Work experience in hospitality and leisure

When looking for a graduate job in the hospitality industry, the amount of work experience you have is key in deciding your first job and starting salary. You will have the advantage if you use part-time work, holiday work and placements/internships to gain wider experience of more senior positions while completing your college programme. Hospitality and tourism graduates demonstrate some of the highest levels of work-based learning experience of any graduates entering employment.

It pays to have invested some time early on in finding out what type of experience the top recruiters will be seeking. Some international hotel groups, for example, will only recruit graduates with fluency in at least one additional language, while others will only recruit those who have worked in four/five-star properties. Some leisure centres will only recruit graduates who have gained a lifesaving qualification, and so on.