Alan Stutts | BLOG | Education Author

At the end of your consideration of the offer, you need to make a decision. There are four possible decisions:

1. No way, not even if they doubled the salary.

2. I can do better than this.

3. I want this job, but only if they can improve the offer.

4. This is perfect; I want it.

If you decide Number 1 or Number 2, you need to call or write immediately and thank them for the offer, but say you want to continue looking for a position that more closely matches your career goals. If you would consider another position at this company, let them know that and tell them you would like to keep in touch or hear about future openings.

If your decision is Number 4, you’ve nothing left to do but call or write the company and give your enthusiastic acceptance. They may require a signed form upon acceptance or your acceptance letter may serve as the required form. If there is an employment contract to be signed or other paperwork, they will let you know. If they ask you to sign an employment contract, be sure to take a day and pass it by an attorney who specializes in employment law to ensure there are no problems. They may also ask you to sign a non-compete agreement. You may also want a lawyer to look at this.

Salary is also not the only part of the compensation package that should concern you. Employers calculate each position’s cost to them based on salary, cost of benefits, cost of recruitment, cost of office space, and numerous other factors. Having a good idea of the employer’s total cost of employing you not only gives you a more accurate picture of your own compensation, but may suggest where the employer has “wiggle room.”

Employers can offer a wide range of benefits to employees. It is important to know exactly what benefits you are being offered as part of your job offer. Even if the offer letter includes a list, ask about other possible benefits that may not be on the list. If the benefit is not monetary - flex time, compensatory time for overtime hours, casual Friday’s, bike parking - the offer may not mention it. The benefit may have a monetary value to you, however, if it means you do not need a car to commute, you and your partner can avoid childcare by shifting work start times, or you can burn less gas by coming in early or late to miss the slow commute across town.

There are two primary kinds of career tests.

Performance tests measure how much you know, how well you read and write, how well you learn, and how skilled you are. Assessment tests measure personal characteristics like interests, work values, and personality traits. They don’t have right or wrong answers; there is no need to study for them.

Assessment tests fall into three categories:

Interest Inventories helps you identify your interests related to the world of work. An inventory can assist you in identifying training, education, or careers with activities that you might like doing.

Work Values Instruments allow you to pinpoint what you value in jobs (such as achievement, autonomy, recognition, support, and conditions of work) and then identify occupations that share your work values and the characteristics of jobs.

Personality Measures help identify your personal style in dealing with tasks, data, and other people. An understanding of your personality helps you to make decisions about training programs, which jobs to apply for, or which career direction to take.

If you already know you want to work in the hospitality industry, work value and personality measures may be the most helpful tests for you. Some such tests, such s the Myer-Briggs Type Indicator, are too sophisticated for you to interpret on your own and you need to have your results analyzed by someone trained in career counseling or psychology.

Some companies ask job candidates to complete surveys, questionnaires, or assessment tests as part of the interview process. This form of assessment may happen prior to the interview, on the day of the interview, or as a follow-up to the interview. You may be asked to come in to the company offices for the testing, but they may also mail the materials to you or ask you to go to a particular Web address. In some cases, the testing is carried out by an independent testing company and you are asked to go to the testing company’s offices.
Surprise tests are no fun! When you are called for the first interview, ask the caller about the steps in the interview process. If they mention assessment or psychological testing, ask for the names of the tests to be administered, when they will be administered, and by whom. If testing is not mentioned as part of the process, ask politely if any testing will be done.

The types of tests employers administer are usually well-researched tests designed to give information about an applicant’s aptitude, personality, or knowledge. They may be the same tests you used through your career center at college or through a career counseling service to help you decide your career goals.

If a company asks you to take tests or submit to any procedure that you feel uncomfortable with or doubt if they can legally require of you, seek some professional advice. If you are unexpectedly ask to take a test you are uncomfortable with, request to have the test scheduled for another day (”I’m sorry, I did not expect to have to be here another hour. Can I come back to take this test?”). You can call for advice before you take the test. If rescheduling is not possible, you may need to decide if you are willing to risk the chance your refusal will cost you a job offer…

Regardless of why you send out a resume, include a letter with it. A cover letter “covers” your resume and explains why you are sending the resume. An approach or prospecting letter is used in direct mail campaigns to introduce yourself.

Your cover letter lets you quickly show off your knowledge of the company to whom it is addressed and express your enthusiasm at the potential of working for them. Every cover letter is unique because every company is unique and every position you apply for is unique. Nothing is more obvious to someone reading cover letters than a “canned” letter.
Would you interview this person?

To whom it may concern;

I am seeking an assistant manager position that matches my qualifications and experience. You advertised a job that probably does that. My resume is attached so you can learn all about my education and experience.

I hope to get called for an interview.

Sincerely,

John Jobseeker

What about this person?

Dear Ms. Smith;

Great Big Hotel is a company I have followed throughout my university studies in hospitality management, so I was very excited to see that you have an opening for an assistant night manager.

