?How to get a job in the hospitality

Hospitality jobs can be obtained from several sources. For example, your college may have a placement office. Many hospitality management programs receive direct requests for part-time help. Some programs maintain a job file, and some even work with industry to provide internships. Also, there are numerous websites devoted to matching employers and job seekers. Sometimes, personal contacts established through your fellow students, your instructor, or your family or neighborhood will be effective. Networking is as effective as always, and some would suggest it is still the most important tool.
However, it is not enough just to ask for a job. Careful attention to your appearance is important, too. For an interview, this probably means a coat and tie for men, a conservative dress or suit for women. Neatness and cleanliness are the absolute minimum. (Neatness and cleanliness are, after all, major aspects of the hospitality product). In a larger organization you’ll deal with a human-resources manager not the hotel manager. The same basic rules of appearance apply, regardless of the organization’s size.
How to learn strategies for work experience?
When you go to work, regardless of the position you take, you can learn a good deal through careful observation. Look first at how the operation is organized. More specifically, look at both its managerial organization and its physical organization.
 Managerial Organization: Who is the boss? Who reports to (or works directly with) him or her? Is the work divided into definite departments or sections? Is one person responsible for each department? To whom do the department staff members report? If you can answer these questions, you will have figured out the formal managerial organization of the operation. Indeed, most large compani-es will have an organization chart that you can look at. If your employer doesn’t have such a chart, ask him or her to explain the organization to you. While you’re thinking about organization, it is also important to notice the informal organization of the group with which you are working. Which of the workers are influential? Who seem to be the informal leaders? Why? Most work groups are made up of cliques with informal leaders. After you identify this informal structure, ask yourself how manage-ment deals with it. Remember that someday the managem-ent of these informal organizations will be your challenge.
 The Physical organization: You can learn a great deal about a physical organization by making a simple drawing of your workplace. On this drawing, identify the main work areas and major pieces of equipment. Then begin to note on it where you see problems resulting from cross traffic or bottlenecks. For example, if you’re working in the back of the house, you can chart the flow of products from the back door (receiver) to storage and from there to preparation. You should also trace the flow of dishes. Dirty dishes come to the dish room window and go to the clean-supply area after washing. How are they transported to the line or to the pantry people for use in service? If you are working in the back of the house, you will be looking mostly at the flow of kitchen workers and dishes from the viewpoint of the kitchen, dish room, or pantry. A similar flow analysis of guests and servers (and plates) can also be made from the front of the house (i.e., the dining room). A study of guest flow in a hotel lobby can also be educational. Trace the flow of room guests, restaurant guests, banquet department guests, and service employees arriving through the lobby. Where do you observe congestion?
These simple charting activities will give you some practical experience that will be useful for later courses in design and in food service operations and, more important, for decisions that you will make while on the job later in your career. Sometimes simple observations can lead to improvements in workflow patterns.
 Learning from the Back of the House: Things to look for in the back of the house include how quality is ensured in food preparation, menu planning, recipes, cooking methods, supervision, and food holding. How is lunch prepared in advance? How is it kept hot or cold? How long can food be held? How are food costs controlled? Are food portions standardized? Are they measured? How? How is access to storerooms controlled?
Learning from the Front of the House: If you are busing dishes or working as a waiter, a waitress, or a server on a cafeteria line, you can learn a great deal about the operation from observing the guests or clients in the front of the house. Who are the customers, and what do they value? Peter Drucker called these the two central questions in determining what a business is and what it should be doing. Are the guests or clients satisfied? What, in particular, seems to please them? In any job you take, your future work lies in managing others and serving people. Wherever you work and whatever you do, you can observe critically the management and guest or client relations of others. Ask yourself, “How would I have handled that problem? Is this an effective management style? In what other ways have I seen this problem handled?” Your development as a manager also means the development of a management style that suits you, and that is a job that will depend, in