INDUSTRY STATS
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Hospitality positions are at a 17% growth rate, which is much faster than average. With that said, there are currently 4,429,300 jobs in the market right now. The total number of jobs is expected to increase by 740,000 to 5,169,300 in the period of 2020-30.
What’s more, the median annual wage for the Hospitality jobs was $24,130 in May 2020. The lowest 10% earned less than $8.66 per hour, and the highest 10% more than $15.55 per hour.
Our conclusion? The Hospitality job market is wide open for candidates.
Top Hospitality sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
How to write a Hospitality resume experience section
Hospitality Resume’s Job Experience Checklist:
- Use 4-6 bullet points per job title;
- Don’t go further than a decade behind when describing your job history, unless you’re applying for an executive position;
- Combine job responsibilities as well as achievements with numbers in results when you describe your past work;
- Start each sentence with a power verb and avoid overused buzzwords;
- Use either C-A-R or S-T-A-R methodology, when describing your experience.
The work experience samples below come from real Hospitality resumes that got people hired at top companies. You can use them as an inspiration to build your own resume:
- Nurtured relationships with more than 15 vendors for Hospitality IT platforms;
- Brought more than 5 Business Cases for Capital Raising Meetings in UAE and KSA.
- Leading a local team of 3 to ensure success of HITEC Dubai 2017
- Collaborated with colleagues to create and pitch C-Level executives on a hospitality-specific business unit that grew to 30 hotel clients and resulted in $4MM of new business in 2 years
- Accountable for maintaining the hotel relationships, project managing new hotel implementations, overseeing tech support, executing training and education, and facilitating account expansions
- Executed sales & marketing strategy to acquire brand recognition in SFLA as a leading in-room technology and entertainment provider
- Responsable for the F&B and Hotel Major Accounts Management, such as Burger King, KFC, Hyatt, Four Seasons, Starwood, among others located in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay & Bolivia
- Develop the commercial relationship with the customer, creating business proposals for every new project on customer's roadmap, site sizing of the place and in combination with the Operations team, create the scope of deployment
- Daily communication and follow up on their deliverables and quotes with our customers
- Plan and execute commercial presentations to each corporate group new project
- Product workshop preparation and presentation including Business cases and reports
- Plan and participate in different Hospitality events, congress and fairs/exhibitions of our products and services
- Negotiated contracts in excess of $20 million while increasing annual sales 18% YOY.
- Steered, coordinated and directed the delivery of comprehensive training programs.
- Conducted on-site inspections and interfaced with cross-functional teams of architects, contractors, brand officials and leadership team to ensure sound engineering and construction.
- Supervised complex renovation with budget of $1.5 million.
- Implemented process improvements, which increased company-wide profit by $5 million.
- Established practices that decreased yearly loss and resulted in $437,000 profit.
- Providing catering/banqueting services at dedicated tradeshows and business conventions;
- Organising mise-en-place, providing logistical support and ensuring foodsafety standards;
- Front-of-house services (access control/registration, coat check, visitor information)
- Handled registrations and check-outs at the reception
- Supported the housekeeping team as well as the kitchen staff
- Was part of the service team responsible for daily breakfast
- Consulted for Colchester Conservative Party and Local MP Will Quince
- Developed a 'Colchester Host' Tourism course and delivered training
- Carried out Heritage and Tourism market research for Colchester
- Guest speaker for 'Revive & Thrive' national event
- Promoted twice within a year.
- Showed signs of great customer service and understanding of hospitality.
- Managed a team of 10+ valet.
- Consulted for Colchester Conservative Party and Local MP Will Quince
- Developed a 'Colchester Host' Tourism and Customer Service course
- Hosted a Town Heritage and Tourism 'Have you say' day
- Subject Matter Expert for Hotels, Bars and Restaurants
- Member of the Hotel Districts best performing team.
- Present on reception to ensure guests were allocated to correct rooms and to ensure all matters were dealt with in a timely manner.
- Maintain excellent brand standards for health and safety, service standards and stock taking procedures.
- Ensuring cash was counted and banked in the safe after every shift.
- Lead and manage operations of a faculty with 450 students and 15 faculty members including senior lecturers, lecturers and administrators.
- Provide academic leadership in planning, designing and implementing academic programs at tertiary level from Diploma, Bachelor and Masters degree program in Tourism Management, Hospitality Management and Culinary Arts. I also ensure curriculum development and review through chairing the CDC (Curriculum Development Committee) and the CRC (Curriculum Review Committee) for every new program as well as program under review.
