List the Four Workplace Trends Discussed in the Lecture

Chapter 13. Careers and Work Experience

Micki McCartney and Lynda Robinson

Overview

This chapter is divided into three parts. First, we’ll learn the essential steps of
career planning. Then we’ll have a look at the types of piece of work experience yous can engage in while still at school. Finally, we’ll explore how you can integrate your planning with your education and experiences, and nosotros’ll hear from graduates who have been successful in their career choices.

Allow’s offset with a review of the essential steps in the career planning procedure.

Career Planning

Shepard and Mani define career planning “as an ongoing process through which an individual sets career goals and identifies the means to achieve them” (2013, p. 14). It is through career planning that a person evaluates abilities and interests, assesses values and personality, considers alternative career opportunities, establishes career goals, and plans applied developmental activities.

Career planning requires individuals to understand themselves and their values, interests, and skills. It is also an ongoing process, one that must be repeated with changes in employment and life circumstances. As you gain more than experience and noesis, the process will begin anew.

This section reviews the v essential steps of career planning, which are based on our inquiry and input from industry experts:

1. Conduct a self-cess
2. Inquiry the labour market
3. Create your career search toolkit
4. Put your career campaign into action
5. Engage in networking

Let’s start at step one.

Step One: Conduct a Self-Assessment

Self cognition is the key to choosing a career. It can be overwhelming to brainstorm the process of self-assessment. Notwithstanding, if washed well at the start, the likelihood of securing work that has meaning, purpose, and fulfillment is far greater. Agreement your preferences, knowing your strengths, and honestly facing the areas you need to develop are the kickoff steps for effective cocky-assessment.

Rosenberg McKay (2014) identifies
self-assessment
every bit “the process of gathering information near yous in order to make a knowledgeable career decision” and adds that “a self-cess should examine values, interests, personality, and skills” (¶ 1). Your
values
should guide your decision making to ensure a good fit for both you and your employer.

Many people observe that over the grade of their post-secondary programme they naturally become more self-enlightened. It’s recommended, withal, that you accept time to do the following in order to facilitate your understanding:

1. Think dorsum to when you lot were a child. What hopes and dreams did you have for yourself? How accept these inverse?

2. Develop a contour of your personality blazon. I helpful way of classifying personalities was adult by Myers and Briggs. You tin can larn more than about their personality types by visiting their foundation at Myers and Briggs Personality Types: www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/.

3. Do an cyberspace search for terms similar
personal value statement
and find examples that inspire you. These may include key words such as loyalty, accountability, determination, and passion. Now create your own unique statement that reflects where you lot are today.

4. Gain a better understanding of yourself by learning how others see yous. Ask a close friend, family member, or trusted academic contact to write down 10 key words that describe you. Notice where these are dissimilar or similar to the words you lot chose for your value statement.

5. Go back to the introductory chapter of this textbook and make note of the five fundamental sectors of the tourism industry. With a highlighter or similar tool, cull the 2 sectors that are the most highly-seasoned to yous. Why are these of interest? What life experiences or work experience do you have that apply to these sectors? How do they align with your personality type and values?

With this foundation in place, you’re ready to face employment reality by gaining a greater agreement of the labour market.

Pace 2: Research the Labour Market

Whether you are career planning for the very first fourth dimension or you are trying to change careers, gathering labour marketplace information is necessary to ensure your education and training are relevant. Keep in mind that a career is distinct from a job. A job tin be a function-fourth dimension or short-term position, whereas a career is piece of work you lot plan to explore for the length of your professional person life, with each employment opportunity edifice on the last.

Learning as much every bit you can nigh careers within the tourism and hospitality manufacture will allow you to make good decisions about your futurity. Some of the activities you can exercise to complete your research include visiting chore boards to identify need and post-obit companies and sectors in the media. Let’southward look at these concepts in more particular.

Visit Tourism and Hospitality Job Boards to Place Demand

It’southward not enough for you lot to want to work in a sure field — you lot take to know what types of jobs are currently beingness offered. By visiting job boards you lot can get a sense of which geographic areas have more than opportunities, how much unlike jobs pay, and what kind of experience is required.

Websites you tin use for this search include:

• The go2HR job board for tourism and hospitality jobs in BC: www.go2hr.ca/jobboard
• Hospitality Works (H Careers): www.hcareers.ca
• HotellerieJobs: www.hotelleriejobs.com/en
• Your local Craigslist classified listings: www.craigslist.org/almost/sites
• Listings specific to resort communities (e.g., Whistler: Whistler Chore Board: http://whistlerchamber.chambermaster.com/jobs)
• Career pages for companies like Fairmont Hotels Careers (world wide web.fairmontcareers.com), and JOEY Restaurants Careers (http://joeyrestaurants.com/careers/)

Make note of any interesting positions, and pay attention to gaps. Compare this to your self-cess. Where are the opportunities lining up? What changes might you have to brand to advance your career? For example, if y’all’d like to stay in the same city, but see no jobs posted that match your needs, it might be time to look elsewhere.

