Building a career in hospitality requires a very particular set of skills. Often, the skills and characteristics that roles in this industry demand are transferable, so even if you haven’t had any experience working in hospitality, you’ll likely have already started to hone some of the key skills in other aspects of your career.
You’ll need to demonstrate your skills and experience at an interview, while also optimising your CV and cover letter to make a stand-out first impression. With that in mind, what are some of the specific skills prospective employers will expect you to have? Here are four of the most vital.
Teamwork
One of the most pertinent traits you’ll need to possess is the ability to work well in a team environment. A business in the hospitality industry comprises many different roles and responsibilities that need to work in harmony to produce a high standard of customer service. A big element of effective teamwork is knowing when and how to ask for help. Being a team player isn’t about taking on as much responsibility as possible; it’s more about having the team’s best interests at heart to help bring about the best outcomes. To this end, a good team player will be a strong communicator and demonstrate strong organisational skills.
Communication
With that in mind, when working so closely with customers and your colleagues, good communication is indispensable in hospitality settings. Firstly, especially when dietary requirements or individual needs are involved, effective communication is a matter of upholding health and safety standards. Mistakes in this area could be extremely costly to a business’s reputation and public health. Beyond that, communication is imperative to ensure efficiency at all stages of the process to improve the customer experience and thus facilitate business growth.
Resilience
Hospitality is an extremely fast-paced industry. Regardless of whether you’re working front or back of house, restaurants, hotels and other hospitality settings are high-pressure environments. This can put a certain amount of stress on employees, who must remain professional regardless of how difficult a shift gets. Whether you have to contend with a sudden rush of guests, or perhaps handle a particularly demanding customer, being resilient is all about maintaining a positive attitude while also adopting a solution-first mindset and seeing problems as opportunities to learn and improve.
IT skills
Technology and digital platforms are playing an increasingly important role in modern hospitality settings. This means that employees need to be up to speed with the latest tools and tech that are being leveraged to help deliver a faster and better service. Whether it’s experience using a POS system or familiarity with managing online booking platforms, modern businesses are eager for new starters to have a thorough understanding of the digital landscape and the various ways it contributes to the sector.
While it’s useful to have prior experience in similar roles to demonstrate skills in this area, with technology being ubiquitous in the corporate landscape, there are endless opportunities to show off your digital nous.