A hospitable job market
Hospitality Management Career Fair draws record number of companies
3:35 p.m., March 4, 2015--A record number of companies attended the 23rd annual Hospitality Management Career Fair, hosted this week by the University of Delaware’s Department of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management (HRIM).
A total of 63 companies from across the hospitality industry spent March 1-2 interviewing and networking with students in the Trabant University Center.
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“I love the career fair and all the opportunities that come with it,” said junior HRIM student Emily Barbey. “It’s really accessible,” she said, because it provides face-to-face contact with employers.
Barbey has attended each Hospitality Management Career Fair since her freshman year and plans to attend in her senior year to apply for post-graduation job opportunities. This perseverance has already paid off, earning her two internships so far.
This year Barbey spoke to seven companies during the career fair about her interests in hotel sales, marketing, human resources and event planning.
Barbey first became interested in hospitality because of her interests in “people, food and travel.” During her internships, she’s discovered her passion for working with others on both sides of the front desk.
“You’re giving back; it’s service,” she said. “I also like the opportunity to travel. Every day is different. You’re meeting so many interesting people.”
Four of Barbey’s meetings at this year’s career fair led to interviews. By noon the next day, she had interviewed with three major hotel companies as well as a real estate development company.
A number of Barbey’s interviewers were also UD alumni, which she said provided a better understanding and common ground.
One such alumna, HRIM graduate Lexi Rich, attended the career fair as a representative of Ovation Brands, which owns over 300 buffet restaurants around the country.
“Knowing what a fantastic school UD is, it’s important for us to have a presence,” Rich said.
During the career fair Ovation recruited for several summer internships in restaurant operations. These internships provide students with an opportunity to train in all aspects of the restaurant industry, from cashier to manager-in-training.
“That’s the best way to lead, once you become manager -- to have done it yourself,” Rich said. For this reason, companies want to see students who are, “eager to roll up your sleeves and do the unglamorous work, because that’s the best way for you to lead everyone else.”
Rich attended the career fair herself during her undergraduate career, saying that it gave her a better understanding of the hospitality industry. Her biggest advice for students is that “the industry is a lot smaller than you think.”
“You never know if the person that you’re rubbing elbows with one day could be your next boss or your next new hire,” Rich said. “So always lead with the right foot and make a good impression.”
An expert perspective
Career fairgoers also attended presentations from leading figures in American hospitality, who shared critical career advice as well as information on the future of the industry.
Many discussions highlighted the fact that HRIM students face a growing job market with a wide variety of expanding opportunities.
“In our industries, in good economic times or bad, we’re always expanding and looking for good people,” said Jack Crawford, chairman of the National Restaurant Association and president and CEO of Ground Round. “Both industries are growing all the time.”
“I totally agree,” said Shelly Weir, vice president of domestic sales for the American Hotel and Lodging Association’s Educational Institute. She said that the hotel sector has reached record employment levels, adding as many as 3.3 million new jobs by 2021.
Students attending the career fair, Weir said, have the “opportunity to move up very quickly in their careers if they’re willing to work hard.”
“Fifty percent of general managers working in the lodging industry today started their jobs at entry level,” Weir said, “We have the opportunity to get you on the right path, and very quickly you can move up the ladder toward your dream job.”
She said that this is why it’s important that HRIM students not be afraid to “start from the bottom.”
“The biggest names in our industry started out washing dishes,” Weir said, sharing images of many high-powered lodging executives who started their careers as dishwashers. “I can promise you that recruiters and HR directors will respect you for starting out at the entry level.”
Weir called the opportunity to meet with dozens of companies “amazing,” adding that many HRIM students will have the unique and gratifying experience of graduating with multiple job offers.
“I’ve been so impressed by UD at this visit,” Weir said. “As much as this should happen on every college campus, it may not.”
Weir’s other tips for HRIM students included staying up to date on the hospitality industry, particularly for companies that might be future employers.
Another of Weir’s tips focused on students’ willingness to move to new locations. While not necessary to be successful, taking job opportunities that open up in other states or countries can help hospitality employees to rise through the ranks more quickly.
Crawford agreed with this, saying that advancement is often about “windows of opportunity opening and being flexible when those windows open.”
Crawford called these “exciting and challenging times” as hotels and restaurants adapt to and utilize new technologies, from smartphones to induction cooking.
“Transparency in our operations, offering information before it is asked for, may be the best possible way to build customer loyalty and ensure success for our business,” he said. “For that we need employees who have the right training skills to meet the technological challenges and advances our industry faces.”
Those who are up to the challenge, Crawford said, can look forward to a rewarding and meaningful career that “will get you involved directly with your community and provide you with many ways to make the world better.”
Article by Sunny Rosen
Photos by Duane Perry