Desk of International and Social Affair
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1. What is a hotel manager?
A manager is a person in charge of a department. A hotel manager is generally referred to as a person in charge of a business department. This person is called ‘General Manager’. In chain hotels, they are professional managers from abroad. Many people think the license for hotel management or career of study abroad contributes to becoming a manager, but this may be the wrong idea.
For example, to be a manager in the F&B(Food & Beverage) Department, you must pass through the process of being a waiter/waitress - captain - assistant manager - manager, and this process may take over 10 years to complete.
2. What kind of businesses are in a hotel?
A hotel manager reminds us of the person who goes into service for guests with a polite attitude. In fact, there are many types of work in a hotel. If you want to work in a hotel, above all, you must think very carefully about the kind of work you want to do exactly. Some examples are :
Finance & Accounting - Receptionist, Cashier, Credit
F&B Kitchen - Executive Chef, Cookhelper, Stewarding
F&B Service - Manager, Captain, Waiter, Waitress, Bartender
Room Department - G.R.O, Front Office, Business Center, Bell Attendant Sales & Marketing - Sales Manager, Marketing Coordinator
3. What condition are required of you?
Major & Grades
It is not necessary to major in hotel management. Except F&B and Cook Department, over half of employees in other departments do not have majors in hotel management. During the employment process, a employer depends on objective personal histories. So, if you have bad grades, it may be disadvantageous.
But, you can overcome this disadvantage if you can explain properly the reason of the bad record or have a certificate of good foreign language ability.
Age & Appearance
It doesn’t matter if you are within one or two years after your university graduation. The older you are, the harder it will be for you to get a job.
If two people have the same ability, a company tries to employ the younger person because of their rank. The older person is employed by his or her character and ability. It is possible to get a job by age 26, if you have an excellent foreign language ability. Hotel management is a job which you meet many people.
So, appearance may be more important than in any other job. It is not good if you are too tall or too small. You should have your picture attached to your resume.
License & Foreign Language Ability
Except the Cook Department, you must not have a license. Its importance in employment will soon be negligible because of the legal clause that stipulates hotel management will be abolished in 2002. The most important language is English and it is also advantageous for you to speak Japanese or Chinese as a second language.
If you want to apply for the Room Department or Administration Department, you should have an 800 or higher grade on the TOEIC and passed the JPT. In the Front Desk or Reservation Department, foreign language proficiency is more important than in any other departments. Also, it is preferred to have many foreign language proficiencies as compared to the ability in just one foreign language.
4. Employment
Hotel employment is not announced publicly like other companies. But whenever a hotel has a position of vacancy, it employs a person through resumes they already collected. So, it is good to call on the selection of personnel at the hotel. And they may use their homepages or newspapers in order to employ people. It is a good way to often access their homepages.
The UOS Times
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