Follow Companies and Sectors in the Media

Make information technology a point to follow companies and sectors of involvement to yous in the media. You can do this past using a search engine to set up notifications (eastward.g., Google Alerts) about sectors (eastward.m., restaurants, ski resorts), and post-obit companies on social media (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram). Yous can as well monitor news from manufacture associations to read their commentary on issues and trends affecting specific sectors of the industry and/or geographic regions. This volition help yous identify growth patterns, empathize chore market trends, and gain an edge should you have the opportunity to interview.

With this data in hand, y’all’ll be fix to create a programme.

Step Iii: Create Your Career Search Toolkit

You lot have completed your initial research, and now you need to get downwardly to business! This step involves getting ready to arroyo employers about specific opportunities.

Place, and be prepared to provide evidence of, the attributes and skills you lot possess that would be attractive to an employer. It can be helpful to review these in three categories:

1. Personal attributes:
   describe what you are like as a person/employee (eastward.g., your values, personality blazon, personal qualities, and characteristics)
2. Technical skills:
   skills and knowledge required to perform specific work (e.thousand., how to utilize eatery Point-of-Sale systems, hotel reservations systems, or other reckoner software)
3. Transferable skills:
   skills required to perform a variety of tasks that can be transferred from one type of job to some other (east.g., the ability to read a balance sail and gear up a budget)

Use the list of your skills and attributes when you describe yourself in your documents.

A standard prepare of job search documents includes:

1. Cover letter: a long-form document of ane page that tells a story, illustrating how your skills and experience make you an ideal candidate for the chore.
2. Resume (sometimes called a curriculum vitae or CV): a point-grade document, typically two pages, that includes your career objective, relevant experience, pedagogy, skills, and interests.
3. Reference list: identifies three or four professional person contacts who accept worked with you, and tin can vouch for the quality of your work.

Exist sure to update these documents each time you employ for a position and customize them to the opportunity at manus.

You may too want to consider using social media tools and resource to promote yourself. This may include creating a LinkedIn contour, making a professional person (rather than personal) Facebook page, and using Twitter and Instagram to communicate with companies. Some job seekers also use a professional due east-portfolio to demonstrate their skills, cognition, and abilities. Showcasing your experiences with an e-portfolio is ane manner to stand out from other applicants (Lorenzo & Ittleson, 2005).

Step Four: Put Your Career Campaign into Activeness

Now it’s time to make a list of companies to target, and to arroyo them.

We’ve already addressed how yous can find opportunities by scanning postings on websites like the go2HR task board. This is a great start, but almost piece of work opportunities are found in the
hidden chore market,
which consists of jobs that are non advertised or made public in traditional ways. Many individuals find work in BC’s tourism and hospitality industry by being referred, getting hired by someone they already know, or starting at an entry-level position and waiting for future growth opportunities.

If yous don’t have whatever connections in tourism and hospitality, make them! List all the organizations you’re interested in working for. At present find some central contacts to meet with. These might be:

• The person responsible for hiring within the organization (as noted on its website or in its directory)
• An alumni from your program already working for the company (ask a faculty fellow member to connect yous)
• The person who currently works in your platonic office within the company
• A personal contact (family fellow member, friend, or acquaintance) working at the visitor

Approach your potential contact to ready up an
advisory interview. This is a session where you make contact with individuals who can use their starting time-hand experience to educate you well-nigh a item office or visitor.

Write a brusque script that volition help you remain focused and appear professional as you lot embark on your first call or transport an initial email. Here’s a sample:

I have 5 years’ feel working in the tourism and/or hospitality field, mainly holding front-end positions. I take increased return company numbers and received continuous feedback well-nigh my outstanding client service focus. I am wondering if you have ten minutes to speak with me.

Your script will change depending on who you lot are targeting. Set up a list of questions you want to enquire. Recall, at this stage, you are not asking for a job; you’re asking for advice and gathering information. Don’t ask obvious questions virtually data already available on the visitor’southward website or in its print cloth. Some questions might include:

• What are three words yous would use to draw the culture of this company?
• In the time that you’ve worked here, would you say the company has grown? What has changed? What has stayed the same?
• What is a 24-hour interval-in-the-life of someone in (proper noun a part) at this company?
• What bacon range is bachelor for entry-level employees?
• What types of preparation and career path back up is offered to employees?
• Are there any other people I should exist talking to about this? If possible, could y’all requite me their contact information or introduce me to them?

The chat should be professional but informal in nature, and many of your questions will be answered in the natural flow of the conversation. Take notes as y’all move through the interview, and take a minute afterwards the interview to make full in details you may take missed while you were there.

After the session, always send a thank-you note. Thank the person for his or her time, and add together something specific you learned in the interview that yous believe will be helpful as you navigate your career. Sending an email thank-you lot is fine, merely  sending a written card will help yous stand out.

