Q: I recently had an interview at a hotel where the manager made me feel like he was trying to dissuade me from working there. I have experience in the hospitality industry, but I didn’t have experience on the hotel’s property management system. The hiring manager seemed threatened by me and I didn’t get the job. What are your thoughts?
Discouraged About Desk Work
A: Dear Discouraged, It sounds to me like a case of you being overqualified, and the hiring manager being underqualified. If you have hospitality experience (and judging by your resume, you have steady experience and a good reputation), you can be taught how to use any PMS system. Many times, people with hiring authority will choose to hire people they feel are more suited to following their method of operations, despite the short-sightedness of such a frame of mind.
You are better off looking elsewhere. Any hotel that looks at the SKA’s over the PIP’s (see my previous post on the SKA’s and the PIP’s) is underestimating the value of bringing people on board who have the hospitality mindset in their blood.