The route to front office manager

Question

I have a post-graduate qualification in hotel management from one of the Cesar Ritz colleges in Switzerland and have one year's experience working in the front office. Presently, I am doing a Masters degree in international business.

I have received a job offer as a concierge, which is again an entry-level position. How could my career progress if I took this position? With all my qualifications, should I accept this offer or look for a better job? In five years' time I want to become a front office manager.

What the expert says

Lesley Reynolds, managing director, Portfolio International

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Yours is an interesting predicament because I usually take the view that all experience is good experience. To be offered a job as a concierge shows you probably have good communication skills. The position of concierge is quite a specialised one. Les Clefs d'or - the full qualification for this discipline - involves several years' hard work and training. Therefore, I would suggest you really need to think if this is what you want to do. A more classic route would be to get more experience in reception as a shift leader or in revenue or as a duty manager. All these routes would lead more directly to front office management in the timescale you state. While the experience you would gain as a concierge wouldn't be worthless, you may not fulfil your time ambitions if you take this side route.