If yous’re given the proper name of someone else to contact, or you are asked to provide further data, be sure to follow through. This is your opportunity to make a good impression on your contact, and the organization.

Step Five: Engage in Networking

Developing your professional network as an emerging professional in tourism and hospitality is essential. Only as you lot need to continue to learn and develop your skill sets, you demand to develop and nurture your network; information technology’s an investment in your future. Some ways to practice this include:

• Conducting multiple informational interviews (covered in the previous step)
• Maintaining contact with academic classmates/faculty
• Attention and presenting at conferences
• Participating in case report competitions and other bookish contests
• Using social media networks and groups
• Maintaining good relationships with coworkers at your current job, and staying in touch with people when they get out
• Asking family and friends to innovate yous to tourism and hospitality professionals in their network

Remember that
networking
is as about who you know and who knows you; it works both ways. Be generous with your contacts, information, and resources. As a new professional person, you may not have a developed network, but you can offering your great attitude and valuable ideas, and yous will soon gain a reputation as someone who contributes to the field.

At present that you have a sense of the steps needed to program your tourism or hospitality career, let’s have a look at an important tool: piece of work experience, which you can gain while still at school to propel you to your ideal career much faster.

Piece of work Experience

Experiential learning
is “based on students beingness directly involved in a learning experience rather than being recipients of prepare-made content in the form of lectures” (ContactPoint, 2014a). Experiential learning is:

• Action-oriented
• Learner-centred
• Geared toward process, rather than outcomes

In this style, cognition is created as the learner moves through the feel.

Through your educational program, y’all may exist able to participate in a variety of dissimilar learning experiences in tourism and hospitality. Students who participate in a learning experience exterior of the classroom are more probable to enter the field with both bookish and practical workplace skills and noesis, and have more opportunities for career advancement.

Let’due south have a wait at some of the common types of work learning experiences:

• Co-op didactics
• Internship
• Practicum
• Service learning
• Volunteering

Each of these is divers below.

Co-op Education

Co-operative, or
co-op education
refers to “a structured plan that integrates piece of work feel in a educatee’s field along with academic studies by alternate in-class learning with periods of bodily piece of work” (ContactPoint, 2014b, ¶ one). The term reflects the co-operative relationship between students, schools, and employers.

Internship

An
internship
is a temporary on-the-job experience that is “typically offered to students or inexperienced workers” (ContactPoint, 2014c, ¶ 1). It is generally project-oriented, and supervised.

The intern should take specific learning goals confronting which he or she can apply experience about a particular manufacture or field of piece of work. The term may exist paid or unpaid, and may lead to permanent career opportunities with the organisation (ContactPoint, 2014b).

Practicum

A
practicum is “applied learning that provides students with practical feel and interaction with professionals from industry and the customs outside of school” (ConnectEd, 2011, p.3). The goal is to support career readiness and help raise:

• Higher-social club thinking
• Bookish skills
• Technical skills
• Applied workplace skills

The experience may be paid or unpaid.

Service Learning

Service learning
is defined equally a class-based, credit-bearing educational experience in which students:

• Participate in an organized service activeness that meets identified community needs
• Reflect on the service activity to gain further agreement of grade content, a broader appreciation of the subject, and an enhanced sense of civic responsibility (Bringle & Hatcher, 1995)

Volunteering

Volunteering
involves performing a service without pay in order to obtain work experience, learn new skills, run across people, contribute to community, and contribute to a cause that’s of import to the volunteer (for example, helping animals, supporting elderly people, working for an environmental crusade) (Pickerell, 2014).

Benefits of Work Experience Programs

Students who have completed a formal work experience component benefit from a supportive partnership between the educational establishment, the employer, and themselves. This partnership encourages community stakeholder investment, student learning opportunities, professional networks, also as opportunities for employers to participate as co-educators.

Some institutions may work with an experiential education coordinator to ensure a particular position meets the schoolhouse’south criteria. Depending on your programme, remuneration for piece of work can exist by the 60 minutes, past salary, past a stipend, as in-kind contributions (experiences or services from the business), or as a volunteer assignment. The educational institution may monitor your placement and enquire you to complete an assignment where you reverberate on the work experience. Some programs may have an evaluation component and a supervisor who supports the student’s learning. Students are also evaluated by the employer, and they will have a supervisor whom they report to directly.

Most ofttimes, for students to participate in a work experience program, they are required to maintain a certain grade point average (GPA) set past the school. Oft students are also asked to establish learning goals prior to starting their work experience.

If your program doesn’t offer a formal piece of work experience programme such equally a co-op, internship, or practicum, you lot tin can all the same proceeds valuable easily-on learning through part-time work and volunteer opportunities. Considering tourism is the number-1 employer of youth in BC, you lot can detect a role-time job to develop your skills and gain an entry-level opportunity to join the manufacture.

