Career Pathways from High School to the Board Room — Photo by Created by HN with DALL·E

The demand for strong employees and managers is great. The skills that each individual needs have evolved over time and therefore the connection between experience and perpetual education at all levels has become increasingly important.

A career development path per the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) provides employees with an ongoing mechanism to enhance their skills and knowledge that can lead to mastery of their current jobs, promotions and transfers to new or different positions. In general, career theories are usually contingent on environmental, economic and social factors. Career paths and development have been structured by organizations, which were fundamentally a linear progression through the career stages. Employee success has been defined by promotions, allowances, increments and job stability. Traditionally, organizational careers have been conceptualized as linear trajectories where employees progress in their careers in a linear hierarchical structure within the organization. It is also argued that the industry depends on recruitment and employee career progression. This is also considered relevant in human capital development.

The issue today is that career paths have changed dramatically. Businesses and the service industry, in general, have transformed with innovations and development in industry and education. Back in the day, career paths could be as simple as getting a lot of experience and some training. Today, the experience is still vital. Note, we as a program, like most all hospitality programs, require work experience and or internships to be completed before graduation.

For example, as an undergraduate student many years ago, I worked at a resort on Martha's Vineyard, an island off Cape Cod. I was primarily in the front office of the resort (rooms) and focused on service. At the front desk of a small resort, you may get the opportunity to do and or participate in a diversity of activities. Personally, I worked as a bellhop, at the front desk (check-in, check-out) and as a part-time telephone operator. This was back when you had a headset and dialed outside numbers for guests. After an inaugural season, I came back to the resort and worked in the restaurants to get an added amount of experience. That was a long time ago!

The process of defining one's career path or pathway is sometimes referred to as occupational identification, defined as the extent to which one integrates one's occupation into the self or one's self-concept. The development of an occupational identity is a long-term process and may begin as early as adolescence or prior to joining an occupation. Ask yourself the question, are you a hospitality person?

Looking at industry careers we need to assess the demand for leaders, managers, and staff. Some questions come to mind for industry leaders. Will the hospitality industry continue to need a critical mass of hospitality interns and graduates? Who (skills and abilities) will be the entry-level managers of the future? What role(s) will technology play in determining demand for entry-level managers? Additionally, a broader question might be, what will guest service look like? From an educational perspective, what will the skill set be for successful managers and or those entering the management ranks for the first time? Ultimately, how will recruitment and selection of employees be changed? These are questions that go to the heart of what planning a career pathway will need to consider.

The Hospitality and Tourism Industry Model developed with the Employment and Training Administration of the US Department of Labor and now offered via Competency Model Clearinghouse (2021) identifies various levels of our industry. The model's tiers are based on personal effectiveness and the academic competencies required, as well as workplace competencies, industry-wide technical competencies, and industry-sector technical competencies, all building to management and occupation-specific competencies. Employees planning and climbing career ladders will continuously need to add tools (training, education, micro-credentials etc.) to their skill sets and resumes to be current and prepared for the continuum of changes occurring in our field.

Hospitality industry leaders have been and remain busy identifying solutions to issues confronted during the pandemic and now in the pandemic recovery age. Some new operating options will likely remain in place. These options could include virtual and or online education and training options, virtual meetings, conferences, trade shows, and more. Additionally, changes in design (re-design) and construction (renovation) of lodging properties have included a return to old-style lodging structures, with individual and outdoor entrances that are tied to safety concerns.

Also, the advancement of vacation management rental options and the continued entrance of lodging brands into this segment will also add change. On the food and beverage side, innovative options developed included enhanced take-out and delivery, and outside dining.. In some cases, small quick-service operations thrived via drive-thru pickup and closed dining rooms. Upper-level service restaurants have, in many cases, adapted to take-out and delivery options. Other career options include private clubs, tourism occupations, specializations in marketing, sales, technology, social media and more.

The point being that aspiring hospitality managers and leaders have and need a unique skill set that combines traditional business skills, a focus on service, strong communication skills and an affinity for people. The hospitality industry is also a breeding ground for innovation and ideas, and its people are in demand. New business practices include digitalization of businesses and their tasks, new locations, delivery methods and adaptation of skills to fit a larger service industry.

Potential career paths options for hospitality and tourism managers and future graduates could also include healthcare, human resources, retail operations, banking, financial services, grocery, sports and entertainment, and more. Industry service sectors are looking for flexibility and adaptability and embracement of a service mindset. Additionally, part of the hospitality industry attractiveness is its diversity, uniqueness and opportunities. At its root, the hospitality industry is and will always be about quality customer service with a smile. It's a diverse field that includes hotel and resort staff, tour management, cruise ships, dining and more. The hospitality industry is vast, exciting, and expanding in many directions. It's one of the world's fastest-growing sectors for employment. Hotel career pathways planning is about exploring your choices, finding the path that best suits you, maximizing your potential; do not be afraid to think outside the box.

