Publisher's Synopsis
Employers agree-to be successful, graduates of Hospitality Management programs need to have meaningful, hands-on industry work experiences to complement their classroom education. Consequently, nearly all Hospitality Management degree programs require students to complete an internship or practicum experience prior to graduation. The challenge is that the quality of these work experiences vary widely.Make It Count! Getting the Most from a Hospitality Internship provides step-by-step guidance through the entire internship process, from identifying opportunities through the intern's final evaluation of the internship site. This handbook may be utilized as a complete, turnkey internship guide from start-to-finish or simply utilize the appropriate sections of the text to help students, coordinating faculty, and employers outline and deliver meaningful experiential learning activities and outcomes.Features of the book include the following:The Hospitality Career Mosaic helps students more fully appreciate the full range of exceptional career opportunities available within the hospitality industry-not just in the traditional lodging and food service segments-but in destination marketing; health, nutrition, and wellness; technology and e-commerce; and more!The Internship Checklist will ensure that students establish a realistic timeline for completing an internship experience-from the initial search for an appropriate opportunity, through the interview and selection process, the professional work experience itself, and the evaluation process-so that students remain on-track to complete their internship on time.The section of the manual dedicated to Preparing an Effective Resume helps students put together a resume that employers will notice-even if they have limited previous work experience.Guidance is provided to prepare students to successfully navigate the Interview process since the text explains how students can anticipate and prepare responses to potential interview questions-improving their ability to secure the ideal internship experience.Detailed Suggested Learning Activities and Learning Outcomes are defined for each area within a hospitality operation-from the administrative areas, including sales and marketing; human resources; and accounting, to the operational disciplines, which include guest services; housekeeping and laundry operations; and food and beverage-so that students and employers, working together, may establish appropriate learning outcomes for the experiential learning experience.Students are instructed on how to create Service Blueprints and Flow-Charts so that they can properly diagram and evaluate common industry practices and processes.To be effective, the Experiential Learning process must require that students reflect upon the learning experience and relate it to the theoretical concepts delivered in the classroom-this handbook helps facilitate this transformation of experience to deep knowledge and applied skills.A complete collection of Evaluation Forms is provided to ensure that the intern, facilitators, and internship site are each evaluated during as well as at the conclusion of the internship, which ensures continuous improvement, while also bringing closure to the internship experience.
