A++ Work on time, quality work

How to help your graduates secure better jobs?

An industry perspective Christina G. Chi and Dogan Gursoy

School of Hospitality Business Management, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA

Abstract

Purpose – Many hospitality programs have developed their own career and placement services to assist students in job searching efforts. The purpose of this paper is to identify factors that are important for the success of career and placement services offered by hospitality programs, from the industry’s perspectives.

Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected through an online survey from hospitality recruiters and human resources managers. Descriptive statistics were applied for the data analysis.

Findings – Internship requirement was found to be the most important factor for the success of career services, followed by faculty industry experience and quality of student preparation for job/internship interviews. These were followed by reputation of the program and quality of educational curriculum and courses taught.

Originality/value – The important implications drawn in this paper could assist hospitality schools to allocate limited resources to help create excellent career and placement services.

Keywords Recruitment, Career guidance, Human resourcing, Hospitality management, Graduates

Paper type Research paper

Introduction Hospitality management programs, students and faculty are always seeking ways to improve job placement rate for their graduates. Owing to a sharp increase in schools that offer hospitality degrees over the past quarter century, and a more complex and sophisticated hospitality industry looking for high-quality management talent, the bar has been raised in terms of qualification of the hospitality graduates (Stoller, 2008). In today’s environment, achieving good academic performance is hardly enough to find a good job after graduation. In order to be competitive in the job market, hospitality students have to adopt aggressive approaches, such as building hospitality-related internship experiences, taking more course work, developing networking skills, and participating in extracurricular activities like hospitality student clubs/societies, fund-raising initiatives, and community involvement. Acquiring and developing more skills and abilities help students in job searching endeavors. Some graduates are likely to find jobs through the recruitment efforts of the industry. It is true that a small percentage of hospitality companies heavily invest in college graduate recruitment, and training and development (Doherty et al., 2001). However, studies suggest that relying on industry’s recruitment efforts as the sole placement tool is problematic ( Jenkins, 2001; Jameson and Holden, 2000), due to the fact that while some employers invest in graduate recruitment and foundation training, others expect graduates to take the initiative in job searching and start adding value to the companies from day one by

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at

www.emeraldinsight.com/0959-6119.htm

IJCHM 21,3

308

Received 24 September 2007 Revised 7 January 2008, 18 March 2008 Accepted 9 June 2008

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management Vol. 21 No. 3, 2009 pp. 308-322 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0959-6119 DOI 10.1108/09596110910948314

performing the expected duties and responsibilities of the position they are hired for with minimal or no additional training (Doherty et al., 1997).

As the preceding discussion suggests, students are likely to struggle in their quest for placement after graduation and it is problematic to rely only on industry efforts for placement. As a result, many hospitality programs have developed their own career and placement services to assist their students in job-searching efforts. The quality level of these career services determines how well the graduates are placed in the job market. Thus, it is important to explore factors that are likely to influence the success of the career services provided by hospitality programs.

Literature review One of the general assumptions most hospitality schools subscribe to is that if you have a relevant, up-to-date and industry-driven curriculum, graduates are likely to possess the knowledge and skill sets required for a successful career in the hospitality industry. However, as suggested by several studies, one of the biggest challenges hospitality programs face today is determining clear objectives for the curriculum that meets the constantly changing needs of the industry (Dopson and Tas, 2004; Gursoy and Swanger, 2004, 2005; Okeiyi et al., 1994). Therefore, investigation of the curriculum of hospitality and tourism programs has been a growing area of research in recent years. Many studies have investigated the components of hospitality curriculum and the need to integrate operational and managerial skills for career success (Dopson and Tas, 2004; Baum, 1991; Burgidge, 1994; Christou, 2002; Dopson and Nelson, 2003; Knutson and Patton, 1992; Li and Kivela, 1988; Tas, 1988; Tas et al., 1996; Kay and Russette, 2000; Okeiyi et al., 1994). While some researchers suggested that operational issues such as working knowledge of product/service were important for success (Kay and Russette, 2000), others suggested that managerial and behavioral issues such as interpersonal relations and managerial skills were more important for success in the industry (Okeiyi et al., 1994). Dopson and Tas (2004) indicated that these two approaches to curriculum should be integrated in order to prepare students for a successful career in the industry; the curriculum of hospitality schools should not only provide the impetus for students to learn necessary skills to operate a business but also enable them to gain a substantial knowledge on how to manage their staff. Other researchers argue that in developing a curriculum, educators need to consider three major components of hospitality education: substantive knowledge, skills, and values (Dopson and Tas, 2004; Gursoy and Swanger, 2004, 2005).

