Starting out at 18

Question

I am an A-level student in my final year. I wish to begin a career in the hotel industry and have been looking for vacancies. However, I have found it difficult to find a company that is willing to wait until June to employ a trainee manager. I understand this, but I do need to find employment before I leave and worry that the best vacancies will be taken by the time I am avaliable. Could you advise me on the best way to find employment?

What the expert says

David Goldfarb, director, Mayday Executive

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It is probably best to contact the human resource departments of the hotel chains you are interested in. Send them a letter explaining your situation and enclose your CV. Ask them to keep your application on file until they are ready to recruit for the next trainee manager programme. It would also be useful if you could get some work experience in the meantime to show them how dedicated you are. Perhaps you could do this in the school holidays, or you could offer to do some work as soon as you finish your studies. Alternatively, have you considered continuing your education? You could study for a hospitality qualification. Many hospitality courses include work placements which enable you to get good practical experience and can help you decide which aspects of hospitality you enjoy the most. When you have completed the course, it should be much easier for you to enter a junior manager position.