavily revolves around food & drink – from purchasing stock & ingredients, to preparing them for service, and cleaning up afterwards. For young people especially, learning to feed, and clean for, others is more than helpful experience as you become more independent.
10. Perks of the job
The vast majority of pubs, restaurants and hotels will offer discounts or freebies, you can use these benefits outside of work or have a much more enjoyable lunchtime compared to your typical meal deal!
For more on hospitality employment, please visit our website.