Several studies (Baum, 1991; Burgidge, 1994; Knutson and Patton, 1992; Li and Kivela, 1988; Tas, 1988; Nelson and Dopson, 2001; Dopson and Nelson, 2003) have examined the importance of various skills and abilities necessary for graduates’ career success. These studies contained a very general list of skills that were identified by surveying hotel managers and/or students. For example, Knutson and Patton (1992) identified 15 managerial skills that students believed they should possess to be successful in the industry by surveying students at Michigan State University. In another study, Li and Kivela (1988) examined the differences between hotel managers’ and students’ perceptions of skill importance relative to success in the hospitality field, by surveying both hotel managers and students using the 34 hotel management skills identified from the literature. These authors reported that applying marketing management methods and developing job specifications were perceived as

How to help graduates secure

better jobs?

309

more important by managers than by students. They also reported three differences between managers and students in their perception of graduates’ competencies. Managers rated higher in importance with regards to using food service techniques and applying second language skills, while students ranked higher in applying group dynamics methods.

While previous studies examined the skills, a graduate needs to be successful in the hospitality industry (Baum, 1991; Burgidge, 1994; Christou, 2002; Dopson and Nelson, 2003; Knutson and Patton, 1992; Li and Kivela, 1988; Tas, 1988; Tas et al., 1996, 2000), a small number of studies examined the approaches hospitality programs used to place their students before or after graduation. In order to assist students and graduates in their quest for job in today’s rapidly changing and highly competitive job market, a large number of hospitality programs have developed their own career and placement services. The purposes of these career and placement services are to provide support to students in all phases of their job search and professional development by helping them gain hospitality-related internship experiences, providing extracurricular activities, and helping them develop networking skills. Since the success of these career services heavily depends on the type of relationships they have with the hospitality companies and how they are perceived by those companies, it is crucial to understand how hospitality company recruiters and human resources personnel perceived the importance of various aspects of career services provided by hospitality schools.

Feiertag (1998) reported that since the late 1990s corporations have been implementing extensive and competitive on-campus recruiting programs to counter a growing skill shortage and to attract qualified candidates. Some companies have even developed extensive corporate recruitment programs that have a year-round presence on campuses. In addition, companies are holding more elaborate career fairs to secure graduating talents, as well as outsourcing on-campus recruiting to professional consultants to ensure that their organizations can effectively compete to attract top graduates. Nationwide, most medium to large college placement offices host an average of 348 companies annually, and 56 percent of graduating seniors register with college/university placement offices (Feiertag, 1998).

The hospitality industry understands that college degree in hospitality administration is a valuable degree, but in the past many hospitality graduates found themselves wound up in jobs that do not require a hospitality degree and do not pay much as well. Hospitality recruiters are now looking for college graduates that possess good industry skills upon graduation (Carey and Franklin, 1991). Professional as well as academic qualifications have become progressively more important in the hospitality industry and at the same time operational experience is viewed as less important than specific or generic business management skills for hospitality graduates (Farkas, 1993; Feiertag, 1998). Several studies suggested that in the near future generic business credentials are likely to become more important (Gursoy and Swanger, 2004, 2005; Farkas, 1993; Purcell, 1993). They are likely to become a prerequisite to mid and senior-level hospitality management jobs. With the constant restructuring of hospitality firms, new jobs and added responsibilities have emerged from the continuous organizational change. In order to determine needed competencies in hospitality graduates by industry, one approach is to address the needs on a continuous basis from the perspective of hospitality recruiters and human resources

IJCHM 21,3

310

directors, and to identify which aspects of career and placement services provided by hospitality schools are important for corporate recruiters and human resources directors.

Earlier studies suggested that service sector employers used to rely on unstructured application forms and interviews often conducted by untrained interviewers (Poppleton, 1989), and the general consensus was that selection in the hotel industry tended to be informal, simplistic, and reactive (Kelliher and Johnson, 1987; Croney, 1988; Price, 1994). However, recent trends indicate that this is rapidly changing. Recruitment is becoming more complex and sophisticated. These rapid changes in recruitment style make identifying and understanding of the factors that will create excellence in career services critical for hospitality programs and their students and graduates.

