VacantReady

Virtually everyone building a career in the hotel industry within a multi-unit brand will face the prospect of transferring to another city at some point. Movement from hotel to hotel is very often the means by which managers elevate their profile and learn how to manage better in different operations.

It’s not that employees are REQUIRED to transfer, but those who are willing to relocate are more likely to move on to higher positions faster than their counterparts who (for any number of reasons) are not able, or willing to move.

But what happens when you successfully pass through an extensive interview process, pack up your life and move to a new hotel in a new town--and then discover that you aren’t feeling so good about your decision? Of course this happens. And how you handle it can have a real impact on your career. 

One of our viewers recently posed this very question, and of course we asked Susan Strayer, our Vacant Ready H.R. expert for some guidance:

Question: I have moved to a new city for a job with my hotel company.  Three months have passed and I’m not liking the scene. Although work is good, I want to relocate back to my previous city. Should I sacrifice my ten-year relationship with my hotel company to find a job back in the city I just left?

Yes, there are other factors, such as house and mortgage, relocation expenses & settlement allowances to pay back. I’m very loyal to my hotel brand and would like to stay, but if I have to leave the company to be where I’m happy in my life, I am willing to consider it.  However, I would not want to sacrifice any work opportunities in the future.

What advice can you give?

Answer: Work/life balance is extremely important to many of us.  And in the hospitality industry, it often takes on a new meaning with six day work weeks, hotel openings, night shifts etc.  So it’s important to be realistic about the industry we are in, evaluate our choices carefully and understand the sacrifices associated with career progression.  But as for your specific situation right now--don’t leave. 

First, there is your career to think about.  If you want to move up in hospitality, you have to be willing to relocate at times--it’s part of the job and part of the industry in most cases.  In your specific case, you want to ask yourself if you are really being fair--to yourself, to your colleagues and to your company.  You send a strong message when you leave this early--that you are disrespecting the company and your colleagues who have likely worked to both train you, welcome you and onboard you.  You owe it to them to give it more time.  You also owe it to yourself.  You hurt your own career brand if you leave this soon, and people in the industry talk.  Is that a risk you really want to take?

Second, there is the three season rule.  When it comes to evaluating what exactly do you mean by “not liking the scene?” Is it the culture, the people you have met, or the social options?  To truly immerse yourself in a locale and understand if it’s a fit, the rule of thumb is to give yourself a minimum of three seasons, or nine months.  That’s the only way to see the city/town as it changes and as well, to give yourself time to make new friends.  It’s hard and lonely.  So ask yourself--have you really, honestly and truly given the “scene” a fair shot?  Is it work risking your career?

Lastly, you have to ask yourself if you evaluated the transfer appropriately.  Did you visit the new city, explore living options and spend some time immersed in the things you like to do (i.e., the culture, sporting, entertainment choices) in your new city? Did you step back and ask yourself what was important to have in a new city or what mattered to you about a potential geography before accepting a transfer?  If you didn’t do these things, it is a lesson learned to do so.  You’ve got to have a sense not only of what you have to offer but what you want in return.  A good place to start to give yourself a platform to work off is the model I feature in my book, The Right Job, Right Now.  If you spend some time on the self assessment in the front end, you can prepare to make the best decision possible.

All best,
Susan

Visit our forum to Comment or email us a question.


Susan Strayer, SPHR, is Director of Talent Management for one of the world’s leading hotel brands. Susan has over ten years of experience in human resources, recruiting and career development.  She has worked with numerous Fortune 500 companies, thousands of coaching clients and is the author of two books.

1 comments | Permalink | Career Coach • People Movement

Head over to YouTube some time and perform a search for “video resumes”. You can view hundreds of live video resumes submitted by job seekers from around the world. The quality ranges from pretty crappy to fairly professional. All of them offer an interviewer a unique glimpse into the candidate’s personalty. The intent is to warm up a relationship enough to actually entice an HR professional to call the candidate.

I’m suspicious of the value in submitting video resumes to potential employers. They simply don’t work well in the recruiting world. At least not yet.

