Hospitality is one of the largest growing industries in New Zealand, with the tourism and hospitality sector providing nearly 17.1 per cent of total export revenues. While more and more hospitality jobs are becoming available across the country, that doesn’t mean hospitality is for everyone. It’s normal for students to do part-time work in restaurants and bars, but there are also people who are driven to kickstart a long and successful career in the industry.
If this sounds like you – whether you want to end up managing your own café or running your own hotel – you’ll need to possess certain qualities to have a flourishing hospitality career and make your mark in this fulfilling yet challenging industry. Check out what your future employers are looking for below:
Commitment
Commitment to your job, to the people, and to the business are all very important when it comes to working in hospitality. Even when you’re faced with difficult decisions, it’s important to stay committed to customer satisfaction and to your own level of professionalism as well. Commitment means using your passion to drive every decision, and being flexible enough to deal with anything that comes your way!
Great people skills
This one’s a no-brainer. You need to have a love for being around people to work at any level in hospitality – including making small talk, caring about people’s
thoughts and feelings, and being able to carry a conversation to make people feel relaxed and comfortable. Whether you’re a waitress, barista, manager, or so on, it’s important that you have the empathy and communication skills that help people have a great time. At the end of the day, it’s really about making a connection with people and creating a memorable experience, which can all be hard to do if you don’t have great people skills.
Attention to detail
While customers won’t necessarily be at your establishment to scrutinise every little detail, they can feel the difference. However, your keen attention to detail is necessary to ensure every part of your customer’s journey is enjoyable and comfortable. Things such as how you greet customers, fold napkins, present food, or pour wine are all noticeable and add to a positive customer experience.
Leadership
The most successful people in the industry know the importance of working well within a team, and using every individual’s skillset to benefit each other and the business. This makes them great leaders – their passion and teamwork bring like-minded people together to accomplish goals and achieve great success that only a team can.
Enthusiasm
When your waiter is in a bad mood, you can tell, right? If you flip roles like this, it’s easy to see why enthusiasm is very important on the job. It’s that much easier to talk to a positive, energetic and professional staff member than it is to a grumpy one. Our own moods affect the moods of those around us, so it’s important to stay positive and enthusiastic whenever you can. People will remember their best experiences as well as their worst, and to succeed, you want to be on the better end of that stick.
Crown: The Top Choice for the Best Hospitality Courses in Auckland
At Crown, our hospitality courses help our graduates learn more than what’s necessary to blaze a trail in the industry – this includes relevant experience to ensure you stay committed, possess great people skills, have a keen attention to detail and a good leadership foundation, as well as fuel your enthusiasm for the job!
Check out our hospitality courses and specialised barista course online or call 0800 632 759 to enrol with Crown today!