Methodology Survey instrument The purpose of this study is to identify factors that were important for the success of career and placement services offered by hospitality programs. An online survey instrument was developed to gather data on human resources managers’ and college recruiters’ perceptions. A questionnaire was created to systematically measure factors that were perceived as important for the success of career and placement services, based on the literature review and input from human resources managers and hospitality educators. The instrument was then reviewed by a group of hospitality educators and college recruiters. They were asked to provide feedback regarding the layout, wording, and ease of understanding of the measurement items. The feedback was then taken into account in the revision of the questionnaire. Based on their feedback, the instrument was revised and finalized (please see Appendices 1 and 2 for the final version of the cover letter and the online survey instrument). Both college recruiters and hospitality educators were consulted throughout the survey instrument development process to make sure that the final instrument had both content and face validity. The content validity of survey instruments is assessed by overview of the items by trained individuals and/or by the individuals from the target population. The individuals make their judgments about the relevance of the items and the clarity of their formulation. On the other hand, the face validity of survey instruments is assessed by cursory review of the items (questions) by untrained individuals. The individuals make their judgments on whether the items are relevant.

The final version of the survey instrument consisted of two parts. Part I was designed to collect information on the 21 factors that captured various aspects of hospitality career and placement services; respondents were asked to rate importance of each of the 21 factors according to a five-point Likert scale (5 – essential, 4 – very important, 3 – important, 2 – somewhat important, 1 – not important). Part II of the questionnaire included demographic questions.

Data collection A self-administered online survey questionnaire was used to collect data, using the Dillman (2000) Tailored Design Method. The web site link for the online questionnaire was e-mailed to all 400 hospitality recruiters and human resource personnel contained in a data base that’s maintained by a large hospitality school located in the

How to help graduates secure

better jobs?

311

Northwestern USA. The subjects were informed of the purpose of the study and that their participation was voluntary. In order to enhance the response rate, e-mail was personalized to address to each respondent retrieved from the database. A week later, a reminder e-mail was sent to those who had not responded.

Data analysis Descriptive statistics (means and standard deviations) were used to report the rank order importance of the 21 subject matter variables. Frequencies were employed to summarize the demographic profile of the respondents.

Results Of the 400 surveys sent out, 102 usable ones were returned resulting in a response rate of 25.5 percent. Considering the survey population (busy business professionals) and the data collection method (on-line survey), this was considered to be an acceptable response rate by the researchers.

Respondents’ demographic profile Demographic characteristics such as gender, education level, ethnicity, present position and name of company were included in this study in an attempt to provide a descriptive profile of the survey respondents.

Gender. Of the 100 individuals who provided gender information, 49 (49 percent) were male and 51 (51 percent) were female.

Present position/name of company. A total of 67 different companies were represented in the study. Respondents were asked to list their present position. The vast majority (98 percent) of the respondents were working for the human resources department of hospitality companies. A couple of respondents worked for professional recruitment/employment agencies.

Education level. Of the 100 individuals who answered this question, 62 of them indicated they had a bachelor’s degree (62 percent); 11 respondents had a graduate degree (11 percent); seven had some graduate level work (7 percent); 18 had some college work or a technical degree (18 percent); and two respondents indicated they were high-school graduates (2 percent).

Ethnicity. The majority of the respondents, 87 (87 percent), were Caucasian/White; five (5 percent) were Asian-American/Pacific Islander; four (4 percent) were American-Indian/Alaska Native; three (3 percent) were Hispanic/Latino; and one (1 percent) was Black/African-American.

Importance of factors for success of career and placement services Table I presents the descriptive statistics (means and standard deviations) for the factors that were deemed to be important for the success of career and placement services offered by hospitality programs. The results showed that industry professionals believed all of the factors examined in this study were important to the success of career and placement services (mean ranging from 2.96 to 4.43 on a five-point Likert scale). They agreed that internship requirements (hospitality school requiring work experience hours prior to graduation) were the most important factor (mean ¼ 4.43), followed by faculty’s industry experience (mean ¼ 4.31) and the quality of students’ preparation for job/internship interviews (mean ¼ 4.25).