Don’t get me wrong, I believe that video resumes present a wonderful opportunity to show an employer your poise and charisma. Those qualities are virtually impossible to portray in a written resume. Tailored to a specific job or company, effective video media might truly set job seekers apart from their competition and allow people to get to know you better.

When I was recruited for the Rihga Royal Hotel in New York City years ago, I was living in Toronto. I was asked to film my own video resume on VHS and mail in the tape. Definitely “Web 0.0”. It was a cumbersome and somewhat embarrassing process but it worked. I got the job.

The problem with video formatted resumes lies with technology. No matter how awesome you seem on camera, low-ish quality or poorly produced videos diminish your overall personal “brand”. I know from lots of experience that producing video is easy, but producing quality video is hard. Video communities like YouTube and BrightCove make it easy to host and share video resumes, but there is no easy way get a resume that your potential employer will love out of your camera!

There is the even more important problem of human resource professionals managing video resumes from an administrative perspective. It’s pretty hard to receive and manage this type of media, at least for today.

Of course, if a video resume is requested by a company, then you’re in business. Have fun, and make a simple video. Your employer knows that you are not Ron Howard.

The challenge is unsolicited video resumes. There is currently no efficient way to manage this process, especially in larger organizations. Most of the videos I’ve watched are not as good as a written resume regardless.

Our friend Susan Strayer is Vacant Ready’s resident hotel human resource expert. She recently wrote a piece outlining reasons why she is not a big fan of video resumes. Susan is a corporate HR Director for a major luxury hotel brand and she knows her stuff.

Check out Susan’s full article here.

Here are some highlights:

“...Video resumes are cool. They are fun. Youtube-WebCam-send-the-link-to-your-friends kind of things.

But Mr. Corporate Legal pants doesn’t like them and neither do I...”

1. They are, for the most part, too creative right now. They make great audition tapes for The Apprentice but not for my company.

2. They are too long. I don’t have time to watch them and I don’t want to have to turn my volume up when I am in my office (door open) or traveling and have people wonder what the hell I am listening to.

3. I have no way to manage them. Most companies have fancy tracing systems to legally track applicants and avoid troublesome DOL audits. If a resume can’t be scanned into my system and turned into RTF I probably won’t read or see it.

4. It’s too hard to compare. I can’t put two videos side by side the way I can view two resumes.

5. People are scared of photos and videos. Europeans have been putting photos on CVs for years. We’re too litigious in the US to do it (not that you absolutely can’t, but it’s deemed risky by almost anyone with a capital VP in their title.

6. I can’t watch watch your video and interview you at the same time. But I can scan your resume or refer to it while you’re sitting in front of me.

Even though we think video resumes aren’t perfect, they can still have enormous value in some circumstances. Check out some tips for making better video resumes from CollegeRecruiter.com.

Linkage
Susan Strayer’s HR Blog [KaleidoBlog]
Three Errors to Avoid with Video Resumes [YouTube]

0 comments | Permalink | Career Coach • Employee Interviews

Today’s viewer submitted career question for Susan Strayer is from a marketing and hospitality student here in B.C. We’ve recently been talking about how students or people new to the industry can kick off their careers, and Susan brings up some great points in her reply:

Q: I am really interested in Hospitality Marketing; however, I found it’s difficult to make a break into the industry for a student like me. There are not many entry level positions in Hospitality Marketing. What should I do to start my career as a hospitality marketer? And what kind of hospitality marketing jobs are available for a new grad like me?

A: I think it’s great you have such a specific interest and desire to work in a certain arena.  And while it may seem hard to break into many areas at an entry level, there are certain tricks of the trade that may help more so than trying to .  First, get some general hospitality experience.  It’s really an industry where having tangible, field experience is essential.  If you can’t start at corporate headquarters, try working at a large property of a well respected chain or company where there will be opportunities to move and grow.  Sales or event planning are a great place to start and a good foundation for marketing. 