Whatsoever experience you appoint in, be it formal, or informal, information technology’s important to:

• Explore your employer’s organizational culture and social norms
• Do your best on the job
• Gain conflict management and resolution skills

These 3 keys come directly from BC tourism and hospitality employers (LinkBC, 2014), and are explored in the next section.

Integrating Planning with Education and Feel

The concluding career planning chemical element nosotros’ll explore in this chapter involves integrating your didactics and piece of work experience. By applying classroom learning to the field, and then bringing lessons from your workplace back to the classroom, y’all can come across key concepts in action.

Inquiry Organizational Culture and Social Norms

Each arrangement has its own civilisation and social norms.
Organizational civilization refers to “the customs, rituals, and values shared by the members of an organization that accept to exist accepted by new members” (Collins English language Dictionary, 2012), and  is expressed through its mission argument, vision, behavior, language systems, and processes. Social norms refer to the fashion individuals in the organization interact, communicate, and generally carry with each other.

Yous will want to empathise the culture of an organization earlier applying for a job in that location to ensure your values are congruent. Find out what’s of import to the organization by researching the business. How does it present its public face up?

Asking questions of a potential employer virtually the organization’s culture will assistance you appraise whether information technology is a skillful fit for you. You lot can do this past asking employees in the organization during the informational interview; or alternatively, in a formal job interview.

Performance on the Job

This is your fourth dimension to smoothen — no matter what function yous’ve been assigned. In addition to respecting and working within a visitor’southward culture, once y’all start your position, it’s time for yous to show initiative (Iannarino, n.d.). Demonstrate an interest in learning and contributing to the organization’s goals and objectives and you volition stand out from other employees.

Act without waiting to exist told what to practise and persistently follow through on work responsibilities, regardless of the obstacles. Think about ways to improve operations, and come up up with new ideas, while presenting these in a fashion that shows you respect management’due south expertise. Information technology’s up to you to signal to your employer that you’re someone who can be counted on and you have leadership potential. Some ways of showing initiative include:

• Asking to discover a coming together
• Asking to shadow a director in another section
• Reading through company policies and plans, and asking questions most them
• Offering to bring your skills to the table to make a difference, such as setting up a social media account for the company or creating a training manual for hereafter students in your position

Often, you’ll be able to accept advantage of project work at school to accomplish some of the to a higher place.

Practise Conflict Management and Resolution

The bulk of tourism and hospitality employers stress that
disharmonize management
is an essential skill in this customer-service driven industry (LinkBC, 2014). It’s upwardly to yous to do these skills at your workplace.

In about conflicts, the ultimate goal must be to notice a resolution. Avoiding or ignoring conflict is non an constructive strategy. While resolving disharmonize can exist uncomfortable, unresolved conflict actually makes the state of affairs worse. Generally, conflicts accept more than than one crusade. How you choose to resolve conflicts will ultimately demonstrate your ability to be professional and motion upward in your career.

Consider the following three steps to resolving conflicts both at work and in the classroom.

Listen

If at all possible, try not to take the state of affairs or comments personally. Practice not make assumptions about people’s motivations. Jumping to conclusions adds to the conflict and creates more tension and issues to piece of work though.

Consider that if there is a conflict, you might non accept fully understood the issue or your part in it. While you lot may not like the style or approach of the person you’re interacting with, fix the goal of listening with acceptance with the intent to resolve the conflict. Convey that you are listening respectfully through your torso language and tone of voice, and don’t interrupt. If there are several people involved, let everyone accept a take chances to speak.

Reflect and Summarize

If you need to, silently count to x in your head to requite yourself the time to reply accordingly. Acknowledge your commitment to resolving the conflict, and analyze how the other person is feeling near it. When people feel listened to, they are often willing to accept the first stride toward trust, which so creates willingness to work through the issue. Summarizing what the other person has said allows you to ensure that you’ve fully captured his or her position.

Focus on appreciating what the other person is saying and thinking to empathize the source of conflict. Inquire what the other person believes would resolve the conflict. Focus the conversation on mutually resolving the outcome.

Respond

Let each person the opportunity to explore solutions as. Take a break from the process if you lot need to, and come dorsum to the disharmonize when y’all experience refreshed. Oftentimes the solution is through compromise, considering no ane is all wrong or all right in whatsoever given situation. Each time you’re given the hazard to respond, do your best to keep language neutral.

Past maturely moving through the process of listening, reflecting, summarizing, and responding (and sometimes going dorsum to the outset again), you lot’ll not only demonstrate your workplace potential, merely gain valuable skills for your personal life.

While adapting to organizational civilisation, demonstrating strong on-the-job functioning, and practising disharmonize resolution are of import, there are many skills to be learned in the workplace. Others include the ability to apply critical thinking, interim as a global citizen, and working as part of a team. With this in mind, let’southward have a look at success stories in our manufacture — graduates who possess these skills and attributes, and have used them to propel their careers forward.