IJCHM 21,3

312

These were followed by reputation of the hospitality program (mean ¼ 4.22) and the quality of students’ educational curriculum and courses taught in hospitality/tourism management (mean ¼ 4.22). The lowest ranked important factors were: hospitality school administrators’ and faculty’s involvement in hospitality company retreats and training programs (mean ¼ 2.96), and visits to hospitality company headquarters by hospitality school administrators and faculty (mean ¼ 3.14).

Discussion This study identified factors that were considered to be important for the success of career and placement services provided by hospitality programs, based on company recruiters’ and human resources managers’ perceptions. Industry professionals attached importance to all of the factors examined in this study, but they seemed to place more emphasis on external factors such as the quality of the students and the quality of the hospitality school than on internal factors such as the quality of the career and placement services. The top five most important factors (mean ranging from 4.43-4.22)

Measurement items Mean SD

Career service activities by hospitality dean or director 3.53 1.102 Relationship hospitality dean or director has with company recruiting representatives 3.92 0.935 Quality of services offered by university career service office 4.02 0.860 Quality of career service office facilities and interview rooms 3.22 0.887 Hospitality school scheduling annual career days or nights 3.86 0.980 Hospitality school requiring work experience hours prior to graduation 4.43 0.806 Hospitality school offering a separate course in hospitality careers and interview skill development 3.75 0.956 Hospitality school employing full-time career counselor or academic adviser 3.67 0.887 Hospitality school using student career or internship coordinators 3.53 0.966 Hospitality school attracting a core group of hospitality recruiting organizations 4.08 0.659 Hospitality recruiting representatives visiting classes when making on-campus recruiting trips 3.55 1.083 Hospitality recruiting representatives establishing relationships with hospitality school faculty members 4.04 0.880 Hospitality school arranging and scheduling evening presentations for career previews 3.84 0.967 Quality of student preparation for full-time job/internship interviews 4.25 0.796 Quality of students’ educational curriculum and courses taught in hospitality/tourism management 4.22 0.832 Annual placement rate of hospitality school graduating seniors 3.65 0.913 Visits to hospitality company headquarters by hospitality school administrators and faculty 3.14 1.040 Hospitality school administrators’ and faculty’s involvement in corporate hospitality company retreats and training programs 2.96 1.113 Hospitality school distribution of company recruiting materials and schedules 3.84 0.880 Industry experience of hospitality school faculty 4.31 0.648 Reputation of the hospitality school 4.22 0.757

Notes: N ¼ 102; Scale: 5 – essential; 4 – very important; 3 – important; 2 – somewhat important; 1 – not important

Table I. Industry professional’s

perception of importance of various aspects of

career services provided by hospitality schools

How to help graduates secure

better jobs?

313

were related to how students prepare themselves for the real world (via internship), level of faculty’s industry experience, the quality of students’ preparation for interviews for full-time jobs and internships, reputation of the hospitality program, and the quality of students’ educational curriculum and courses taught in hospitality/tourism management. As for the quality of services (mean importance ¼ 4.02) and facilities (mean importance ¼ 3.22) provided by the career services, they were only moderately ranked by the industry professionals in importance for the success of the career and placement services. Interestingly, industry professionals did not rank high in priority hospitality school’s efforts/activities in maintaining a relationship with the recruiting companies. The two lowest ranked factors in importance for the success of the hospitality career services were related to hospitality school administrators’ and faculty’s involvement in visiting the hospitality companies (mean importance ¼ 3.14) and/or participating in company retreats (mean importance ¼ 2.96). However, a close contact between the academia and the industry may lead to a more intimate knowledge of the industry and allow curriculum adjustments as a proactive move to prepare students for their job quest. These findings are of great importance in helping hospitality schools to allocate their limited resources. Findings clearly suggest that hospitality schools need to invest more resources on improving the quality of their programs and students in order for their career and placement services to be competitive and successful.

Internship requirement was considered by industry professionals as the most important factor for the success of career and placement services. Internships provide opportunities for students to practice what they have learnt in the classroom, gain a better understanding of the industry and its requirements, evaluate different career choices and secure invaluable hands-on job skills. Internships greatly contribute to the development of students’ management competencies (Tas, 1988). Internship opportunities also provide benefits to the industry. Hiring interns enables hospitality companies to gain access to a pool of potential workers. During the internship, companies can screen these potential employees without making long-term commitments. Internships also enable companies to have direct involvement in training the industry’s future managers ( Ju et al., 1998; Pauze et al., 1989; Petrillose and Montgomery, 1998; Walo, 2001). Internships strengthen the relationship between companies and educational institutions, which may increase collaborative research opportunities, and raise institution profile and company profile among students. Establishing long-term relationships between the industry and the educational institution may benefit both parties by optimizing employment opportunities for future graduates (Bell and Schmidt, 1996; Walo, 1999, 2001).

