Hospitality Jobs - Career Prospects

There will always be employment out there foris up to the individual and what you feel
the experienced hospitality worker however whatcomfortable with. The best thing to do is visit the
type of establishment will you work for? Toplace before you start work or even before you
answer this question you first have to have anapply for a job, if that is possible. Look at things
understanding of the different types oflike how clean is the establishment (I don't mean
organisations there are, what their goals andhow modern it looks, I mean is it physically clean),
objectives are and how they operate. Then youwhat type of patrons are there and how do the
can make a decision that best fits what yourstaff treat you. This will give you a good idea if
goals and personality requires. The following willyou will be comfortable working in their
give you a very broad overview of the differentenvironment
types of businesses there are within the industry.Accommodation Hotels
However you must remember that no two hotelsAs one might expect this type of establishment is
or clubs or restaurants will operate the same orprimarily concerned with providing accommodation.
have the same objectives so this is a veryThey can range from 1 or 2 staffed back packer
general overview. We will only deal with the mainhotels to large establishments with hundreds of
types of establishments.staff. The large organisations such as Hilton, Park
Registered ClubsRoyal etc receive hundreds if not thousands of
Most sizeable towns in Australia have at least onejob applications every year and competition for
licensed club that usually provides food andthose job is great. However there tends to be
beverage services, along with gaming,high turnover of staff in these organisations so
entertainment, and sporting facilities for membersthere are generally openings available.
and guests. All clubs share certain characteristics -Accommodation is their main service however
they are voluntary, non-profit organisations thatthey also provide food and beverage services,
have been established by groups of people thatsome have golf courses, gyms, some are owned
share a common interest.by casinos and clubs. Some of their services are
Many people see clubs such as Panthers oropen to the public; some are private for their
Monties in NSW and ask the question, how canguests only. The services these establishments
these clubs operate without profit? (Panthers isprovide are almost as vast and as varied as the
the biggest Club in the southern hemisphere).establishments themselves.
What non-profit organisation means, is that theCareer prospects within the large hotels are also
money or profit that is generated does not go tovast. Chef, bar tenders, room service attendants,
one individual or group and can only be used toadmin staff, maintenance or grounds keepers,
improve member's facilities.security, concierge, storeman, laundry workers,
Different types of clubs include the following.porters, reception staff, waiters and food service
- Sporting interests such as leagues clubs andpersonnel, the list can go on and on.
bowling clubsRestaurants and cafes
- Returned services affiliations such as RSL orThere are many different types of restaurants
Ex-services clubsand cafes, which can be classified in many
- Workers clubs or professional interests clubsdifferent ways. For example restaurants and
- Ethnic or religious clubscafes can be classified by the region the cooking
Pubs/Night Clubsstyle or ingredients came from e.g. Italian, Asian
These types of establishments can offer similaror classified by menu style e.g. a la carte or
types of services that clubs do such as food andbuffet or classified by service style, casual dining
beverage, gaming and entertainment. Pubs canor fine dining. They can be licensed (can sell
also offer interest in sporting groups such asalcohol) or not and the vast majority of these are
darts, snooker or pool and fishing among others.owner operator establishments and employ less
However they do differ from clubs in that therethan 15 staff.
is no legal requirement of these organisations toThere is a high degree of failure rate of these
contribute profits to the community, like clubstypes of establishments; this is mostly due to
have to, and individuals or groups can own pubsinexperience. I found out the hard way that just
night clubs. That means these people make all thebecause you can cook does not mean that you
decisions and pocket the profits.can manage a business (I will be writing a book on
And there is certainly nothing wrong with that,how to avoid the pit falls in the near future).
however you must be aware that theseHowever there are some very professional
organisations are run by private enterprise. Thisestablishments that can offer very professional
can be good or can be bad depending on thetraining and experience. When I first left school I
owners or managers. Some pubs because theystarted in a modern Italian restaurant in Balmain in
are run privately are run extremely efficiently,Sydney's inner west. Although I didn't appreciate it
effectively and professionally, even more so thanmuch at the time, the work ethic that I learnt
clubs because they are not tied down with politicshelped carry me throughout my professional life.
and red tape. However other pubs or nightclubsFor more information on hospitality employment
are run very poorly.visit the link below.
How can you tell the difference? Once again this