From the reports in the press, it is clear your major remodeling has paid off in increased room rentals. While earning my degree in Hotel Management, I worked as a night auditor at Not-So-Big Hotel, where I successfully introduced a new auditing technique that reduced auditing time by nearly 20%. Since graduating Magna Cum Laude in June, I have completed an internship as a banquet manager at Fancy Restaurant, where I managed four wedding receptions of over 200 people each.
Working at Great Big Hotel would give me the opportunity to begin my hospitality career working with an experienced, successful management team in one of the state’s premier commercial hotels.

I would like to meet with you and tell you more about my skills and experience. I will call next Tuesday morning to arrange an interview.

Sincerely,

Jessica Jobseeker

Every telephone call to an employer is a job interview, an interview you initiate. You must put the same preparation time and effort into it as if you were meeting in the employer’s office. At a face-to-face interview, you give the interviewer a copy of your resume. On the telephone, you deliver your verbal resume.

When you respond to an ad or use direct mail, you send your resume to the person with whom you want an interview. When you call to follow-up on the resume you sent, you deliver your verbal resume to remind them who you are.

If you are using direct contact, your verbal resume is how you introduce yourself to the person you call.

Your verbal resume is a succinct summary of your qualification and your experience. It is not a list of all of the jobs you have held. Begin with the script you prepared for making networking contacts. Also use your objective statement from your resume. You rewrite these to sound conversational.

Open the verbal resume by introducing yourself and telling the person why you are calling. You’ll need one opening for calls that follow-up and one for cold calls.

Follow the opening with the resume statement, the reason why this person should listen to you.

Close the verbal resume with a request for an interview.

Tell friends, family, and co-workers know what your career goals are. Making a goal public will help your resolve to achieve it. If you want to be general manager of chain property, don’t keep it a secret! (How you express your dream is critical. Never let ambition be interpreted as arrogance or cockiness.) There will be co-workers or family members or friends who say you’ll never make it or tell you to keep it to yourself so you don’t sound like a braggart, but if you let people know what your are aiming for and you back up words with action, you will earn the respect of the organization’s where you work and find allies in the industry willing to help you succeed.

Having a career plan is only a start; you have to implement the plan, too. Despite your best efforts, things sometimes things do not work out. You cannot control everything that happens in your life, but when it comes to your career, you need to take control over the things that can make or break your chances for success.

Some of the things that you cannot control are:

Economic conditions that reduce employment locally, regionally, or nationally.

Poor management at the top of an organization resulting in closures or staff reductions.

Natural disasters (floods, hurricanes, or fires) that destroy properties or cut-off visitor access.

Crises such as disease epidemics, war or terrorist attacks. The tragedy of September 11, 2001 resulted in over 350,000 jobs in travel and hospitality being lost in the three months after the disaster.

Measure the costs and benefits of each occupation, program of study, or job to: your self, your family, your cultural group and your community or society?

a. Rank occupations, programs of study, or jobs
b. Make a choice
c. Make back-up choice(s) in case there is a problem with your first choice

Implement Your Choice

d. Plan - Make a plan for getting education or training
e. Try Out - Get work experience (full time, part-time, volunteer) and take courses or get training to test my choice
f. Apply - Apply for and get a job

In food service, a willingness to relocate often is essential for advancement to positions with greater responsibility. Managers typically advance to larger establishments or regional management positions within restaurant chains. Some eventually open their own food service establishments.

Large hotel and motel chains may offer better opportunities for advancement than small, independently owned establishments, but relocation every several years is often is necessary. The large chains have more extensive career ladder programs and offer managers the opportunity to transfer to another hotel or motel in the chain or to the central office. Career advancement can be accelerated by the completion of certification programs offered by various associations. These programs usually require a combination of course work, examinations, and experience. Outstanding lodging managers may advance to higher level manager positions.

In both food service and lodging, salaries for managers can vary widely, depending on the size, location, and market. Managers in limited service diners are not likely to earn as much as managers in upscale, white-line restaurants.

Median annual earnings of lodging managers were $33,970 in 2002 according to the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle 50 percent earned between $26,110 and $44,670. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $20,400, while the highest 10 percent earned more than $59,420.

Salaries of lodging managers vary greatly according to their responsibilities and the segment of the hotel industry in which they are employed, as well as the location and region where the hotel is located. Managers may earn bonuses of up to 25 percent of their basic salary in some hotels and also may be furnished with lodging, meals, parking, laundry, and other services. In addition to providing typical benefits, some hotels offer profit-sharing plans and educational assistance to their employees.

Many establishments in the hospitality industry are open 24-hours day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Employees work in shifts, work weekends, and work holidays. Some establishments have rotating shifts, where you may work days one week, nights the next, and a split shift the following week. The days of the week you work can also not be change frequently. In a smaller establishment, there may enough staff to still in for illnesses or emergencies, so you may have to work extra days or extra shifts when these contingencies arise.

Resort and vacation businesses may be open year-round, but nearly empty during the off-season. They experience dramatic shifts in the size of the workforce and the hours of operations when seasons change. In such a seasonal establishment, you may even be laid-off for several weeks or months a year. If you are a resident manager, whether of a small motel or at a large resort, you may be on-call 24-hours a day and expected to fill-in on short-notice.