Tourism and Hospitality Success Stories

Only a few years agone the professionals highlighted in this section were students in the classroom. Here, they tell usa first-paw what you need to know in order to abound in BC’s tourism and hospitality manufacture. These success stories span the following sectors:

• Accommodation (account manager, rooms division coordinator)
• Recreation and entertainment (project coordinator, conference services manager, entrepreneur and pocket-sized business owner)
• Travel services (long-range planner, travel designer, industry and communications services manager)

As you read their stories, yous’ll see that many of the themes explored in this chapter are echoed in their advice. Please notation that these profiles were current every bit of bound 2015 – some of these grads may already be on to the adjacent big affair in their careers!

Accommodation

Brock Martin, Business relationship Manager

Brock manages accounts for Canada Booking.com Online Reservations Inc. He graduated with a bachelor of hospitality management at Vancouver Community College in 2010. Brock says:

I oversee more than 300 accommodations on Vancouver Island and am their betoken of contact for twenty-four hours-to-day back up and for profitable them in maximizing their listing’s potential with Booking.com. When I moved to Vancouver in 2004, I started my first hotel job at the Westin Bayshore as a banquet server. I notwithstanding remember my starting time day; we had to serve a dinner for over 1,200 people, and I remember that despite how crazy it was I knew this was the industry for me!

From at that place, I moved to the Pacific Palisades Hotel in banquets, and so I was given an opportunity to motion to the front end desk. I call back thinking at first that I didn’t belong at the forepart desk as I had always only washed nutrient and beverage. I did non think I would fit the position. Well, I was wrong! I  immediately knew I loved the interactions with the guests.

I progressed with my career, moving from a front desk agent to an assistant forepart office manager, where I stayed until the hotel unfortunately airtight its doors in 2010. Following the Palisades, I held various front office direction positions with Declension Hotels and Delta Hotels in Vancouver, Nanaimo, and Whistler. In 2013, I was presented with an opportunity to join Booking.com as an account manager, where I am presently working.

Taking courses related to hospitality management and tourism will really aid in developing your career. Once in a workplace setting, continued education is central. Look for opportunities for cross training and task shadowing, and ask Human Resources about internal training programs to further your agreement.

Students entering this manufacture need to have a passion for guest services and for helping people. They need to exist able to think quickly and be a skilful trouble solver. This is a fast-paced, ever-evolving industry and doesn’t fit someone who likes routine. No two days are always the same, and that is what I honey! Remain flexible and do not exist afraid to effort new things. Have an open up mind and challenge yourself to think exterior of the box.

Specific things students can do to get ahead include networking, farther training, and volunteering. Remember, the manufacture is very big, nonetheless small at the same time. Take opportunities to volunteer as these are dandy networking opportunities likewise. I couldn’t movie myself in any other industry. Information technology is challenging, notwithstanding rewarding, and best of all, it is a lot of fun!

Katie Clarke, Marketing Coordinator

Katie works at the Parkside Hotel & Spa in Victoria, BC. She graduated with a diploma in hospitality management from Vancouver Island Academy in 2011. Katie says:

My initial hotel job was with the Fairmont Empress housekeeping department during my start co-op work term, a temporary two-calendar month position after which I returned for my 2nd yr of schooling. Afterwards graduating from Vancouver Isle University, I completed my last co-op semester by working at the Queen Victoria Hotel and Suites as a guest services agent. My employment continued there after my co-op term was complete, and lasted until the hotel was sold in October 2012. I left with a wealth of knowledge in guest services.

I began working at the Parkside Hotel & Spa at the time information technology was purchased by a grouping of Vancouver Island local investors. I started in reservations, which was a new department in the early stages of development, and my skills and qualifications played a large role in assisting with the department’s foundations. I worked every bit a reservations agent for seven months before I was promoted to the position of rooms division coordinator. In this position, I assisted in supervising the department, also equally taking on some marketing responsibilities such every bit keeping the hotel website up-to-engagement, social media, print materials, and much, much more than. The part became a jack-of-all-trades position and was a great experience! In fact, I used what I learned in that role to obtain my current position of marketing coordinator.

My advice for students is that whatsoever related education will always assist get your foot in the door of a hotel. All applicable piece of work experience, skills, and noesis can also be an advantage. If you lot are a difficult worker, a squad histrion, and willing to help out when other departments need it, you will be successful in any job you do.

Students should understand that the hospitality field tin exist a career. Some people view a job in the hospitality industry equally temporary or seasonal employment, but it tin can be a career with many exciting opportunities if y’all stick with information technology. The corking matter about working in a hotel is that there are so many dissimilar departments to explore. The options are endless.

Networking tin can provide an reward in this industry. If you contact your tourism bureau, it tin connect you to organizations to assistance y’all further your industry network. Creating bully workplace relationships also fosters getting ahead in any industry. Exist sure to keep up with new grooming and volunteering, equally that can be a great advantage, and almost workplaces encourage information technology!

Though every chore will come with its tough days, push button past them as there are then many better days alee! Work hard and it will pay off!

