Monthly Archives: May 2012

The Young Hotelier: Making Dreams a Reality

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This past October I did the Tour De California. Starting in San Francisco, I cruised through Monterey down to Los Angeles. Arriving in L.A., I rented this sweet silver Mustang convertible and continued my journey down the Pacific Coast Highway. I experienced one of the most blissful moments of my life in that car as I headed south on a beautiful California day with the perfect song (“Sweet Disposition” by The Temper Trap) on the radio letting the wind and sun hit me as I drove completely worry-free and somewhat lost. Sorry if that was beginning to sound like a Hillary Duff song, but the detail was necessary to paint the picture. Every time I hear that song I transport myself back to that moment, and I couldn’t be happier.

After a one-night stop at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach (beautiful!) I made my way south towards San Diego. I was pumped to get there, especially since I was meeting some friends once I arrived. We spent the next three days tearing up that city and loving every second of it. By the time it was over we were all on Craigslist, pipe-dreaming ways to immediately manipulate our lives and just stay. I truly fell in love with the city. From that moment I made it a personal goal to end up there someday, somehow.

This past week I was promoted to Front Office Manager of the Hyatt Regency Mission Bay in San Diego. I never received a phone call that literally made me fall down until then. To think I’ve gone from a Corporate Management Trainee to a department head in less than two years makes me so grateful to know that hard work really does pay off. Not all companies would let someone my age hold a position of this nature, which shows it’s not about semantics with Hyatt. It’s about noticing potential, fostering growth and challenging individuals when the time comes to do so. I can’t help but think this hotel is “taking a chance” hiring me, but that just drives my motivation to do an exceptional job.

I’m excited for the great things my new team and I will accomplish, and I hope you stay tuned to hear about it.

Editor’s Note:  The Young Hotelier is an ongoing blog series written by Joseph Hayes for www.hotelsmag.com.  Joe is a current Hyatt manager and graduate of our Corporate Management Training program. 
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The Power of Relationships

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The following blog was written by Dan Childers.  A current Corporate Management Trainee, Dan discusses how building relationship helped him acheive his goal of working for Hyatt. 

Today’s society has created a social climate that is all about the individual. Many people feel that young adults are only concerned with what others can do for them. This may not be true, but that is the perception that previous generations have about my generation – Generation Y. Throughout my college experience I found that the most beneficial thing I could do was the exact opposite of that stereotype – build relationships. Whether it was faculty, students, or industry professionals, it was the relationships that I built that helped open doors for me, and most certainly opened my door to Hyatt.

When I was a sophomore, at Temple University, I saw many of the upper-classmen accepting internships and Corporate Management Training positions with Hyatt. I contemplated how I could find myself in the same scenario. I needed an internship to graduate, but I wanted to jump-start my career at the same time. My resume was strong, but was filled with many of the same experiences that other students had. What could I do to maximize my chances of standing out to the Hyatt recruiters?

I started small. There were two Hyatt Ambassadors on my campus, Justin Wusinich and Michelle Blash. They were fellow students that had great experiences with Hyatt, and were both planning to become Corporate Management Trainees. These students knew how to get noticed, so I started to build my relationship with them. I quickly found that they both knew a great deal of information about Hyatt and the entire recruiting process. Justin and Michelle knew which student organizations to get involved with and what conferences to attend. Building that relationship with the Hyatt Campus Ambassadors was the first step to launching my career with Hyatt.

My experiences with the Ambassadors allowed me to interact with the Hyatt recruiters several times before they came to Temple’s campus. Again, it was clear that building a relationship was necessary to stand out amongst the hundreds of other students that were all vying for the same opportunity I was. In February 2011, I attended the NSMH National Conference, in Atlanta, for the sole purpose of meeting the Hyatt recruiters. When Ronisha conducted interviews on Temple’s campus the following week, my interview felt more like a conversation than it did an interview.

Building those relationships allowed me the opportunity to intern at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, experience Chicago for a summer, and ultimately led to my current position as a Catering/Convention Services CMT at the iconic Hyatt Regency Atlanta. Could I have kept to myself and showed up to the interview randomly? Sure. Would I have been granted the same amazing opportunities? Possibly, but it would have been much harder to make a lasting impression. The strength of any relationship is determined by the effort put into it. Get out, get exposed, meet people, be authentic, and give others a reason to remember you. Building those relationships will cost you absolutely nothing. However, it will reward you exponentially.

 

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Life at Hyatt: “Super Foods” in Our Associate Dining Rooms

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Recently our company announced announced the launch of Food. Thoughtfully Sourced. Carefully Served., Hyatt’s global philosophy focused on sourcing and providing healthy food and beverage options for Hyatt guests and associates. 

