Guide to Careers in Hospitality and Lodging Recruiting Services

Hospitality recruiting is one of the fastest growing occupations in human resources. Hospitality recruiting is a growing field for individuals who know how to network and connect with other business professionals.

At its most basic, hotel recruiting is all about finding talented employees and matching them with the right employer. Once a hotel executive recruiter has found a candidate, he or she helps the candidate get ready for job interviews. A recruiter walks the candidate through possible questions that a potential employer may ask and helps polish up the resume. Hospitality industry recruiters, also called hotel headhunters, receive a commission for each candidate he places with an employer. Hotel recruiters may work independently or as part of a larger hospitality recruiting company. Benefits of working as a hotel recruiting agent include:

1. Working from home
2. High income potential
3. Flexible scheduling

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Decide if you want to start your own hotel recruiting service or join a larger company

Hotel recruiters may work alone or as part of a team. If you want to work as your own boss and keep 100% of the commission rates, then starting your own hotel recruiting company may be the answer. However, there is safety in numbers. Working in one of the many hospitality recruiting companies usually gives you more access to candidates and job leads.

I recommend: Check out what it is like to work for some of the top hospitality recruiting firms in the country. Global Hospitality places candidates all over the world. They have offices in Los Angeles, Toronto and Montreal. The Lucas Group is another leading hotel recruiting company with locations all over the United States and Germany.

Be prepared for the drawbacks hospitality industry recruiters face

The hospitality industry is a volatile industry. In good economic times, companies are willing to shell out good money to find candidates. However, in tight economic times, they may not utilize hospitality search firms as much, or at all. Hospitality industry recruiters should be prepared to tighten their own belts during economic down times and remember that as the economy improves, so will their placements and commissions.

I recommend: Cube Management offers all kinds of articles and tips on how hotel industry recruiters can improve sales leads. Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International is a hub of information for all types of recruiters and headhunters.

Know what types of positions hospitality recruiters fill

National hotel chains are the biggest clients for most hospitality recruiting firms. They are the ones who can pay top dollar to find the best in hotel management, event planning or restauranting. Get acquainted with the types of positions that are currently on the market which can be filled by hospitality recruiters.

I recommend: The Ladders is an online job board that features only $100,000-plus job openings. These are the types of jobs that will bring big commissions for hotel recruiters. Hcareers.com is another online job site that offers some of the top hiring employers in the hospitality industry.

Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• Hotel recruiters should not overlook the restaurant industry as a place to find both jobs and candidates. Many food and beverage industry jobs overlap those in the hospitality sector.

The official source of Careers in Hospitality and Lodging Recruiting Services is
the Hospitality and Lodging Recruiting Services page at Business.com