Recreation and Entertainment

Ana Rowinska, Project Coordinator

Ana works for MCI Grouping Canada. She has multiple credentials including a hospitality eating place management diploma from Douglas Higher (2005), an Event Marketing Association document from BCIT (2008), and a bachelor of tourism management from Capilano Academy (2013). Ana says:

My love for travel and hospitality were cardinal reasons I took the hospitality eating house direction diploma program at Douglas College. Subsequently receiving my diploma, I decided to focus on result marketing and enrolled at BCIT for further training.

Students interested in getting into events and or event marketing need to be able to multi-task, be organized, and have a hard work ethic. Both educational activity and experience are important to work equally an event coordinator. You need to know the ins and outs of the industry by working in events, and yous also need to understand the dorsum-finish strategies of how to implement, organize, and plan events.

The events industry is non your typical nine-to-five job. Long workdays are mutual, and you tin expect to sometimes work xvi or more hours in one day to become the chore done. Events can happen any day of the week, at any time. Commitment and the ability to be flexible is key as you are ever the first 1 on scene and the last one to leave. You lot need to have patience, exist organized, and be able to bargain with stress.

Many students expect to be hired at at a high level right after graduation, but in truth, most volition be entering the workforce in their respective fields in an entry-level position. You’ll need to be prepared to work toward gaining experience with your company before you can move into a supervisor or director position. My communication is to work hard, learn, and ask questions, and yous will succeed.

Volunteering or working office time with events is key as you lot will not only gain valuable industry experience, you lot will also be networking with your future peers. Experience is invaluable in our sector, and so the more events you piece of work or volunteer in, the more than opportunities you will have to expand your network and see key stakeholders in the event manufacture.

To be successful, yous need to be organized, take excellent communication skills, and be able to handle stress and pressure. Don’t become discouraged if things don’t happen exactly similar you planned; life throws you bend balls, and it’south how you bargain with those curve assurance that allows yous to succeed in our industry.

Throughout my career, I have needed to make decisions on what was next for me. You never know which job may atomic number 82 you to where, so treat each job equally a stepping rock to motility ahead in your career.

Christine McCann, Senior Briefing Services Managing director

Christine is in senior management at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler. She graduated from the Douglas College program in hotel and restaurant management in 2006. Christine says:

I started at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler as a SWEP (educatee work feel) educatee in the banquet department. From there, I became very interested in the organization and execution of events, weddings, and conferences. During my time as a banquet server, I was able to cross train with conference services, assuasive me to gain insights into the skills and knowledge required to be a successful member of the that squad. When a position opened upwardly for a conference services coordinator, I was overjoyed to receive a role equally role of this fantastic team! Seven years accept passed, and I am now in the position of senior conference services director, taking care of many large groups throughout the twelvemonth.

Event and briefing planning is a very interesting alloy of roles: being on the floor with clients and groups but also completing many administrative tasks and paperwork to ensure plans are effectively communicated. A positive attitude, passion for creating outstanding events, and an center for detail are three key qualities needed. Members of my team accept moved here from many other departments, including banquets, front office, sales, and food and beverage; notwithstanding, having a base of operations experience is the normal pathway to a position in conference services.

Being successful in a conference services role takes passion and an understanding and appreciation for the guest feel. We are ambassadors for our make to our guests — 100 to ane,000 guests at a time — and it is important that we ensure each one feels a special connection to our venue and location.

A positive attitude, willingness to learn and passion for whatever office you lot cull will always help you on the route to success.

Volunteering is a fantastic fashion to effort out new roles and encounter great contacts. Hands-on feel can be invaluable in the future. Continuing to seek noesis, through training, instruction, industry events — whatsoever method is interesting for you — will also be benign.

Love what you exercise, work hard, and listen!

David Woolridge, Entrepreneur and Small Business concern Owner

David is the possessor and founder of Ridge Wilderness Adventures Ltd. He graduated from the outdoor recreation direction program at Capilano University in 2002. David says:

I love people and I love being outside, so I searched for positions that would fill that demand. I take worked at canoe rental companies, guiding outfits, first-aid schools, retail shops, construction, and annihilation else that I could go my hands on.

I recommend students get into the field by one of two means: enter a specific plan similar the 1 at Capilano University, or contact a visitor that does the work they would like to practice and apply. If applying directly doesn’t piece of work, inquire the company what it is looking for in a person to exist employable.

This piece of work is for those who don’t similar to take a fixed routine and who thrive on trouble solving and similar to practice different things all the time. If you prefer a set schedule and set pay, information technology is probably not for you.

It’s an amazing task where nosotros get to piece of work at what nosotros love. To succeed in this line of piece of work, attitude and availability trump aptitude. If you would like to accept a lucrative career in the outdoors, you lot need to possess an approachable, friendly, hardworking attitude. This style of piece of work is not nine-to-five; in fact, it’s the opposite of that. Your ability to work when the work is there is key to success. Plainly, you need to take the ability to do the work, but 9 times out of 10, if that’s all you have yous will non succeed.

