Tag Archives: interview

Tell your story!

Tell your story is one of my favorite lessons in leadership. I have been working now in four different hotels over the last eight years, and the last three in New York. Prior to that I believed it to be important to get as much experience as I could in as many different hotels and locations as possible, and worked in hotels in Europe and Asia.

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About two years ago, a job opportunity in another hotel abroad opened up. It was an opening of a luxury hotel brand and intended to be the flagship of this region. I was offered a higher title and a better salary. I fully believed that this would be the right choice for me, to move on, and open up a new hotel abroad. No one could convince me otherwise at this point… Continue reading Tell your story!

Think about your future!

‘Alex do you have a moment, I need to talk to you?’

Ever so often I get approached by one of my staff wanting to talk to me about their future, what’s my outlook on their next career step and the path of their journey. It’s understandable that you want to know what your next position should be so you can start learning the necessary skills and work on improving on your weaknesses, but nine out of ten times this question is solely generated by impatience and the need to compete with friends, colleagues and former classmates. Being ambitious is a good thing and important to be successful, but it shouldn’t stem from jealousy of your friends and coworkers. Continue reading Think about your future!

How to prepare for a Skype interview

If you’re just graduating from hotel school, and are searching for a job abroad, chances are that you’ll be invited to a Skype interview at one point. When I applied for job in New York while living in Europe about six years ago, using Skype for a professional interview was not common yet, and I was asked to fly over to the US for a personal interview at my own expenses. Now it seems that Skype simplifies the process, and makes the interview more convenient, but does it also make it easier to get the job?

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While Skype made it much easier (and less costly) to interview with potential employers around the globe, it’s helpful to keep in mind, that Continue reading How to prepare for a Skype interview

How to prepare for an interview

So you decided that a career in hospitality is the right choice, send out tons of applications, and finally made it to the interview. How can you best prepare yourself for the interview and what’s important?

I have been sitting on both sides of the table many times, and tried to learn from my mistakes a long the way. Recruiting new employees is one of the most important things you can do, as the right person can change the culture in your department, and support you in leading in the right direction. Hiring the wrong person on the other hand, can turn out to be very very costly, and it can be very difficult to tell from only meeting a person for a couple of minutes during the interview.

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Image courtesy of Ambro at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

So how can you prepare yourself for the interview to communicate that you’re the right person for the job? Continue reading How to prepare for an interview