Think of the most enjoyable experience you've ever had when staying at a hotel or eating at a restaurant. What made that specific time the best? Was it the great customer service, or the friendly environment? There are many factors that contribute to a hospitable experience. If this is something that greatly interests you, consider majoring in Hospitality Management.
Hospitality management graduates are highly employable, applying their skills to careers in events, hotel and conference management, sales and business development and forestry and fishing management
Job options
Jobs directly related to your degree include:
- Accommodation manager
- Catering manager
- Event manager
- Fast food restaurant manager
- Hotel manager
- Public house manager
- Restaurant manager
Jobs where your degree would be useful include:
- Customer service manager
- Human resources officer
- Retail manager
- Tour manager
Work experience
It's essential to gain experience in the industry and many hospitality courses offer an industrial placement, enabling you to put academic learning into practice. This helps to develop your transferable and subject-specific skills and provides evidence of skills and experience to employers. Placements also provide a valuable opportunity to learn from highly-experienced colleagues and can help you to discover your particular area of interest within the sector.
If you already have a specialist area in mind, opt for the closest matching environment you can find. For example, if you ultimately hope to work in a luxury hotel, apply to local hotels of a similar standard.
The hospitality sector offers good prospects for early responsibility, so if you show a willingness and ability to learn, you can gain experience of supervising and training new staff early on in your career.
Typical employers
Hospitality graduates find work in the areas of catering, conference and events management. They also work within the tourism and leisure sector, the entertainment sector and in facilities management and food service management.
There are also relevant roles throughout the public sector in universities, hospitals, transport and the armed forces.
Some of the large chain hotels or restaurants offer graduate-management programmes, providing a fast-track to management positions and experience in a range of operations.
Skills for your CV
A hospitality degree will give you an in-depth understanding of the structure and operation of the industry and its related sectors. A common thread is a focus on identifying, understanding and responding to the needs of consumers, so as to provide an excellent customer experience.
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