This industry is all about the people that you know. Go to every effect and course yous can to meet people and become known. Virtually places will requite y’all the grooming; you demand to do the work if your attitude is right, and then sort out what y’all demand before you showtime.

If you dear the outdoors, honey people, and want to take fun for work, this is what yous should do.

Travel Services

Cleopatra Corbett, Long-Range Planner

Cleopatra works as a planner for the City of Vernon. She holds a bachelor of tourism management from Vancouver Isle Academy (2004) and completed the urban design certificate at Simon Fraser University in 2012. Cleopatra says:

My starting time experience in community planning came during my third-year co-op piece of work term every bit a planning assistant with the District of Ucluelet. I instantly savage in beloved with the profession: working with local residents, businesses, not-profits, and elected officials to realize a desired future for the community. Upon graduation, I connected to work in Ucluelet, followed by Tofino, Golden, and now Vernon, all in British Columbia.

In my field the desired skill set includes planning, communication, collaboration, facilitation, public speaking, and study writing. For knowledge, y’all need planning history and theory, customs evolution, environmental stewardship, marketing, and statistical and inquiry methods. Every bit for education, you want to written report planning, geography, urban pattern, tourism, recreation, history, and police.

Community planning is incredibly challenging and rewarding work. Put simply, your work can have a tremendous bear on on the environment and the quality of life for residents in your community. You help the community dream almost a desired futurity and then develop policy to make information technology happen.

My advice would be to have mentors you respect and admire, and to come across with them regularly to ask questions and look for communication. Always do your best, piece of work hard with integrity, exist kind, tell the truth, and exercise what you love.

Get experience before graduating through volunteer work, internships, and/or co-op piece of work terms. Besides, endeavour to employ class projects in university to real-world projects for businesses, not-profits, or governments in order to gain meaningful practical experience. Interview people who are in positions that interest y’all; ask questions and don’t be afraid to enquire for help.

If yous are willing to motility, y’all can go any type of job you desire. Existence mobile enhances your opportunities. Practise life-long learning and strive for a salubrious piece of work-life balance. Follow your elation and make the world a amend identify.

Marie-Catherine Lapointe, Travel Designer Squad Atomic number 82

Marie-Catherine is a travel designer with Detect Holidays Inc. She graduated from Capilano University with a diploma of tourism management in 2012. Marie-Catherine says:

When I graduated, I knew that I wanted to work in travel services as a central part of the manufacture with bear upon points in every other sector, and so when a posting to be a travel designer for a receptive tour operator came up, I jumped at the chance. I was excited to be working to bring clients from all over the world to Canada, and I took in every opportunity to learn about the many aspects of the company, including product, marketing, and sales.

Students wanting to get into the tour operator sector need to have a tourism teaching to actually understand the intricacies of the sectors in the industry, likewise as skills in customer service, sales, cultural practices (particularly dealing with international clients), marketing, and a real passion for the products they are selling. Teamwork is crucial on our small squad, every bit is being intrinsically motivated to provide the all-time feel for clients.

First, receptive tour operators are non travel agents, nor do they operate the tours. Nosotros work with travel agents, wholesale agents, and occasionally with clients directly. Nevertheless, it is mainly a B2B model. Receptive tour operators are in a dynamic workplace, with opportunities to learn and gain experience in other sectors and fields, too every bit strop customer service and sales skills.

My advice is to actually accept hold of every opportunity that is presented, and to never finish learning near the manufacture. This is a very social industry and building a large solid network can help with future opportunities. Build up your customer service feel, whether information technology’s through front-line jobs or volunteering, and nourish networking events. Schools often host or sponsor these, and students should exist attending them all.

This is a really fun industry, and with so many sectors and positions available, I really believe that there is something for everyone in tourism.

Jody Young, Manufacture and Community Services Director

Jody works for Tourism Vancouver Island. She holds a available of tourism direction from Vancouver Island University (2008). Jody says:

Later graduation, information technology took a year and a half before I got my big intermission into the industry. I’m thankful for the time information technology took for my career to really start equally it provided me the opportunity to travel around Southeast Asia. I started at Tourism Vancouver Island in an entry-level position as the distribution coordinator. After just one year in the role I was promoted to industry services coordinator where I was coordinating the association’s almanac conference and AGM and conducting accommodation inspections. After some other year and a half, I was promoted again to direction level within the system to the role I am currently in. Every bit industry and community services manager, I oversee many portfolios for the system such as community tourism development, consequence management, inquiry, and promotion of the value of tourism.

The tourism management degree program at Vancouver Isle University definitely set me up for success in this office. I highly recommend completing the iv-twelvemonth degree and getting as much hands-on, real-world experience that you lot tin while completing your education. Employers will exist looking for proven successes and workplace skills, non just completion of courses.

Although the tourism industry is vast with many desirable, well-paying career opportunities, information technology is nevertheless fairly new. The industry has room to grow on communicating that it is a key economic and social contributor to our province and country.

