The Dubai population grew by 100,000 people in 2011, which represents just over 5% annual growth, and the majority of this growth was driven by expatriates, avid consumers of hospitality services. It is no surprise then that last year Dubai saw 10% growth in the number of hotel guests, a 12% rise in average stay in, and a 20% rise in revenue.
It is clear that the hospitality sector in Dubai is now resurgent, following its 2009 slowdown, and is therefore a great career option, so it is now time for hospitality professionals to dust off their CVs and start making tracks to Dubai. However, the landscape has shifted slightly and the hospitality CV has evolved from a mere electronic document to a multichannel on-line profile, which truly reflects the social and presentational skills of the candidate.
Below, I have set out 5 tips to building a high quality, online hospitality CV and professional profile.
The Word CV itself
Clearly, presentation is of paramount importance, and ensure you locate/purchase and use a professional CV template. With customer service being the most critical factor within a hospitality professional, you must ensure that your CV is literally dripping with references to qualities such as: willingness to serve others, friendly and polite, positive, clean and tidy, team player, healthy and fit, can maintain composure under pressure, flexible worker.
You may also wish to include a picture in your CV as it could enhance your application, and if you do, you should ensure that you are well turned out in the picture and that the photo is of good quality.
Languages
The ability to speak multiple languages is highly valued within the hospitality profession, considering the international customer base. Ensure that you therefore make clear references to any of your languages skills in your CV, and also indicate a willingness to learn new languages. Ideally, you should start learning a new language anyway, most likely, Chinese or Indian, as Dubai is seeing a dramatic upsurge in tourists from these two locations.
Video CV
This is an excellent way for hospitality professionals to demonstrate their skills in customer service and visitor interaction. Ideally, you should prepare a professional video CV of about 1 to 2 minutes where you formally present your background, skills and experience, at the same time demonstrating your excellent interpersonal skills. You can either embed the video CV in your word CV or link to it.
We have talked a lot about LinkedIn on this site, so we won’t dwell too much on this. While in many industries, a quality LinkedIn profile is a ‘desirable’, in hospitality it is essential. By quality, we mean that it should be fully completed, have a professional photo, inspiring profile statement, and a detailed work history. Ensure to join a few hospitality groups like: Hospitality Professionals World-wide or Travel and Tourism Professionals World-wide to help show your interest and passion for the sector.
Used well, Facebook can benefit your hospitality job application, so it could pay to link to this profile from your CV. This is because the hospitality professional generally needs to be outgoing, open, social, engaging and positive and your Facebook profile is a great way to demonstrate this to your employer. But, be aware that this can backfire, if the employer does not like what they see, so use some personal judgement in terms of what information you make available to the general public.
About the author
Kazim Ladimeji is the Director of thecareercafe.co.uk—a resource for start-ups, small business and job seekers. It includes a blog with career and small business advice articles. Kazim is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, and has been a practising HR professional for 14 years.
Join us. Boost your Dubai career!
Comments