This finding affirmed the belief that many hospitality programs hold regarding the importance of requesting internship/work experience from their students. Many hospitality programs incorporate internship/work experience in their curriculum and require their students to fulfill certain hours of hospitality related internship/work experience prior to graduation. This practice “forces” students to start early in getting involved in the work world, gradually build up their resume and their knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA), and eventually be ready for the real world challenges when it is time to graduate. Educational institutions and their career services not only need to be aggressive in helping their students secure quality internships but they also need to keep an eye on their students’ internships and ensure that the experiential learning

IJCHM 21,3

314

opportunities for the students are fully realized so that “ideally” qualified candidates are produced for recruiting companies. If resources allow, an internship coordinator could be on staff, whose responsibilities should include helping students obtain internships, as well as keeping track of their progress during their internship by e-mail/phone correspondences and/or on-site visits, as well as conducting internship experiences evaluations after students complete their internship.

The second most important factor identified for the success of career services was the industry experience of hospitality school faculty. It is true that educators with extensive industry experiences are likely to provide a better learning experience for students as compared to those without. Faculty with industry experience can help students relate the textbook to the real world. They can readily draw real life examples from their arsenal of experience to explain complex theories and principles. Therefore, hospitality departments, programs and schools should encourage their faculty, with or without prior industry experience, to participate in faculty externships provided by hospitality companies to gain first-hand experience in current business practices. Faculty externships connect academic professors to the industry, helping them gain industry experience or update their knowledge about the industry, which will benefit their teaching and their students in the short and long run. The educational goal of such an externship is to increase the faculty’s ability to relate theory to practice and bring knowledge from the business world (e.g. problem solving methods, practical applications of theory, and leadership concepts) into the classroom. Faculty externships may also result in improved relationships between the industry and the institutions. Most of the faculty externships require the professors to write a report about their experience with the company, identify problem areas and recommend possible solutions. Here in a sense faculty externs also act as consultants for the company, using their fresh eyes and academic expertise to help improve the company. Another strategy to expose students to people with extensive industry experience might be to invite industry professionals to classes as guest speakers. Industry speakers share with students their knowledge and expertise in the industry, bring to the class the latest industry trends and news, and sometimes may even recruit from the class. Being well connected in the industry, career placement officers can be a major resource in securing potential industry experts as guest speakers and identifying possible externship opportunities for the faculty.

This finding also has important implications for hospitality programs that offer PhD degrees. It is suggested that extensive previous work experience be one of the criteria used by PhD programs to decide whether an applicant should be accepted into a program. The work experience requirement for admittance to a PhD program is likely to give the PhD students a competitive edge when they start looking for a teaching job, because hospitality programs would prefer hiring faculty with industry experience so that their students may receive enhanced learning experience.

The third most important factor for the success of the career services was found to be the quality of student preparation for interviews for full-time jobs and internships. The interview process for full-time jobs or internships can be very stressful. Preparing students for the interviews is likely to reduce this stress and enable them to perform better in the interview, which may result in better offers. How students perform during the interview may also influence the perception and reputation of the program. If most students can cope well with the interview process, the perception of the institution is

How to help graduates secure

better jobs?

315

likely to improve in the minds of the recruiters and the interviewing companies. In the long-term, this may improve the industry-wide reputation of the institution. Some hospitality schools include in their curriculum a course that is designed to help students develop and improve their job searching, resume writing and interviewing skills. This benefits students tremendously once they start their job quest. Most career and placement services also provide various services to help students prepare for the job interview, such as resume critique, mock interview, and professional development workshops on topics like effective presentation and networking skills, professional dress, and business etiquette; but they need to heavily promote these services among students and strongly encourage students to take advantage of these services.

