If you are looking to transition into a management position within the hospitality industry then there are basic skills you need. The difference between losing a job at the interview level, landing a low paying job, and landing a high paying job is not education, experience, or a personality type.
There are a few skills you can never learn enough of. The top two are Financial Planning and Coaching. Unfortunately, most potential hospitality management candidates focus on software, purchasing, and food services. These three things can be easily delegated without putting the restaurant’s management flow at risk.
Financial Planning
There is no reason for today’s managers to be undereducated. You can audit all the courses you can handle at MIT – Free. Whether you need skills in cost analysis, labor expense, or profit and loss. MIT can take your skills into different areas which will stand out on your resume.
There is a statement in Career Coaching, ‘The more you want to make, the more you need to make your employer.’ A high paying manager doesn’t just ‘crunch the numbers.’ They learn how to analyze the numbers and identify strengths and weaknesses.’ If you want to be at the top of the pay scale then you need to be able to analyze the numbers, and use them to predict opportunities, and prevent chaos.
Coaching
The hospitality industry revolves around communication, emotions, and chaos. If that staff isn’t causing drama, then the competitors are using a new psychological impact in their advertising that is grabbing your share of the market.
Any psychology courses are a bonus on your resume. Again, you can audit these courses at MIT as well as other courses. Even auditing a course at MIT outweighs taking a course at a local college.
A basic course in organizational behavior is mandatory for anyone who is working their way up through the ranks. Managerial Psychology and Organizational Economics are also a basic course.
There is so much to explore in the relationship between psychology and management. Shaping the cognitive process, and using it to influence people’s choices and create a team dynamic that wouldn’t happen on its own.
Vocabulary
There courses will give you the vernacular needed to discourse with management succinctly, earn their trust, and get your message across. This is why I suggest taking a free university or MIT level course, over taking a local college or continuing education course.
Job Hunting
After reading this article you should have a better understanding of where your skill set can take you. If you haven’t taken these courses please, do not abandon your dream of becoming a manager in the hospitality industry. Start today by signing up for one of these courses and reinvent yourself.
Understanding where you are in the hierarchy of restaurant management jobs gives you a clear idea of your skills and abilities. Next, visit a recruiter or a recruitment firm that specializes in hospitality management. Talk to them honestly about where you are, and where you want your career to go.
Next Steps
A recruiter will help you determine the best next step in your career. It may be to move into another job. Your best step may be to stay where you are for a year, upgrade, and prepare yourself for advancing your skills.