- Successfully increased enrollment by about 150% in the past 3 years in the position.
- Successfully planned, designed and supervised the building of a 8000 square feet specialized hospitality and tourism teaching facilities which includes 5 training kitchens (western, asian, garde manger, butchery and pastry), mock housekeeping room, mock front office counter and training rooms at a cost of US$250,000 in December 2013.
- Helped build the university's branding and awareness by active participation in marketing activities including but not limited to roadshows, school talks, education fairs, open days, social media marketing, flyer distribution as well as press ad campaigns.
- Ensured the approval and accreditation of new and existing academic programs in line with regulations set forth by governmental regulatory bodies such as the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Tourism and Culture of Malaysia as well as the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) as well as foreign regulatory bodies such as the QAA, UK.
- Developed and maintained strategic collaborative academic partnerships with foreign university partners such as the University of Sunderland, UK as well as scrutinize and explore possible future mutually beneficial collaborative partnerships with foreign and local universities and professional bodies.
- Manage academic quality, student progression, student services, assessments, academic discipline, graduation and alumni relations.
- Manage strategic partnerships with industry partners for training, internships, apprenticeship, industrial training and career opportunities for students
- Represent SEGi University in attending meetings, events, conferences and conventions to build up it's brand name and reputation.
- Consulted for Colchester Conservative Party and Local MP Will Quince
- Developed Colchester Host' Tourism course for local businesses
- Hosted a Town Heritage and Tourism 'Have you say' day
- Guest speaker for 'Revive & Thrive' national event
- Working here has allowed me to work closely with customers, which enhanced my knowledge on customer needs, satisfaction and behaviours.
- Development of customer service skills
- Cash handling (including EFTPOS)
- Hospitality basics
- Responsible for representation, expansion, and sales and marketing activities within hospitality sector throughout MENA region
- Dramatically increased product line sales, exceeding targets by AED1.2 million in 2009 and AED2.1 million in 2010
- Secured significant hotel sales contracts, generating business growth of 26% in 2009 and 42% in 2010
- Planned and managed the assembly and operation of in venue hospitality areas in the Olympic Golf Course for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (350 pax per session and 975m2 of temporary structure built) and in Maracanã Stadium for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games Opening and Closing Ceremonies (380 pax in 20 suites per session).
- Worked with Rio 2016 functional areas in the venues in order to guarantee the delivery of the in venue hospitality project (e.g. Logistics, Security, Sustainability, Technology).
- Managed the Rio 2016 in venue hospitality team (5 people) and the contractor team's deliveries in partnership with their site managers.
- Ensured sponsors received the deliveries guaranteed by contract with the appropriate service, attending to them directly.
- Receptionist at 4-star hotel in Canberra (2 years) and hostels in Brisbane, Taiwan and South America
- Foreign "bell-boy" at 5-star hotel in Nanjing, China
- Tour guide for private Chinese groups in Sydney
- Waiter at restaurants and cafes in Canberra and Brisbane
PRO TIP
Show off real numbers that display your accomplishments in past roles. Instead of listing out your responsibilities as Hospitality, talk about the measurable impact you made to their business. Did you boost their revenue? Increase customer retention? Mention your proudest points on your resume.
Action Verbs for your Hospitality Resume
Recommended reads:
Hospitality Resume Skills’ Tips & Tricks to Impress Recruiters
Resume Skills Section Checklist:
- Ensure your hard skills section (including technologies) are exactly matching the job description.
- Don’t simply list your soft skills. Apply the “show, don’t tell” principle - let your job achievements speak for themselves.
- Find a way to showcase your skills beyond the skills section.
- Your resume’s skill section is important to ATS systems - so don’t skip it.
Top Skills for your Hospitality resume
- OneNote
- Outlook
- Visio
- Archibus
- DELPHI
- MICROS
- Patience
- Multitasking
- Listening
- Attention to details
- Communication
- Memorization
PRO TIP
Don’t feel obliged to spend a separate section for your soft skills - you can weave them throughout your job experience or career summary. But, don’t just write empty words - back them with examples.
