How to Make an Effective Resume (for a Fresher in Hospitality Institute)

How to Make an Effective Resume (for a Fresher in Hospitality Institute)

General Guidelines:
1-       Purpose: To get shortlisted for an interview (employment, admission, scholarship).
2-       Size: 1-2 pages maximum
3-       Time recruiter spends on a Resume: 15-20 seconds
4-       Structure: contact details, objective, education, practical exposure, projects, skills, web presence (professional network like LinkedIn, video resume, blogs), interests, miscellaneous
5-       Error free.
Process:

•         Gather all your records (certificates) first.
•          Make an itemized list (based on the structure shown above)
•        Be specific, not general or vague. Use numbers, dates, and facts.
•          Use action verbs to start sentences\phrases.
•         Use bullet marks. No paragraph writing.
•          Mention results, not work.
•          Don’t copy from others.
•          Do not provide photo, unless asked for.

-A collection of skill set can be found here: http://jobsearch.about.com/od/list/fl/hotel-front-desk-skills.htm

-A collection of action verbs for Resume can be found here: http://careernetwork.msu.edu/resources-tools/resumes/action-verbs.html

-A collection of templates for Resume can be found here: http://careerplus.shine.com/resume-format-for-freshers/cms/5.html

Given below is a sample Resume for a Fresher, who would like to apply for a Front Office Assistant’s job.

102, Jai Prakash Apartment, New Patliputra

Patna-841 001, Bihar. Contact No. - +91 95700 12345.

Email: chandan_singh_22@yahoo.co.in

Date of Birth: August 16, 1996

Chandan Singh

Objective:

I seek an entry level position in the Front Office department of a 5 star deluxe hotel, preferably as a Management Trainee or Hotel Operations Trainee.

Education:

B. Sc. (Hospitality Administration)                                                             2014-Present

I.H.M. Hajipur- Affiliated to NCHMCT, NOIDA & IGNOU

78% aggregate (Till 5^th Semester)

Class 12                                                                                                             2014

DAV School, Patna- CBSE Board                                                       

Stream- Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry & English

Score- 81%

Class 10                                                                                                               2012

Bal Bharti School, Darbhanga- CBSE Board

Score- 76%

Internship:

Hotel Hyatt Regency, New Delhi                                            April, 2015 – Sept. 2015 (22 weeks)

Role:  Industrial Release Training

·         Underwent training in all major and minor departments of a Business class luxury hotel.

·         Specialized training in Bell Desk, Concierge, Business Centre and Opera PMS (Micros)

·         Awarded “Trainee of the Month” in July, 2015

Projects, Initiatives &Volunteer Experience:

·         Dr. Subhash Chandra Show, Zee TV Network                                                                     21^st August, 2015

               I was selected as the college representative, to ask relevant questions to Dr. Subhash Chandra during the live recording of two episodes of his popular show at our Institute.

·         “Business Leaders of Bihar” Meet, Bihar Chamber of Commerce                                         5^th  April, 2015

               I was nominated to anchor and co-ordinate the program that was held at our Institute.

·         Food Fest “The Mughalai Treat”, Hotel Chanakya, Patna                                                  14^th November, 2014

               I was a member of the Reception Team and was responsible for escorting of guests and providing information and directions to the visitors. I received a “Letter of Appreciation” from the Hotel GM for my contribution to the success of the event.

Core Skills, Soft Skills & IT Skills:

·         Guest Handling and complaint handling: I am conversant with the SOPs related to Reservation, Registration, Baggage Handling, Rooming, Escorting and Guest Services. I learnt the complaint handling skills through “Role Play” and “Case Study Analysis” in the classroom and through observation during internship.

·         Inter-personal and Communication Skills: I have regularly participated in cultural and intellectual events of the Institute, such as seminars, presentations, quiz and stage shows. I won the GK Quiz “Master Mind” in August 2014. My team was adjudged 2^nd runner-up in the creative ad-making show “Ad-Mad Show”.

·         PMS (IDS Fortune Next 6i), MS Office & Adobe PageMaker: I have hands-on practice of the Front Office module of the IDS PMS (Reservation, Check-in, Cashier, Housekeeping, Rooms, Guest History & Night Audit sub-modules). I can work on MS Word, MS PowerPoint, MS Excel & Paint. I can design simple logos and flyers on Adobe PageMaker and can create simple videos in Picasa.

Professional Web Presence:

Blog: Service Excellence Mantra- My hospitality tips, tutorials and current trends blog (16 blog entries)

·         The blog includes my collection of useful tips and guidance for success in hospitality career that I gathered through web browsing.