I can remember a time when becoming a general manager of a hotel required that the successful candidate have extensive food and beverage experience as well as rooms experience. That model has changed. Many hotels today serve breakfast included in the rate but do not have commercial food and beverage operations. Some advice on career pathways and selecting a sector that is the best fit for individuals requires some research and investigation. The topics explored should minimally include education and training requirements, jobs of the future, salary expectations, and opportunities for career progression and entrepreneurial and ownership options.

As we know, the hospitality industry, in general, can be a tough workplace. People (guests) can be difficult and tough to interact with for a variety of reasons. A hospitality career is a specific choice of career path optimally suited for "hospitality people." I have been an educator for a long time, but I consider myself aligned with and part of the hospitality industry. I am not an operator, but we work with our industry partners regularly. Additionally, hospitality often considers candidates who have not worked in hospitality but have transferable skills that can be applied to a hospitality career.

Planning Your Career

People considering a career in the services industry and more specifically hotels and restaurants should reflect on who they are and what they want from their career. As noted by Kolchurin, think about your strengths, weaknesses (or things that need work) and your passions. This is a personal process that allows you to highlight your interests and abilities. Self - reflection notes on your interests and natural talents as well as your personal values. I am a believer that history matters so take a look at your life and personal experiences, what have you done and what have you enjoyed doing?

On this list of experiences could be jobs' roles that you have had to play, projects, and various tasks.. I am also a believer that in life, people should experience as much as they can to better appreciate and understand where they are and what surrounds them, hospitality or not. Job seekers need to look at themselves and assess their skills and plan an entry point and then continue to look for educational opportunities, training and more. Suggestion, conduct a SWOT analysis on yourself. What are your strengths, weaknesses, your possible opportunities and or a threat to the career you want? Your self-analysis can ask questions similar to the following. What are my previous experiences? What do I enjoy? What do I dislike? Do I have a life calling? What types of skills do I have? Do I prefer to work independently or in a group setting? And, What motivates or excites me the most?

Planning a career pathway means starting at the beginning and then setting goals for where you want to end up and being flexible enough to take advantage of opportunity and being flexible enough to make a change. For example, a housekeeping position is not glamorous but could be the entry point for bigger things. Housekeeping employees can learn about a hotel from the inside out. The goal might be executive housekeeper, which is a great place to land in a career.

Also, some hospitality recruiters highlight the attractive benefits of working in this sector including excellent career prospects, exposure to diverse people, interesting experiences, a social environment, industry perks, and flexible scheduling. Additionally, the industry offers a wide range of opportunities for professional development and career advancement.

In the spirit of lifelong learning consider that:

  • Many hospitality employers offer education and training programs to advance employees' skills and knowledge. Always be a students and always be willing to learn.
  • Work in a variety of departments and roles to expand your skill set.
  • Find a mentor: experienced professionals may guide and mentor entry-level employees to help them progress.
  • Have obtainable but challenging goals. It is possible to progress to leadership positions, such as general manager, with strong performance and sufficient experience.

A career development plan is a document that describes your career goals and the path you'll take to achieve them. Developing a career development plan, you should consider where you are and where you want to go, and then ultimately, how you are going to get there. The component parts of such a plan might include summary statements, short-term and long-term goals, current skills, developing skills and resources. This process can provide an individual with a detailed, thoughtful career development plan.

What will a career pathway look like? Keeping in mind the need to be agile and flexible, employees and employers should think about future pathways remembering, there is more than one route to follow. My personal example was that I had no existing connection to the hospitality industry when in high school. I had one uncle who worked in food service in the U.S. Air Force, but that was it. I talked with guidance counselors and professors and through those conversations, discovered hospitality as an industry in my freshman year of college. Today, high school will be a jumping off point for some thinking about careers. The students are young but many schools host college and career days from middle to high school with hopes to link students to university education.

In a university setting, a hospitality management program will probably require work experience and or internships, noting a specific number of hours needed. The beauty of this concept for our students is that they are paid and hopefully earn and learn simultaneously. If people have not considered hospitality, an introduction to the tourism umbrella of businesses can help visualize jobs and careers. Multiple internships can also build on each other. A second internship might require special projects, more in-depth knowledge and could introduce some supervision opportunities.