You should also use your network to find some mentors--experienced marketing professionals both in and out of hospitality that you can bounce ideas off of, be motivated by and get general advice and encouragement from.  They can also be instrumental in helping connect you with others and in sharing the realities--the good and bad--of the job.  But the best advice is to get into a hospitality company and make your preferences known.  Work hard and ask to take on extra projects, maybe even as an intern in marketing or after hours.  Commitment, passion and patience--that’s how you’ll get noticed!

Head over to our forums if you would like to pose a career question


Ask The Career Coach!
Susan Strayer, SPHR, is Director of Talent Management for one of the world’s leading hotel chains. Susan has over ten years of experience in human resources, recruiting and career development.  She has worked with numerous Fortune 500 companies, thousands of coaching clients and is the author of two books.  Her latest, The Right Job Right Now: A Complete Tool-Kit For Finding the Perfect Career (www.therightjobrightnow.com), is a complete end-to-end job search and career guide. 

1 comments | Permalink | Employee Interviews • Job Search • Trade Gossip • Getting Hired

My friend Roxanne Jessome is the co-founder of Peg Moves, a recruiting firm specializing in the hospitality industry. Roxanne is a dynamic person and I always enjoy talking shop about the challenges and successes of the recruiting world.

Before embarking on a career in hospitality recruiting, Roxanne worked for years in the trenches of both hotels and restaurants so she has great depth in the industry. Roxanne has some hilarious stories from her career (and probably her clients), but she’s tight-lipped about the details since she considers her professional integrity her greatest asset. Maybe some day she’ll spill the beans for us when we develop our alter ego blog called Occupied Dirty!

I recently asked Roxanne to share some of her experience with us here at Vacant Ready and thankfully, she was happy to oblige. Read on:

”On Common Ground”

In my world of recruitment and staffing, the focus is always on resumes, resumes, RESUMES!  I view at least 100 new resumes a week.  That’s over 400 a month and 5,200 a year!  Now anyone can read a resume and make judgments about what is written on the paper.  But what about what’s behind the resume?  Who is this person?  What are their likes and dislikes?  Do they have a sense of humour?  Are they more comfortable in a city or rural environment?  Are they shy or outgoing?  Do they have a sense of adventure?  What do they do for fun and relaxation?

When I am helping to create and/or build a team of managers and executives for my clients, these are some of the most important questions I have to answer about every candidate I consider for a position.  Does this surprise you?  Think about it this way; if a resort in a ski area asks me to search for a key executive to join their team, doesn’t it make sense for me to find someone who enjoys winter oriented activities in their free time?  If this resort is in an isolated region, a four hour drive from the nearest urban center, why would I consider someone who absolutely must have live theatre and opera at their doorstep? 

These kinds of factors go a very long way in finding the right “fit” for both clients and candidates.  As my goal is to set everyone up for success, including myself, I have to consider and evaluate the non-work life aspects of every position during the search process.  It got me thinking; wouldn’t it be nice for everyone to write an addendum to their resume that would give me a glimpse of who they really are?  Mine would look like this:

Born and raised in VERY rural part of the country, I moved to Vancouver at 23.  I had an accent and a very scary sense of humor (read:  SARCASTIC).  In my 20’s, I got married, had a baby and got divorced.  I’m MUCH closer to 40 than I am to 30.  I can talk enough for 10 people.  I try to “find the funny” in everything.  I’m a HUGE hockey fan and once got up at 3:00 am to watch Canada play the Russians in the bronze medal game of the Oslo Olympics.  If I’m ever brave enough to get a tattoo, it will be the Team Canada hockey logo.

I can be pretty naïve but have learned to listen to my instincts.  Honesty is everything.  I’m very competitive with myself.  Patience is NOT one my virtues.  I hate exercise and prefer the couch to the gym.  I have very high expectations when it comes to business and can be a bit of a control freak.  I love working and often lose track of time because I get so caught up in it.  The greatest two lessons I’ve learned in business are how to delegate and to embrace change.  Typos make me crazy and I should really stop correcting other people’s grammar.