·         The blog also consists of the links to the other blogs, magazines and websites related to the latest technology and equipment in Front Office Management, both Indian & International.

·         Link: http://www.hospitalitycareerguide.blogspot.com

LinkedIn Profile:  http://in.linkedin.in.chandan_singh

(15 recommendations)

Video Resume Link: https://www.youtube.co.in.12345chandansinghresume

Professional Attainments:

·         Public Speaking: I have done a 1 month Public Speaking course, from British Council, Kolkata, in May 2013

·         Hotel French: I have done a certificate course in Everyday French from Alliance Françoise, New Delhi, in June 2014

·         Desktop Publishing: I have completed a 1 week certificate course in Adobe PageMaker and Adobe Photoshop.

·         MS PowerPoint: I have a hands-on experience of creating animated slide-shows to assist my teacher in content design for classroom teaching.

Interests:

·         I have an active interest in wildlife photography and my best shots can be found at the following link

                  http://www.flickr.com.photos.wildindia_chandan_shoot

·         I like to compose songs and I use FL Studio (version 11) to create my mp3 tracks. The collection can be found at

                 http://www.soundcloud.com.tracksmp3_chandan_rocks

·         I represented my school in the Inter-state Volleyball Championship held at Le Martinet Academy, Lucknow.

References will be provided on request.

How to Introduce Oneself in an Interview

How to Introduce Oneself in an Interview

This is often the first question of an interview, and also the first elimination round in a campus interview process. Given below is a structure of an effective self-introduction:

1-    Ideology, value-system or something that you really believe in

2-    Key skills and core competencies

3-    Professional profile and experience, including significant achievements

4-    Education, specialization and key learning

5-    Other technical or managerial skills gained through off-the-job experiences

6-    Summary of introduction, re-emphasizing skills, aptitude and attitude

General Guidelines

1-    Everything should be relevant (related) to the job you have applied for.

2-    First make a list of all the items (ideology, skills, experience, education, other expertise) and then start writing the actual introduction.

3-    Highlight achievements.

4-    List items chronologically, latest first or most important first.

5-    The key skills can be found in the practical syllabus of your professional course.

6-    Your introduction should set you apart from the crowd.

7-    Do not supply unnecessary information.

Ideology:

A quote, a popular saying, lines of a poem or song, or any sentence that tells the interviewer what kind of a person you are. Be honest and leave the rest to the experts.

Key Skills and Core Competencies:

Chose your area of interest (job applied for) and list the skills that are important for that field.

Job Profile, Work Experience (if any) and significant achievements:

A fresher would not have any actual, regular work experience. Talk about your internship (Industrial Training), and any practical work exposure you may have had. Pinpoint what you learnt from these experiences and your important moments on-the-job.

Education:

Talk about important achievements (rank, attendance, marks, scholarships, honours) and specialization. Don’t focus too much on school education unless it adds value to your profile.

Highlight your understanding of the practical application of theoretical inputs.

Other Technical, Managerial Expertise (acquired off-the-job):

Computers, languages, soft-skills, specialist software, volunteer or social work may be included here. Know all the basic functions of a Manager (planning, organizing, staffing, coordinating, leading, controlling & evaluating) and link your experience with these functions.

Give supporting examples (incidents, events) to validate your claims of expertise.

Summarizing:

Repeat all the important parts of your introduction and conclude by saying that you believe you are the right candidate for the job.

Also invite the interviewer to seek any additional information about your profile.

A sample introduction is outlined below:

(Before the introduction\interview, ensure that you get to know the names, designations and departments of each member of the selection panel. This can be done by listening carefully and writing down the details (name, designation & department), when the recruiting team begins their college presentation about the company or else, you may ask for their visiting cards in the interview room. Avoid using vague sirs and ma'am! Address everyone by their correct name, spoken with the correct pronunciation.)

“Respected Mrs. Gupta & Mr. Sharma,

I am thankful to you for giving me this opportunity to express and explain the key points about my candidature.

I would like to begin with my motto\ideology\values\principles in life.

“None of us is as smart as all of us.”

 This was said by Eric Schmidt, Ex-Executive Chairman of Google. I, too, am a firm believer in the power of a good team.

Next, I would share with you my area of interest and my key skills in that area, that is Front Office Operations and Management. Broadly, I can categorize my skills into communication, technical, organizing, people and self-management. Under communication, I am a multi-lingual speaker and an active listener. I am good in telephone handling, taking reservations and complaint handling. My technical skills include identification and use of the following equipment used at Hotel Front Office and Business Center; EPABX, Computer, Fax, Photocopier, printer, scanner and paper shredder. I have learnt the Front Office module of Property Management System by IDS Fortune (Training version) and I can work in MS Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Paint.