Two factors that were found to be equally important for the success of the career and placement services were the reputation of the program and the quality of students’ educational curriculum and courses taught in hospitality/tourism management. These two factors are obviously interrelated because quality of curriculum impacts reputation of the program. Hospitality schools should consult with industry professionals and develop a curriculum that meets the constantly changing needs of the industry. Feedbacks from industry representatives regarding what features are most desirable in an “ideal” candidate can alert a program to modify and adjust its courses and curriculum. Only with an up-to-date and industry focused curriculum, can schools produce quality graduates with necessary KSA to be successful in the industry. These successful graduates in turn enhance the schools’ reputation. If the industry believes that the quality of education at certain schools is higher than that of others, they are also more likely to hire future managers from those “better” schools. This forms a “benevolent” circle for the schools and their graduates. By contrast, graduates of a program that’s relatively “unknown” may have a harder time in their employment quest.

Like any other study, this study is not free from limitations. The present study was limited to soliciting participation from only industry professionals contained in a database of a hospitality school in the Northwestern USA; therefore, the results cannot be generalized beyond this population. In addition, the response rate in this study (25.5 percent) was relatively low, which might lead to non response bias introduced due to the under-representation of those non-respondents in the population. Other limitations include the fact that there may be biases in the answers provided from some of the participants, and the reliability of the questions that form the questionnaire.

Conclusions The study examined factors that are crucial for the success of career and placement services programs provided by hospitality schools, using data collected from hospitality recruiters and human resource managers. Findings of the study indicated that success of these programs mainly relied on internship requirements, mentoring and preparing students for the interview process, reputation and quality of the hospitality program, industry experience of hospitality school faculty, and quality of students’ educational curriculum and courses taught in hospitality/tourism management. However, since the placement office/career services have little or no influence in the industry experience of hospitality school faculty, the quality of students’ educational curriculum and courses taught in hospitality/tourism management, they should focus on facilitating and improving students’ internship

IJCHM 21,3

316

experience, and mentoring and preparing students for the interview process. On the other hand, since faculty’s industry experience and education curriculum play important roles in the success of the career services, it is up to the academia and the industry to work together to develop strategies to enrich faculty’s industry experience and enhance the quality of educational curriculum. One way to achieve this may be through developing more faculty externships. Since career placement officers have the contacts in the industry, they can help identify/provide such experiential learning opportunities for the faculty. Faculty externships could deepen the mutual appreciation and bring about closer ties between the academia and the industry.

References

Baum, T. (1991), “The US and the UK: comparing expectations of management trainees”, Cornell Hotel & Restaurant Administration Quarterly, Vol. 32 No. 2, pp. 79-84.

Bell, B. and Schmidt, C. (1996), “Field practicum: what influence on graduate careers?”, in Yarrow, A., Millwater, J., DeVries, S. and Creedy, D. (Eds), Practical Experiences in Professional Education: Research Monograph, Queensland University of Technology Publication and Printery, Brisbane, pp. 123-34.

Burgidge, D.J. (1994), “Student perception of preparation for success: a view from Europe”, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Educators, Vol. 6 No. 4, pp. 45-50.

Carey, M.L. and Franklin, J.C. (1991), “Industry output and job growth continues to slow into the next century”, Monthly Labor Review, Vol. 114 No. 11, p. 45.

Christou, E. (2002), “Revisiting competencies for hospitality management: contemporary views of the stakeholders”, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Education, Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 25-32.

Croney, P. (1988), “An analysis of human resource management in the UK hotel industry”, Proceedings of the International Association of Hotel Management Schools Symposium, Leeds Polytechnic, Leeds, UK.

Dillman, D. (2000), Mail and Internet Surveys: The Tailored Design Method, Wiley, New York, NY.

Doherty, L., Guerrier, Y., Jameson, S., Lashley, C. and Lockwood, A. (2001), Getting Ahead: Graduate Careers in Hospitality Management, CHME/HEFCE, London.

Doherty, N., Viney, C. and Adamson, S. (1997), “Rhetoric or reality: shifts in graduate career management?”, Career Development International, Vol. 2 No. 4, pp. 173-9.

Dopson, L.R. and Nelson, A.A. (2003), “Future of hotel education: required program content areas for graduates of US hospitality programs beyond the year 2000 – Part II”, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Education, Vol. 15 No. 3, pp. 11-17.

Dopson, L.R. and Tas, R.F. (2004), “A practical approach to curriculum development: a case study”, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Education, Vol. 16 No. 1, pp. 39-46.

Farkas, D. (1993), “Trained in vain?”, Restaurant Hospitality, Vol. 68.

Feiertag, H. (1998), “College students can be bright prospects for prospecting”, Hotel & Motel Management, Vol. 213 No. 11, p. 20.

