The corporate world is brutal as it is, but you know what’s even more daunting? The hospitality trade. Beyond the paper-plastered smiles and greetings is a dog-eat-dog industry where only the most tenacious survive. The irony though is that what will make you thrive in this environment is not the hard-set of skills that everybody says you must acquire. No, the key are the soft skills that are so much harder to get, much less ingrained into your mind to become muscle memory.
So, what are these skills? Let's start with the first set.
The Customer Is Always Right
While this is an outdated and false saying, it does veer towards the direction of pleasing the customers. Which is always the goal in any service-oriented industry. Customer service is an important facet wherever you go, but even more so in an industry where the customer is the lifeline of your business. Another facet, which somehow correlates to the aforementioned is cultural awareness. In an industry where there is a hullabaloo of cultures merging with one another, it is prudent that we can adapt to cultures outside of our own. Comfort zones are good and all, but as they say, nothing ever grows there. The last facet is language skills, it is no secret that most Filipinos are bilingual. Tagalog and English are languages that have been taught to us since infancy. However, with how rapid the industry is growing, being fluent in more languages is not only an ace, but also nearly mandatory.
Connect, Connect, Connect!
Some say networking is a skill that needs to be developed. While that is true, there are certain people who have just the right amount of charm to have the talent for it. These people are the ones that flourish in this particular industry. You need to be able to connect with people in a trade that people dominate in. Not only will it give you leverage, but it is the bare minimum in doing adequately at your job. Speaking of people, now we have teamwork to talk about. In an industry that is so vastly interconnected, you cannot survive as a lone wolf. You need to be able to work with other people of different ages and backgrounds. You need to be able to work, not only harmoniously, but with a rigor that lets you stand out from the rest. Communication skills is another way of making sure that everything is in tip-top shape. Not just with your department but with the entire organization.
Problem? Solved!
Many people underestimate the process that goes into problem solving. It is not just one skill. It is a plethora of abilities that coincide with one another. They are all interconnected and there are several processes, such as the elimination process involved when problem solving.
First, you have to know the problem or problems, the multitude of them, the characteristics and all of the nitty gritty. Answers would come in next, but they never come in a clean-cut form. They will always appear first as a selection in which you have to choose from. Lastly, you have the elimination process where you try and decipher which solution best beats the problem.
All in all, technical or hard skills are definitely needed in this industry. You can’t very well pursue a career in, let’s say, culinary if you don’t have the technicalities for it. However, the soft skills, if you want to survive in the hospitality industry that is, are equally as important.
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