Recommended reads:
Hospitality Resume Header: Tips, Red Flags, and Best Practices
CHECKLIST For Your Hospitality Resume Header
- Your name and surname in a legible and larger resume font
- The job title you’re applying for or your current job title as a subheading to your name
- Link to your portfolio or online profile, such as LinkedIn
- Address (City and State for the US; just your city for rest of the world)
- Email address
- Headshot (required or welcomed in the EU; not required and sometimes frowned upon in the US)
Stick to popular email providers such as Gmail or Outlook. And use these professional formats to create your username:
- first.last@gmail.com
- last.first@gmail.com
- firstlast@gmail.com
- f.last@gmail.com
- first.l@gmail.com
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
Some companies, states, and countries have policies about identifying information like photos on your Hospitality resume. Be sure to check all the relevant rules before submitting yours. If you’re in doubt, you can always try contacting the company’s HR department to ask for their policy.
Hospitality Resume Summary Best Practices
Checklist: What to include in your Hospitality resume summary:
- Years of experience;
- Highlight top 3 skills and proficiencies;
- One big professional accomplishment you’re most proud of, that you can tie with the aforementioned skills;
- Use short, direct sentences - but no more than three - to keep the HRs interested.
Resume Summary Formula:
PRO TIP
Your summary section should act as a brief but informative introduction to your experience section. In this section you should go into more depth about what you have done, and how you did it.
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Listing Your Education, Certifications and Courses
Resume Education Section Checklist:
- Ensure your hard skills section (including technologies) are exactly matching the job description.
- Don’t simply list your soft skills. Apply the “show, don’t tell” principle - let your job achievements speak for themselves.
- Find a way to showcase your skills beyond the skills section.
- Your resume’s skill section is important to ATS systems - so don’t skip it.
Top Certifications for your Hospitality resume
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
If you hold a certain major and a minor, your majors should be mentioned first.
Hospitality Resume: Additional Writing & Formatting Tips
There are three basic resume formats you can choose from:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional resume format;
- Hybrid (or Combination) resume format;
The most optimal format for your particular case will depend on your years of experience, as well as whether you’re switching industries or not.
Reverse chronological resumes are best suited for experienced individuals who are sticking to their industry. The experience section takes a central place, and its bullets contain your responsibilities and achievements, coupled with numbers and results.
Functional resumes are used by less experienced jobseekers or career changers. Note that it’s not a format that recruiters prefer, as most are used to the classic chronological alignment. Instead of a list of job titles, functional resumes focus on your skills, and through what experiences you gained them.
Hybrid resumes are great for both experienced and entry-level candidates, as well as career changers. They combine the best of both worlds - most often in a double column format, where one side of the content is focused on your experience, whereas the other - on your skills, strengths, and proudest moments.
Hospitality Resume Summary best practices
Here are more resume tips regarding your layout and style:
- Clear and legible 12p resume font size;
- Use 10’’ resume margins - that’s default for a great resume design;
- Use a one-page template resume length if you’ve got less than 10 years of experience; otherwise, opt for a two-page resume;
- Save your resume as PDF before sending it to the recruiter.
To take it a step further, check out how your resume can stand out without leaning too much on the creative side.
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PRO TIP
If you feel that you don’t have high chances in a particular company, due to lack of relevant experience, then you can still consider using a creative layout. That might help you get noticed and invited for an interview, as most of the other applicants will have boring resume designs.
Other sections to include in your resume
Depending on the type of company (corporation or start-up; innovative or traditional), job seniority level and your location, you may want to include more sections to your Hospitality resume:
Hospitality Resume: How to Make Yours More Creative & Stand Out
When you send your resume to a potential employer, chances are it's the fiftieth one they've seen that day. That's why you need to make your Hospitality resume stand out for the right reasons. That means showing your personality, not just your professional experience. Employers are far more likely to remember a candidate who seems like a genuine person and not a robot. Do this by including your passions (which is also a great place to demonstrate skills on a resume), share your favorite books, or even what your usual day looks like.
What Makes a Great Hospitality Resume: Key Takeaways
- Choose a resume layout that sends the right message across and fits your current career situation;
- Create a resume header that shows your desired job title, and easy to find contact numbers;
- Be specific about your experience, accomplishments and future goals in your summary;
- Feature detailed metrics and specific examples that show the impact you made in your previous roles when describing your experience;
- List soft skills backed by examples;
- Add all of your technical skills and certifications that you have and match the job description;
- Show off a dash of personality in your resume that will demonstrate your culture fit and the right mix of hard and soft skills.
