Open Up To Hospitality/Retail

This Career Choice Offers More Than You Think

Feb 19, 2008 Paym Bergson

Take a fresh look at Hospitality and Retail Careers. Open your mind, and you may find a career you will love.

Contrary to what many people think, the Hospitality and Retail industries are not just cooks, servers and salespeople. Take a fresh look at what these career choices have to offer.

Hospitality

While many are tempted to make jokes (bad hospitality means a trip to the hospital), this career venue offers more than the regular fare. Yes, Tourism is often considered a large part of the Hospitality trade sector.

Hospitality actually breaks into Culinary sections (yes, one of which IS the cooking part), Hotel/bar Management, Administration for the Hotel Industry, Tourism and Travel (lots to choose there!), Golf Management (you can even get a degree in this now) and Ski Resort Management/Operations. Usually, even if you choose the management side, part of your training and of course your responsibilities will be to handle the Culinary side. As management, you'll need to know what the other jobs are like, what they entail, so you'll be able to manage that area better, or at least understand its basic workings.

How To Enter This Market (Hospitality)

Check out your local college or private schools for training; many will offer night courses - this allows you a chance to take a course and see if this path really is for you. If you have little experience or education (in general), you should consider taking a diploma or degree course. If you have any kind of business or management experience, you may just want to try and upgrade yourself within the industry (night courses) or even take a part time job in the industry. This second choice would allow you to make contacts in the desired industry as well as ensure you do like the work.

Retail Sector

No, this is NOT just salespeople - and anyway, what is wrong with being a salesperson? The Retail sector actually includes Marketing, Advertising, Merchandising, Buyers, Management, Administration, etc. While many students consider working in Retail as a means of money while furthering their education, some realize the potential of their education AND their experience at the Retail level - and stay within Retail. This usually does mean moving up the ladder - to management, administration, higher level management - even merchandising or buyer.

How To Enter This Market (Retail)

Start as a salesperson. Get to know the people, managers, decision makers, co-workers, basic philosophy of the business. Yes, that's right. This is a business, so ANY business courses will help you in this field. Actually, any post-secondary education will help you - it shows the top level you are willing to learn and work, which means they could invest in you (send you to certain courses) and know they will get a good return on the investment.

Sound interesting? Check out these other links:

Business&Finance@Suite101.com

Choosing A Career In Retail

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Open Up To Hospitality/Retail