I would suggest students to bound at an entry-level opportunity as it will exist your door to advancing in your career in a particular organization. One time y’all’ve got your human foot in the door, demonstrate your power and yous will presently find bigger opportunities presented to you. If I didn’t take the entry-level opportunity that was presented to me, I wouldn’t be in the role I am in today.

Students can get ahead past taking advantage of student rates at industry events. Past attending these industry events you will rub shoulders with the folks who are at the height of the game in this industry and meeting potential future employers. Wait for opportunities for mentorship programs or internships to gain that workplace experience as well.

Conclusion

Equally you can see, successful tourism and hospitality careers depend on reaching out and meeting people (networking), gaining practical feel, having a corking mental attitude and work ethic, and committing to ongoing learning about the world, the industry, and yourself.

With diligence and a sense of exploration, you can launch your dream career in tourism and hospitality, today. Remember that career planning is an ongoing process — the more you practise the steps in this chapter, the more probable your success.

Now that you’ve explored the five sectors of tourism, special considerations, and your own identify in the industry, information technology’s time to deepen your understanding. Chapter 14, on globalization and trends, will assist you appreciate the big moving-picture show of tourism and hospitality.

References

Bringle, R.Thousand., & Hatcher, J.A. (1995). A service-learning curriculum for kinesthesia.
Michigan Periodical of Community Service Learning, 2, 112-122.

Collins English Dictionary – Complete & Entire tenth Edition. (2012). Organizational civilisation. Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/organizational civilisation

ConnectEd. (2011).
Career practicum: A work-based learning strategy.
[PDF] The California Center for College and Career. Retrieved from http://www.connectedcalifornia.org/direct/files/LLAWBLCareerPracticum_FINAL_10-5-11_noLLA%20logo.pdf

ContactPoint. (2014a).
Experiential learning. Retrieved from http://contactpoint.ca/wikis/experiential-learning/

ContactPoint. (2014b).
Co-operative educational activity. Retrieved from http://contactpoint.ca/wikis/co-op-pedagogy/

ContactPoint. (2014c).
Internship.
Retrieved from http://contactpoint.ca/wikis/internship/

Iannarino, Anthony S. (n.d.).
Initiative: The ability to take action proactively. Retrieved from
http://thesalesblog.com/weblog/2010/01/30/initiative-the-ability-to-take-action-proactively/

LinkBC. (2014).
LinkBC roundtable 2014: Dialogue cafe.
[PDF] Retrieved from http://linkbc.ca/siteFiles/85/files/2014RoundtableDialogueCafeReport.pdf

Lorenzo, G., & Ittelson, J. (2005). An overview of due east-portfolios. [PDF]
Educause learning initiative,
1, 1-27. Retrieved from www.case.edu/artsci/cosi/cspl/documents/eportfolio-Educausedocument.pdf

Pickerell, D.A. (2014). Work search strategies. In Blythe C. Shepard and Priya Due south. Mani (Eds.).
Career evolution practice in Canada: Perspectives, principles and professionalism.
Toronto, ON: Canadian Education and Inquiry Institute for Counselling (CERIC), p. 215. Retrieved from http://contactpoint.ca/wikis/volunteering/

Rosenberg McKay, D. (2014).
About careers: Cocky cess.
Retrieved from http://careerplanning.about.com/od/selfassessment/g/def_selfassess.htm

Shepard, B. & Mani, P. (2013).Career development do in Canada: Perspectives, principles and professionalism.
Toronto, ON: Canadian Pedagogy and Research Institute for Counselling (CERIC).

Attributions

 Effigy xiii.i
VIU diploma winners by LinkBC is used under a CC-BY 2.0 license.

Figure thirteen.2Light-green Resume CV & Business Carte by buyalex is used under a CC-BY 2.0 license.

Effigy 13.3 006 LinkBC Educatee-Industry Rendezvous 2013 by LinkBC is used under a CC By 2.0 license.

Effigy xiii.4 Westward Coast Sightseeing’s booth by LinkBC is used nether a CC-BY-NC-SA two.0 license.

Figure 13.5 Brock Martin by Melissa Phung for LinkBC is used under a CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0 license.

Effigy 13.6 Katelyn Clarke by Vivian Kereki for LinkBC is used under a CC-By-NC-ND 2.0 license.

Effigy xiii.viiAnna Rowinska by Karl Rowinski for LinkBC is used nether a CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0 license.

Figure xiii.8 Christine McCann by Beth Pink for LinkBC is used nether a CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0 license.

Figure 13.9 Cleo Corbett past Digital Dean Photography for LinkBC is used under a CC-BY-NC-ND ii.0 license.

Figure 13.10Marie-Catherine Lapointe by Marie-Catherine Lapointe for LinkBC is used under a CC-Past-NC-ND two.0 license.

Figure thirteen.11 Jody Young by Landon Sveinson Photography for LinkBC is used under a CC-Past-NC-ND ii.0 license.