10 Hospitality Skills For A Resume (And How To Improve)

Individuals working in the hospitality industry are required to possess various soft skills to succeed in their roles. Communication skills, interpersonal skills and customer service skills are some of these soft skills. To help you stand out from the crowd, you can include specific skills on your resume depending on the type of hospitality job you are applying for. In this article, we examine what hospitality skills are and how you can include them on your resume.

What Are Hospitality Skills For A Resume?

Hospitality skills for a resume are competencies that enable individuals working in the hospitality sector to successfully complete tasks and excel in their positions. These skills include both hard and soft skills, and the majority of hospitality skills, such as communication and interpersonal skills, are soft skills. Good hospitality skills enable employees to better relate to and serve customers, communicate with others in their organisation effectively and ensure that customers feel satisfied with the services they receive.

Related: Careers In Hotel Management: Skills, Jobs And Salaries

10 Examples Of Hospitality Skills

While each position in the hospitality industry necessitates a unique set of skills, these are a few skills that apply to most hospitality roles:

1. Communication skills

When working in a hospitality role, communication is crucial because you may communicate with customers, personnel, supervisors and other individuals on a regular basis. While engaging with customers, it is critical to maintain a positive attitude and use both verbal and nonverbal communication methods to improve customer experience. This skill is also required to ensure that hospitality teams collaborate effectively to meet customer needs.

2. Attention to detail

While completing a task, attention to detail relates to a person's ability to focus on both minor and major details. In hospitality roles, it refers to the ability to observe all the details that contribute to creating a guest's experience. High-end service establishments typically distinguish themselves from competitors by anticipating and addressing all aspects of a customer's experience beforehand.

3. Teamwork

Many hospitality roles are part of a larger group of professional roles that collaborate to provide excellent service to customers. Employers value teamwork, as teams are a fundamental organisational unit in most business enterprises. Working effectively as part of a team enables you to grow professionally and build healthy interpersonal relationships.

Read more: Is Teamwork A Skill? Definition And Examples

4. Patience

Patience is an essential element in any customer service or hospitality position. Regardless of persistent challenges and frustrating behaviour from customers, hospitality professionals are required to devote themselves to resolving issues effectively. Coordinating customer needs and troubleshooting issues can take a long time and patience and stamina are essential qualities for avoiding burnout.

5. Interpersonal skills

Most hospitality jobs require strong interpersonal skills, as the professionals working in this field often engage in interactions with others. To understand others' needs, it is vital that you communicate with them effectively. Regardless of whether you are interacting with a team member or taking a customer's order in a restaurant, qualities like empathy, negotiation, active listening, creative thinking, patience and tolerance can help establish strong interpersonal communication.

6. Multitasking

Hospitality professionals may be required to manage large groups of people while still treating each individual as a priority. Multitasking allows professionals in this domain to make each customer feel important while still meeting routine goals. Multitaskers can easily handle setbacks and reorganise their priorities to adapt to urgent situations without disrupting their overall workflow. To alleviate some of the stress that comes with multitasking, you can communicate with and seek assistance from a teammate or a co-worker.

7. Empathy

Understanding others' feelings through empathy and compassion is critical for identifying and resolving the underlying issues that create problems. Everyone has a unique personality and point of view and being empathetic allows you to understand their preferences and modify services and experiences to suit specific requirements. "I understand what you're going through", "I'm sorry to hear you're feeling this way" or "I'm sorry this happened to you" are some phrases you can use to express empathy.

8. Problem-solving

Problem-solving skills enable you to identify the source of a problem and come up with a viable solution in a timely manner. It is an important part of working in the hospitality industry because working in this industry requires you to be able to recognise crucial issues that customers are experiencing, devise a plan of action to address them and follow up with customers to ensure their satisfaction. By listing this skill on your resume, you can indicate to employers that you can deal with challenges in the workplace.

9. Positivity

In hospitality jobs, the ability to maintain a positive and a pleasant attitude despite your environment is an in-demand skill. Customers expect hospitality professionals to treat them with respect at all times and someone who can maintain a positive attitude can influence an entire team's conduct. Positive thinking also can help in increasing motivation, enthusiasm and the desire to succeed.

10. Flexibility

In the hospitality industry, dealing with unpredictability is common. Customers may have requests or attitudes that you might not know how to handle. To become more flexible, you can work on multitasking and build resilience and initiative as these skills are all closely related to your ability to adapt to changes.

Related: How To Be Flexible At Work: A Complete Guide

Improving Hospitality Skills

You can improve your hospitality skills with practice, self-reflection and discipline. To show excellent hospitality in the workplace, follow the given techniques:

1. Read feedback from customers. Many employers in the hospitality industry use surveys or suggestion cards to collect customer feedback. Feedback allows you to identify key areas for improvement and understand what you are already doing well, allowing you to provide the best possible service to customers.

2. Develop a customer-focused mindset. Practice empathising with a customer's situation and considering their point of view before assisting them. Understanding another person's perspective allows you to gain insight into their behaviour and devise an appropriate solution to their problems.

3. Make a checklist. In the hospitality industry, you may be required to balance multiple priorities at the same time and a checklist can help you stay organised. Make a general checklist to guide your daily workflow and update it at the beginning of each shift.

4. Experiment with different roles. Assisting your colleagues in various departments can help you enhance your hospitality skills in various situations. Most hospitality skills apply to new situations and putting yourself in new situations can help you improve your primary position.

Highlighting Hospitality Skills

These are a few tips to keep in mind to impress employers with your hospitality skills and make your application stand out:

Hospitality skills for a resume

When applying for a position in the hospitality industry, make sure your resume shows your ability to provide excellent customer service and work in a fast-paced environment. You can list all the different responsibilities you held in each position in the experience section of your resume to showcase your versatility and ability to multitask. Include relevant statistics on how you affected your workplace, such as customer satisfaction rates or performance rankings, to provide quantitative evidence of your hospitality skills to a potential employer. List any certifications you have in the hospitality industry, such as food and beverage handler licensing.

Hospitality skills for a job interview

As many hospitality jobs are front-facing and rely on employees who have a friendly, professional demeanour, making a good impression on a future employer during the job interview is an important part of getting a job in the industry. Choose a professional outfit in neutral colours with attention to details such as matching colour shades and pressing wrinkles. Arrive early for the interview to show your employer that you arrive on time and have the potential to complete all tasks punctually.

Try to smile naturally during the interview to demonstrate that you can maintain a positive demeanour when dealing with customers. Pay attention to your body language and avoid fidgeting to show that you can remain calm and composed under pressure. As soon as the interview is over, thank your interviewer for their time and send a thank-you note or email to convey that you have the initiative and drive for the job.