How to start a career in Hospitality Recruitment

When I initially came to the conclusion that I wanted to step away from the restaurant floor, I was a little confused about what to do next. Like many people, I started working in the industry part-time whilst studying, and ended up sticking with it for 8 years. Having always worked in hospitality, I wasn’t too sure what else I was qualified to do! I was confident that I had some transferable skills that would certainly lend themselves well to a career in retail, or customer service; however I couldn’t help but shake the doubt that either of these two career paths would ultimately leave me feeling as though I was in the same situation.

It was by complete accident that I ended up interviewing for a role at Detail2Recruitment – Hospitality & Catering. The company had placed me as a candidate many years previously, so I had contacted them to see what options might be available for me. At the time I knew absolutely nothing about recruitment as a career and it wasn’t something I’d ever considered!

Working with Hospitality & Catering has given me the opportunity to remain connected to the hospitality industry that has been such a huge part of my life for so many years, but also provided me with so many of the things I’d been missing working as a manager in hospitality, including:

1. A fantastic work life balance – based in the office Monday to Friday, with regular client meetings and days out
2. Genuine autonomy; freedom to manage my day however I see fit and use my creativity and initiative to tackle problems
3. The chance to progress at a vastly increased rate
4. The opportunity to have an input into the operation of the wider business and the chance to implement new programs and initiatives
5. The ability to greatly increase my earning potential over time and to see the tangible rewards of my own hard work

Without realising it at the time, I already had developed a number of transferrable skills that I can see now have enabled me to make a successful transition into recruitment. Some of those skills and experiences included:

• Communication skills
• Customer Service. Whilst recruitment is essentially a Sales role, to be successful you still have to deliver great service to both clients and candidates
• Time Management
• The ability to manage relationships at a number of levels
• Hospitality knowledge. Whilst I only worked for a small number of businesses before moving into recruitment my prior knowledge and experience of the hospitality industry has definitely helped me

Having an awareness of the challenges and pressures that come with a role in hospitality has helped me to understand clients and candidates needs and their requirements, and to more often than not, find a great match for both parties.

In the 3+ years I’ve worked with Detail2, I’ve been fortunate enough to progress to a level where I get to manage a team, train them and watch them grow. Recruitment certainly isn’t for everyone, but for the right person with the right attitude, I’ve found it to be a very rewarding and challenging career.

If you are in the same situation that I was 3 years ago, and it sounds like hospitality recruitment could be an exciting next step for you, then why not get in touch? Your ideal career could be just around the corner!