In organizing skills, I can use the forms, formats and registers in Front Office operations, recording and filing of documents, scheduling of work and maintaining of Log Book, guest account etc. I have handled the filing of C form with local FRRO during my internship and I can handle check-ins and guest services during stay like mail & message handling, baggage handling and providing information and directions.

My people skills are guest handling and coordinating with my co-workers and other departments. Last, and certainly not the least, my skills related to self management are, stress management and time management.

Next, I would like to tell you about my professional experience. I am a fresher and I have only the experience of 22 weeks internship with hotel Marriott Jaipur where I got a chance to learn about the four core areas of hotel operations. I did 4 weeks of specialization training in Front Office and Airport Transfer services. I learnt the hotel phraseology, the brand standards and standard operating procedures of a leading, luxury international hotel chain. I received the “Trainee of the Month” award in July, 2015.

Moving on to education, I have done my 10+2 in commerce stream which has helped me in grasping the financial aspects of a hospitality business, including the bookkeeping system, legal considerations and Management Information System.

In my college, IHM Hajipur, I have consistently scored above 70% in Front office exams, theory and practical; internal as well as external. I worked on a research project in my 6^th semester, “Quantitative Assessment of the Service Quality Standards” and it gave me an insight into the process of acceptable bench-marking of hotel SOP. I have regularly attained an attendance percentage of 90 plus and have volunteered for college functions and activities. I was also the Class Representative for two terms.

Talking of my additional skills, I have joined online French course to augment my communication skills. I also use the Google app Duo Lingo to learn bits of other foreign languages and sometimes I use Google Translate services. I did a 1 month computer course during summer vacation to learn basic computer application, to improve my typing speed and use of Windows keyboard shortcuts so that I can increase my efficiency while working on a Hotel Property Management System. I also worked at a Fast Food Chain outlet to learn about the Billing system and inventory management.

I would like to summarize my self-introduction by drawing your attention to the 5 areas of my skills, aptitude and attitude. I have the practical skills required for an effective Front Office Assistant, and my internship and other experiences have helped fine-tune and upgrade the existing skills.

This is all about me.

If there is anything else that you would like to know, I would be more than happy to answer.    

The General Guidelines for Students who would like to start their career in Front Office Operations

The General Guidelines for Students who would like to start their career in Front Office Operations

The campus interview process would try to ensure the following qualities, skills and knowledge from a candidate:

1.     Appearance- well groomed and pleasant looking. Not necessarily good looking, though.

2.     Communication skills in English, a local and a foreign language.

3.     General knowledge, local knowledge and ideas about planning a customer’s itinerary

4.     Airlines- Indian and International

5.     Property Management System, theory & application (IDS, Opera etc)

6.     Front Office Terminologies (Glossary) and definitions.

7.     Mathematical  formulas from all three years (e.g. ARR, Rev PAR, Yield %, Hubbart’s Formula etc)

8.     General computer application (MS Word, Excel spreadsheet)

9.     Situation handling and Case Studies

10.         Industrial Training and other relevant experiences

11.         GDS and online booking channels

12.         Country, capital and currency

13.         Places of tourist interest and how to reach them (Bihar and Jharkhand)

Reference Books: (listed by Author’s name)

1.     Michael Kasavana & Richard Brooks

2.     Jata Shankar Tewari

3.     S.K. Bhatnagar

4.     Anutosh Bhakta

5.     Sudhir Andrews

6.     J L Bardy (pdf copy available on slideshare.net and FO Lab)

Note: The above listed books are all available in the Institute Library.

Tips for Preparation

1.     Group study is better than studying alone.

2.     Speak in English continuously.

3.     Revise regularly.

4.     Make short notes in your own handwriting.

Tips for Interview:

1.     Make a short but impressive Resume. Do not ignore the photograph.

2.     Read current affairs in newspaper and hospitality magazines to get an idea about the possible topics for GD.

3.     Prepare a smart introduction of under one minute, highlighting your achievements, skills, experience and people friendly nature.

4.     Prepare answers for FAQ in Interviews.

5.     Practice, whenever possible. Practice is the key to improvement.

6.     If not, record your own mobile video and analyze. Consult you teacher, if in doubt.

7.     Make a video resume.

8.     Video tutorials for all topics are available on YouTube.

                                                                                                                                   Praveen Jha

                                                                                                                                   Senior Lecture

                                                                                                                                   IHM Hajipur

Next: Reference websites.