Career opportunities in hospitality are more fine-tuned than ever before. We as a program are confident to place all our graduates in a management-level position when they graduate. The combination of education and experience makes these students great candidates to hit the ground running in their first "management" position. There is regular talk in hospitality about soft skills, but when you think of what these skills are , they seem critical. Think about a career providing guest service, what does that look like? Human relations skills combined with communication skills is the beginning of a great employee recipe. Where can you get these skills and experiences?

The next steps could be looking at functional business areas, marketing, research, planning, advertising, public relations, promotion, facilities management, human resources, financial control, and budget responsibilities. There are jobs in hospitality that are all part of traditional business functions. I like to say that in hospitality business programs, our students look at businesses as a whole not just functional areas. Lodging operations all have departments that typically include marketing, accounting, finance, technology, human resources and more, and the ability to understand how these departments integrate is critical. Beyond corporations, there are multiple opportunities for creativity and innovation and entrepreneurial career pathways.

Career Pathway Tools

On both the employer and employee sides of career pathway planning, there are basic tools that should be organized to assist entry-level and upper-level employees, managers and leaders for navigating their career pathways. Some basic tools are resumes, that can include education, experience and certifications and designations plus a list of relevant references, and an ever-ready cover letter that can be changed depending on the job. It can be useful to develop a portfolio of your work; potential employers will focus on originality, work philosophy, your skill set, along with work samples that include a writing sample, and an example of technology expertise. For both employees and students, a portfolio of project samples, presentations, excel expertise, bios, letters of recommendation, works in progress if any (i.e., articles, essays etc.) are great recruitment and selection tools.

Resources for Career Pathways

Trade Associations

The identification of resources that can help employees and employers and support career pathway goals can be helpful. Trade associations are a good example. Currently our program is working with the North Carolina Restaurant & Lodging Foundation (NCRLAF) to support students in their efforts for training and development, certifications, credentials and micro-credentials. The NCRLA Foundation secured a grant from the department of commerce.

For example, the funding from the grant has supported our students to pay for their work to earn the Certification in Hotel Industry Analytics (CHIA) and ServeSafe Food Safety from the National Restaurant Association (NRA). Beyond hospitality specifically, there are other learning opportunities from organizations such as Society for Human Resource Management. Additionally the American Hotel and Lodging Association is a source of information and learning opportunities focused on work force issues.

High School Beginnings

High school programs connect with workforce management efforts to secure entry level jobs and career pathway opportunities for hospitality and tourism businesses. Examples of these programs are noted below.

Hospitality Business Education

The next level would include community colleges and a university-level hospitality business education. Professional skill development requires a commitment to continuous education, which includes initiative, reliability, attitude, and lifelong learning. At the community college level, it is noted that there are applied associate degrees and traditional associate degrees.

There is curriculum content that introduces lodging, food and beverage, tourism, meeting and event management, club management and more all tied to the traditional business functions of management, marketing, supply chain management, finance, accounting and more. Hospitality business education for the future is also inclusive of communication skills, interaction with the multicultural groups and an appreciation of diversity.

Hospitality business education is also inclusive of leadership principles. The new generation of managers and employees need to be able to apply and demonstrate applicable leadership skills. A critical part of leadership is critical thinking and reflective thought. In general, employees will need to have strong human relations skills and work efficiently and effectively with others. Additionally, employees, interns, students and entry-level managers will operate and help define ethical behavior, the value of innovation and creativity, digital transformation, sustainability of business practices and employment as well as concerns for the environment and the community.

In the workplace, many organizations have extensive education and learning platforms. Manager in development programs, assistant manager programs and general manager and owner education programs. Working with the American Council on Education (ACE) many corporate programs have recommended levels of college credit. There are multiple opportunities for employees, service members, veterans and more.

Wrap Up

View the hospitality business through the eyes of a general manager who sees the interrelationships and interconnectivity of each department in an organization and who incorporates and utilizes the traditional functional business disciplines to reach a common goal. They apply finance, accounting, marketing, and information systems principles to hospitality business operating models. Furthermore, students are taught and asked to see how all these business disciplines fit and work together to create a whole business.

The hospitality industry needs to recruit aggressively current and future professionals from across the service sectors that can be optimal matches for positions in lodging, food and beverage, meetings, clubs etc. The hospitality and tourism education industry needs to address:

  1. Sustaining the lodging, food service, meeting and event, and tourism segments through career pathways.
  2. Preparing the next generation of leadership, through education and career development.
  3. Making the connection to professionals in service segments in which future business leaders from hospitality and tourism programs can start their careers and make a profound difference; and
  4. Building relationships inclusive of trade associations, and service organizations such as healthcare, retail, retail grocery, human resources that value a hospitality professional's skill set.