How not to get a job in hospitality

16 September 2002 by
How not to get a job in hospitality

Smoking, falling asleep and being sick. Not the cleverest things to do at a job interview, yet these are among the horror stories recounted by hospitality industry employers in a survey by Caterer.com.

"He said he'd just finished a night shift and the next minute he was snoring," said one hotel employer when asked to recount her worst-ever interview experience.

Said another employer: "I could tell the girl was nervous by her shaking hands. Then she just threw up all over me."

Further examples included an interviewee whose first question was "Do you mind if I smoke?" and another who turned up with his baby, saying he couldn't find a childminder.

A particular hazard of working as a chef caused the downfall of one job candidate. "He'd obviously come straight from the kitchen where he worked. He had food all down his shirt," recalled one personnel manager.

The most common mistake at interview was failing to research the company, cited by 37% of employers. This was followed by not being able to answer questions or lying (34%) and being dressed too casually (30%).

Interviewers were most impressed by good personal presentation (63%), enthusiasm (57%) and good preparation (53%).

At application stage, the most common mistakes were poor-quality CVs (63%) and failure to state which job was being applied for (28%).

Online applications brought their own problems. The most frequent mistake when applying via the Internet was forgetting to attach a CV (50%).

Employers were also irked when they found they were just one of several recipients on an e-mail's "To" list (31%). And almost one fifth complained about overseas job seekers not realising they need a work permit for the UK.

At application stage, the most impressive qualities cited were good presentation of CVs and covering letters (39%) and being clear and concise (also 39%).

The survey was conducted last week among almost 50 employers from the hotel, restaurant and catering industry. They were all exhibiting at the Caterer.com Live jobs fair held at the Novotel Hammersmith hotel in west London.

by Sarah Kaikini

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