I read a new book every week.  I prefer a tent to a trailer.  Cabins by the lake are better than 5 star resorts.  I can find the silver lining in anything.  I’m trying to acquire a taste for wine.  I play chess and love Sudoku.  I think I would have made a good spy.  I have a passion for Zelda.  In my next life I want to come back as Oprah, Angelina Jolie or the Dalai Lama.  When I retire, I’m going back to university to study archaeology.

Does this give you some insight into who I am as a person?  Maybe there are some things about me that you can relate to and understand because you see them in yourself.  Employers look for that too.  It’s called common ground, but it does not mean you have to be best friends.  A prime example would be me and my business partner.  I think he’s fantastic but if we didn’t work together, we would be friendly acquaintances, not close friends.  There are things about who we are that allow us to work extremely well together in a business environment.  And we do have fun because of a few shared interests but mainly, our relationship works because of three key characteristics we share; our drive to be the best at our profession, mutual respect and our unwavering business ethics.  Those traits were the deciding factors that led us to our current partnership. 

Remember, companies DO have personalities.  The latest catch phrase is “corporate culture” but it means the same thing.  Employers and candidates must compare their respective personalities and find some shared common ground both professionally and personally.  These are the building blocks that could lead you to respectful, long-term working relationships that will satisfy both parties on all levels.

Click here and tell us what YOU think.

0 comments | Permalink | Employee Interviews • Industry • Job Search

Last month Vacant Ready had the pleasure of working on a research project with Susan Strayer, Hospitality HR Director and author of The Right Job Right Now. We partnered up with Susan to deliver a survey about the potential use of new media throughout hospitality job search, and the results were quite interesting (thanks again for participating). Next week I will share the survey highlights with you.

Sometimes our viewers email us with job search and career strategy questions. We always love to receive these questions, and we have decided to feature them now and again here on the site. Even better, we are delighted to announce that Susan Strayer has joined our contributing team and will be offering her personal and professional perspective on job search and career development in response to our viewer questions.

Ask The Career Coach! - Have a question to ask Susan? !

Here is our first viewer-submitted question:

Q: Honestly, I don’t know which direction to take in the hospitality industry because of my broad work experience. I have marketing, reservations, operations, and international business work experience to offer future employers plus a network of contacts in Asia Pacific. Are those transferable to the hospitality industry?  Which position would fit my work experience?

A: One of the things that always frustrates me as a career coach is when professionals try to fit their work experience into a position.  Instead of asking “what position would fit my experience” focus on what you want to do!  It’s your career.

Don’t try to fit to others’ expectations--you’ll be much happier if you are in a career that you like as opposed to one that simply fits your experience.  To find the area that uses your skills AND that you like, think back to all of the areas in which you have worked and ask yourself what you liked and didn’t like about each area (marketing, reservations, etc.)

Once you do that, take it to the next level and talk to senior professionals in the areas.  Share with them your likes and dislikes, the areas in which you excel and where you want your career to head. Almost any skill is transferable to any industry, but only the insiders who have excelled in that industry can tell you how.

This will help you find your best-fit profession that not only maximizes your strengths, but is also a career and a job you actually like!  A best-fit career combines both what you have to offer and what you want in return.

Head over to our forums if you would like to pose a career question


Ask The Career Coach!
Susan Strayer, SPHR, is an HR Director in the hospitality industry with over ten years of experience in human resources, recruiting and career development.  She has worked with numerous Fortune 500 companies, thousands of coaching clients and is the author of two books.  Her latest, The Right Job Right Now: A Complete Tool-Kit For Finding the Perfect Career (www.therightjobrightnow.com), is a complete end-to-end job search and career guide.  Susan has an MBA from the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University, an MA in Human Resource Development for The George Washington University and a BA in Communications from Virginia Tech.  Susan is also a certified Senior Human Resources Professional.  Learn more about Susan and her books and read her blog at www.susanstrayer.com.

0 comments | Permalink | Career Coach