Implementation of this philosophy extends into the selections offered in the Associate Dining Rooms at our full service hotels.  Our current focus is on the inclusion of “super foods” into our menu selections.  Super foods are generally whole, natural foods that contain various vitamins, minerals or antioxidants.  This month, we are showcasing FISH!  It’s our fourth Superfood ingredient.  We featured avacados, yogurt, and acai berries earlier in the year. 

Fish is a low-fat high quality protein. It’s is filled with omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins such as D and B2 (riboflavin). It’s also rich in calcium and phosphorus and a great source of minerals, such as iron, zinc, iodine, magnesium, and potassium.

Recognizing that our associates may want to incorporate “super foods” into their meals at home and may even want to cook some of the entrees that feature this month’s “super food”, we provided a health benefit information sheet (great for conversation around the table) and recipe cards for three different entrees.

Below is the recipe for Blackened Salmon with Oyster Glaze and Lime Yogurt.  Let us know if you decide to make it at home! 

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Standing Out During a Career Fair

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Career Fairs can be challenging and overwhelming for students. At the same time, career fairs are great for students to find internships and permanent positions because there are so many employers in the same place at the same time. In order to ensure that you receive the most value from your career fair experience, consider the following points of advice on how to stand out from the crowd of attendees at a career fair.

Dress to impress

Start by taking the career fair experience seriously and wear your best professional dress attire. When considering a family selling their home, one of the recommendations that is often made is for them to strip their personal effects from the house and decorate in a manner that allows potential buyers to easily envision themselves living there. My reasoning for encouraging you to wear professional dress to the career fair is similar.

Since career fairs are about first impressions, you want to present the best image to the company representative and make them even more interested in getting to know you better. You want them to be able to envision you as part of the organization and that vision starts with your appearance and presentation.

Additionally, sometimes recruiters schedule or even conduct actual interviews during career fairs. You’ll feel most confident and prepared if you’re interviewing in your best suit as opposed to the jeans and t-shirt you originally may have considered wearing.

Open strong and speak with confidence

I know it’s difficult to initiate conversation with a recruiter, but if you want to stand out you have to do so! It’s very likely that a ton of attendees will walk up to the company’s booth and ask the representative “What do you have available?”, which is a passive approach. Instead, set yourself apart by taking a stronger and more confident approach.

Consider starting with “Hello, I’m (introduce yourself), a (freshman, sophomore, etc.) majoring in ____________. What positions would you suggest for someone who wants to begin their career or gain internship experience with your company?”

An even stronger opening can be achieved by researching a company’s college programs in advance and then asking a specific question about the program that most applies to you. For example, at Hyatt we have a Corporate Management Training Program for graduating seniors. At career fairs, I’m more impressed by the candidate who prepared in advance and spends his or her time with me and asking targeted questions, as opposed to the candidate who is just “stopping by” the booth.

Brave the career fair alone

Lastly, yes, sometimes there is comfort in numbers, but career fairs should be a solo experience. Focus on your goal of obtaining an internship or permanent position; you can bond with your friends at another time. You should bring plenty of copies of your resume and focus first on the employers that most interest you. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for the opportunity to interview or set up time in the coming weeks to discuss potential opportunities with the company’s representative. Within 24 hours, follow up with a note via email to the representative that you met during the career fair. The timing of your follow-up correspondence is important because you want to reach out while your interaction is still fresh in the recruiter’s mind.

It’s easy to get lost in the sea of career fair attendees, but with a preparation, you can take control and stand out from the crowd.

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Job Rejection……Until We Meet Again

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In the world of campus recruiting, it’s likely that a recruiter will see a student multiple times. Between interviews, professional functions, and on-campus recruiting efforts, a student could have several interactions with the same recruiter.

Depending upon the outcome of these interactions, seeing a recruiter again may or may not be an experience a student views as pleasant, particularly if the recruiter did not select the student for an internship or employment opportunity.

Don’t take it personally.

Rejection is hard and as a student, coming face to face with a recruiter who rejected you can be awkward. Recognizing that this is a common situation for many students, my best advice is to take the emotion out of the experience. You may not have been selected for the opportunity, but once you’re in the room with the recruiter, your focus should be on demonstrating to them that there are no hard feelings. This is definitely an exercise in professionalism! Smile, shake their hand, be cordial, make small talk. Your recruiter will be impressed with your ability to navigate what could be a tough situation and may see you in a different light as a result.

Sometimes, it’s just not the right time.

As a recruiter, I’m open to keeping in touch with candidates I didn’t select, because although they were not the right candidate for one role, another opportunity may arise that the fits the candidate perfectly. Although it’s difficult, consider that sometimes rejection isn’t actually a “no”–sometimes it’s a “not right now”.

