Skills to Elevate Your Hospitality Career
Hospitality is a popular industry with a lot of growth potential. Earning your postgraduate degree in hospitality can help you further your career. You’ll be more likely to get promoted and have even more job opportunities whether you work in restaurants, hotels or tourism.
While you’re studying, you’ll learn a lot new skills specific to your degree. You’ll also improve the skills you’ve already built at work. To get the most out of your studies, focus on these four essential skills.
Communication Skills
Being able to communicate in multiple languages is a huge advantage in the hospitality industry. You make visitors feel more at home when you speak to them in a language they understand. Writing and speaking in a way guests can understand will make your job, and their stay, more pleasant. Also, remember that listening is a big part of successful communication. Aside from guests, you’ll also need to communicate with the people you manage, your vendors, and executive leadership.
A postgraduate degree in hospitality will help you practice your speaking and writing skills until you feel confident no matter who you are talking to. Joining clubs or professional organizations can also help expose you to different kinds of people and practice your skills.
Cultural Awareness
By traveling to the United States to study, you’ll give yourself another advantage in the hospitality industry. Working in hospitality means that you’ll most likely meet people from all over the world. People from different places have different customs, needs, and expectations. If you have cultural awareness, you can help make sure that every guest is comfortable no matter where they come from.
Studying in the United States instantly builds your cultural awareness. You’ll be living and studying closely with U.S. students and international students from around the world. It’s a great time to learn about their cultures and become more culturally aware.
Flexibility
The hospitality industry is always changing and you never know what’s going to happen next. Mixing together travelers and diners from all around the world can lead to some surprises. There may be times when you have to work late, or do work that’s not really in your job description. A job in hospitality is never boring! By staying flexible you reduce your own stress and help make the best possible experience for guests.
Studying in the United States already shows that your flexible and able to adapt. You can keep working on your flexibility by seeking out new challenges and opportunities both at school and at work.
Food Safety
Even if you’re working the front desk at a hotel, food safety is an essential skill for anyone in the hospitality industry. Knowing how to keep food safe keeps your guests safe as well. Proper hand washing prevents the spread of disease. Food safety guidelines might be different depending on what country or region you are working in, but knowing what they are could save a life.
Understanding food safety makes you a more flexible worker. You can take shifts or leadership positions in areas that serve food even if you don’t normally work in a restaurant setting. Your postgraduate degree in hospitality will introduce you to food safety best practices. You can also study food safety regulations for your region on your own.
Start building the skills you need to elevate your hospitality career. Find out how.