Gursoy, D. and Swanger, N. (2004), “An industry-driven model of hospitality curriculum for programs housed in accredited colleges of business”, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Education, Vol. 16 No. 4, pp. 13-20.

Gursoy, D. and Swanger, N. (2005), “An industry-driven model of hospitality curriculum for programs housed in accredited colleges of business – Part II”, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Education, Vol. 17 No. 2, pp. 46-56.

How to help graduates secure

better jobs?

317

Jameson, S.M. and Holden, R. (2000), “Graduateness – who cares? Graduate identity in small hospitality firms”, Education and Training, Vol. 42 Nos 4/5, pp. 264-71.

Jenkins, A.K. (2001), “Making a career of it? Hospitality students’ future perspectives: an Anglo-Dutch study”, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 13 No. 1, pp. 13-20.

Ju, J., Emenheiser, D., Clayton, H. and Reynolds, J. (1998), “Korean students’ perception of the effectiveness of their internship experiences in the hospitality industry in Korea”, Asia-Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, Vol. 3 No. 1, pp. 37-44.

Kay, C. and Russette, J. (2000), “Hospitality-management competencies”, Cornell Hotel & Restaurant Administration Quarterly, Vol. 41 No. 2, pp. 52-63.

Kelliher, C. and Johnson, K. (1987), “Personnel management in hotels – some empirical observations”, International Journal of Hospitality Management, Vol. 6 No. 2, pp. 103-8.

Knutson, B.J. and Patton, M.E. (1992), “How prepared am I to succeed in the hospitality industry? What the students are telling us”, Hospitality and Tourism Educator, Vol. 4 No. 3, pp. 38-43.

Li, L. and Kivela, J.J. (1988), “Different perceptions between hotel managers and students regarding levels of competency demonstrated by hospitality degree graduates”, Australian Journal of Hospitality Management, Vol. 5 No. 2, pp. 47-54.

Nelson, A.A. and Dopson, L.R. (2001), “Future of hotel education: required skills and knowledge for graduates of US hospitality programs beyond the year 2000 – Part I”, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Education, Vol. 13 No. 5, pp. 58-67.

Okeiyi, E., Finley, D. and Postel, R.T. (1994), “Food and beverage management competencies: educator, industry, and student perspectives”, Hospitality and Tourism Educator, Vol. 6 No. 4, pp. 37-40.

Pauze, E.F., Johnson, W.A. and Miller, J.L. (1989), “Internship strategy for hospitality management programs”, Hospitality and Education Journal, Vol. 13 No. 3, pp. 301-7.

Petrillose, M.J. and Montgomery, R. (1998), “An exploratory study of internship practices in hospitality education and industry’s perception of the importance of internships in hospitality curriculum”, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Education, Vol. 9 No. 4, pp. 46-51.

Poppleton, S. (1989), “Service occupations”, in Herriot, P. (Ed.), Assessment and Selection in Organizations: Methods and Practice for Recruitment and Appraisal, Wiley, London.

Price, L. (1994), “Poor personnel practice in the hotel and catering industry: does it matter?”, Human Resource Management Journal, Vol. 4 No. 4, pp. 44-62.

Purcell, K. (1993), “Equal opportunities in the hospitality industry: custom and credentials”, International Journal of Hospitality Management, Vol. 12 No. 2, pp. 127-40.

Stoller, G. (2008), “Hotel schools are in with inn crowd”, USA Today, available at: www.usatoday. com/travel/hotels/2008-01-07-hotel-schools_N.htm?POE¼click-refer (accessed January) (electronic version).

Tas, R.F. (1988), “Teaching future managers”, Cornell Hotel & Restaurant Administration Quarterly, Vol. 29 No. 2, pp. 41-3.

Tas, R.F., LaBrecque, S.V. and Clayton, H.R. (1996), “Property-management competencies for management trainees”, Cornell Hotel & Restaurant Administration Quarterly, Vol. 37 No. 4, pp. 90-6.

Tas, R.F., LaBrecque, S.V. and Clayton, H.R. (2000), “Competencies in property-management: implications for curriculum evaluation and development”, The Journal of Applied Hospitality Management, Vol. 2 No. 2, pp. 126-36.

IJCHM 21,3

318

Walo, M. (1999), “The latest win-win strategy in recruiting hotel staff”, Hotel Management, Vol. 12 No. 7, pp. 32-3.