I meet many students who love the Hyatt brand and see themselves working within one of our hotels. If enthusiasm was the sole criteria for selection, they would be the perfect candidate! But our college programs are very competitive and a student may need more time to develop or mature professionally in order to ensure they’ll be successful within our organization. Therefore the opportunity to see and network with the student again is definitely one that I’m open to. If we didn’t meet again, how would I ever have the opportunity to see their growth and hear about the experiences that have shaped them since the last time we met?

Stay connected.

Embrace the opportunity to stay connected. Although you were rejected, you may still want to work for the specific organization; therefore, seeing the recruiter again may help to maintain a relationship. You could also be in a place where the company no longer interests you, but recognizing that industry is small, it is very likely that you and your recruiter will run into each other again. Take advantage of an opportunity to say hello. If a situation changes, it will make it easier for you to reach out to them.

Rejection is difficult. Moving past the emotion connected with rejection is even harder. Facing the recruiter who rejected you is a test in professionalism, but one you can definitely pass.

 

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Do You Have Room to Negotiate Salary?

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Although I’ve had students ask my opinion about negotiating starting salaries, I was somewhat caught off guard when a student I offered a position to actually called me back to negotiate. I’m a big believer that “a closed mouth doesn’t get fed”, so I definitely respected the student for initiating the conversation.

Similar to many Management Training programs, the starting salaries for our programs are set and nonnegotiable. Recognizing that many recent college graduates may be in a similar situation, wondering if there is room to negotiate, I’d like to offer the following:

Consider the entire offer.

When evaluating an offer, it’s easy to focus solely on the starting salary. However, it’s essential that you consider the entire offer. For example, in addition to health insurance benefits, our company provides paid sick days, vacation days, holidays, tuition reimbursement, as well as a company match in the retirement savings plan. We also give 12 free hotel room nights per year and free meals in the Associate Dining Room. These are benefits that if converted to monetary value, they would easily be worth more than $10,000.

In my opinion, there is limited room to negotiate when you’re a recent college graduate. Especially if you are applying for a Management Training program, it is very likely that the salary will be firm. But there could be the opportunity for you to receive other benefits. For example, companies offer relocation assistance or perhaps a “signing bonus.” If these benefits weren’t included in your offer, you could inquire about them and their availability.

Consider quality of life.

I encourage you to also consider what your life would be like if you accepted the offer. Assuming the salary offered is not as high as you desire, will you be living within your desired geographic location? Does the work schedule allow you to continue participating in activities that are important to you? Your happiness outside of work is priceless and may justify accepting an offer, because you’ll be able to ensure a richer quality of life.

Consider raises and promotional opportunities.

Looking beyond the salary and benefits, you should also consider opportunities for growth and future raises. Does your potential company evaluate their employees regularly? Are salary increases given annually? What are the opportunities for growth if you wanted to move up within the company? These are all questions you should ask your recruiter and carefully consider when you’re evaluating an offer. The potential to move up within the organization, may outweigh a salary that you feel is on the lower end of the spectrum.

You may not be able to negotiate the salary of your first professional opportunity, but remember sometimes all you need is an opportunity. You can then allow that one opportunity to catapult you into even greater roles and higher salaries.

 

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CMT Chronicles: More Than One Mentor

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‘When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, THEN you will be successful” ~ Eric Thomas. This is a quote from a YouTube video that was shown to me. The person who introduced this video to me is not only a friend, but one of my many mentors. I believe a mentor is someone who is there for words of encouragement or advice whenever you need it.

Through the CMT program, we are assigned a mentor, typically a manager within the hotel, but outside of your division.  My assigned mentor was a CMT in Engineering a few years ago and is now the Director of Engineering at the hotel.   We chat periodically about my program and how everything is going outside of work.  Wes encourages me to “take advantage of your CMT program, you are given the respect as a manager without the true responsibility of one.” 

Although I was assigned a mentor, I couldn’t have just one!  At this time, I have 8 mentors that I selected and 1 that was assigned to me.  There are just so many people that I have come into contact with during my program and they have all taught me something different. Janet taught me “there is no such thing as a bad experience, there are just opportunities to improve.” Not all of my mentors know that that they are mentors, but most of them do know that I have selected them as a mentor.  Each one of the mentors that I selected was picked for a specific quality that I admire about them. It may be for their personality or for their leadership style.

Discussions with my mentors have helped me to not only notice things that I may not have noticed on my own, but has helped me grow as a person.  They may not realize how much I’ve picked up not only from the things they’ve told me, but from their actions as well.  Because of them I am an even stronger person and will be a better manager.   A special thanks goes out to my mentors (in no particular order): Ronisha, Gwen, Wes, Vicky, Michelle, Janet, Faisal, Robert, and Alissa. Another thank you goes out to my future mentors because I know there are many more to come!

 

 

 

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