The Essential Resume Checklist for Hotel Professionals

Job Search Tips / September 9, 2020

There are a few golden rules to follow when writing a resume for any position in the hotel industry. The format and font should be clear, organized, and consistent. It should only be one page if you have five years or less of work experience.

But despite its simple appearance, your resume is your primary sales tool for selling your experience and skill set as well as your determination for successful job performance.

While it’s a catalog of your past professional and educational experience, your resume should also cast you apart from the competition by drawing attention to a history of increasing responsibilities and growing accomplishments. Here are eight essentials that you should be sure to include.

Carefully identify the hotels where you’ve worked previously. Include the total room count and any noteworthy designations such as AAA Four Diamond or affiliations with organizations such as Virtuoso or Leading Hotels of the World. If you’re seeking a sales or banqueting position, also include the square footage of the meeting space.

Highlight any and all past customer service experiences. If you have any experience in the service industry, dedicate a bullet point under those employers describing how you interacted with customers.

Quantify your professional experience with numbers. If you have past hotel experience, be sure to include the size of the team that you managed, if applicable. If you have sales or banqueting experience, indicate the percentage by which you’ve grown sales or sales leads or the size of the largest group for which you’ve been part of a banqueting team. These numbers should speak to how you contributed to the hotel’s business.

Emphasis on previous teamwork efforts. Chances are, you were part of a team in all of your previous jobs, whether in a hotel or in another industry. So phrase descriptions for those positions as “worked as part of a team of (number) to…” If any of the teams you were part of delivered noteworthy results, definitely include that information, too.

List certifications and any continuous education. If you’re looking for a kitchen job, note your ServSafe Certification if you have it. Job applicants looking for a valet post will want some of their driver’s license information to appear on their resumes. Resume space should also be dedicated to classes that you may currently be taking and which are relevant to the position to which you’re applying. First aid courses are also worth including. All of this information can go in the education section where you list your degrees or diplomas.

Detail your technology skills. There’s a lot of new technology driving the hotel business. So beyond basic computer skills, you could have an advantage over the competition in gaining an interview if your resume features information on systems that you’ve previously worked with, such as Point of Sales (PoS) systems, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems and Revenue Management Systems (RMS).

Summarize volunteer and charity work. These experiences will add value to your resume. Hospitality is an industry dedicated entirely to service and teamwork and unpaid work demonstrates a commitment to helping others.

Convey who you are and what you want. Your resume is essentially a grocery list of facts. Still, you have the opportunity to directly communicate your career trajectory in your “objective” statement. Certainly, assert your immediate job-seeking goals, but also express that you’re looking for a job with upward mobility. Additionally, your cover letter is where you want to confirm that your personal attributes are in line with the hotel industry, such as being friendly, outgoing, a strong communicator, and a team player.