Walo, M. (2001), “Assessing the contribution of internship in developing Australian tourism and hospitality students’ management competencies”, Asia-Pacific Journal of Cooperative Education, Vol. 2 No. 1, pp. 12-28.

Appendix 1. Cover letter Excellence in career services: Understanding hospitality companies perceptions and expectations of career service provided by hospitality school

This survey is being conducted to obtain hospitality company recruiters/human resources managers/representatives opinions about how important various aspects of career services provided by hospitality schools. Your assistance in completing this survey is crucial. The survey will not take more than 5 minutes of your time.

Why participate? You are one of the 400 possible respondents representing the entire hospitality industry recruiters/human resources managers/representative population hiring hospitality program graduates. Our goal is to use this information to improve career services provided by hospitality schools. This is an excellent opportunity to voice your opinions.

Your personal opinion is important In order to answer these questions, you do not have to be an “expert”. We are confident that everyone included in the sample will be able to take part, not just those with strong views or particular viewpoints. Please remember that there are no right or wrong responses to the questions and that your honest and thoughtful answers are appreciated. Your participation is entirely voluntary. The information you provide will be kept confidential final results of the research will not reveal the respondent’s identity because the responses from all study participants will be added together in the final analysis.

Please contact us if you have any questions regarding this study at: [email protected] or Tel.: (509) 335-7945.

Thank you for your participation

How to help graduates secure

better jobs?

319

Appendix 2. Online survey instrument Understanding hospitality companies perceptions and expectations of career service provided by hospitality schools This survey is being conducted to obtain hospitality company recruiters/human resources managers/representatives opinions about how important various aspects of career services provided by hospitality schools. Your assistance in completing this survey is crucial. The survey will not take more than three minutes of your time.

The following items are about how important various aspects of career services provided by hospitality schools. Please read each item carefully and indicate how important/not important each item is for the success of career services provided by a hospitality school by marking the appropriate response category.

Not important

Somewhat important Important

Very Important Essential

1. Importance attached to Career Service activities by Hospitality Dean or Director

2. Importance of relationship Hospitality Dean or Director has with company recruiting. representatives

3. Importance of quality of services offered by University Career Service Office.

4. Importance of quality of Career Service Office Facilities and Interview Rooms.

5. Importance of Hospitality School scheduling annual Career Days or Nights.

6. Importance of Hospitality School requiring work experience hours prior to graduation.

7. Importance of Hospitality School offering a separate course in hospitality careers and interview skill development.

8. Importance of Hospitality School employing full-time Career Counselor or academic adviser.

9. Importance of Hospitality School using student career or internship coordinators.

10. Importance of Hospitality School attracting a core group of hospitality recruiting organizations.

11. Importance of hospitality recruiting representatives visiting classes when making on-campus recruiting trips.

(continued)

IJCHM 21,3

320

22. What is the name of the company you work for?

23. What is your current position?

24. How long have you worked for this company? (years and months)?

12. Importance of hospitality recruiting representatives establishing relationships with hospitality school faculty members.

13. Importance of Hospitality School arranging and scheduling evening presentations for Career Previews.

14. Importance of quality of student preparation for full-time job interviews and internships.

15. Importance of quality of student’s educational curriculum and courses taught in hospitality/tourism management.

16. Importance of annual placement rate of hospitality school graduating seniors.

17. Importance of visits to hospitality company headquarters by hospitality school administrators and faculty.

18. Importance of Hospitality School administrators and faculty involvement in corporate hospitality company retreats and training programs.

19. Importance of Hospitality School distribution of company recruiting materials and schedules.

20. Importance of industry experience of hospitality school faculty.

21. Importance of the reputation of Hospitality School.

How to help graduates secure

better jobs?

321

Corresponding author Christina G. Chi can be contacted at: [email protected]

25. Please enter your age in the space provided

Age:

26. Sex: (select only one)

Male Female

27. Race: (select only one)

American Indian/Alaskan Native

African-American/Black

Asian/Pacific Islander

White

Multi-racial (please specify)

Other (please specify)

Hispanic Origin

Hispanic Origin

Not of Hispanic Origin

28. What is your highest level of education?

Some High School

High School Graduate

Some College

College Graduate

Some Graduate School

Graduate Degree

To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: [email protected] Or visit our web site for further details: www.emeraldinsight.com/reprints

IJCHM 21,3

322

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.