Are you pursuing a career in the hospitality department? You have cleared all your written examinations and it is time to look for a job and there is no one more nervous than you are. It is going to be your first interview and you have no clue what the interviewer is going to ask and what you should answer. First things first, there will be various posts available for hospitality job recruitment and you need to be prepared for everything. You should have a basic idea of all the departments so that when you are asked about the functions and your role for a particular department, you can explain it instantly. Apart from the in-depth questions about various hospitality departments, there are several others tricky questions that you need to be prepared to answer. Here is a quick guide that will help:

1.            How will you handle an angry or unhappy guest? 

So, the very first question that is shot at you by one of the interviewers right after your introduction is how will you handle an unhappy guest. This is one of the toughies to answer because if you don’t have any experience with an unhappy guest, it will be hard to explain how you will handle that person. In such a situation, you will have to go back to the basics of what was taught to you at the time of helping a customer; that customers are always right. So, you can frame your answer in a way where you will listen to the grievances of the customer patiently. Ask him/her what he/she wants to make the situation better. If the conditions are against the rules and regulations of the company, you will contact your supervisor immediately after informing the guest and then come up with a solution. There shouldn’t be a moment when you argue or cross-question the guest.

2.            What if your co-worker is not agreeing with you? 

Hospitality job recruitment comes with various types of situations that are very practical in real life. One such question will be if your co-worker is not agreeing with what you have to say, then what will be your course of action? One of the first things that you learn about hospitality is that it is a team game and no individual will be able to outshine others to be in the spotlight. You will have to maintain a good relationship with all the others in your team to make the teamwork successful. So, if a co-worker does not agree with your decisions or is doing exactly the opposite of what you are saying or asking him/her to do, you should try to understand why they are doing the opposite. You can get into a room to discuss which option is better for the guest. If both of you are ready to fix on a particular decision, the problem is solved. But if both of you are not going to change what you think, then go to the supervisor and present both the options and see what he/she decides. That is the most peaceful and logical way of closing an argument with your co-worker.

3.            Why do you want to work for the particular hotel? 

Suppose a particular hotel has a hospitality job recruitment opening and you are applying for the said position. You are asked on the day of the interview that why you have chosen to work for that hotel instead of others? Before you answer this question, you will have to do a background check on the hotel where you are applying for the job. Go through their website and see what the vision of the hotel is, what they intend to do for the guests, what press releases they have published till date, and what the future plans of the hotel are. Your response should satisfy all these points so that the interviewers are impressed in the first instance. You shouldn’t fumble with your answer saying that the hotel is good looking and things like that. These are lame answers that you need to avoid at every stage of the interview.

4.            What do you understand by good guest service? 

Although this might seem to be a general question your answer should be according to what the interviewers want to hear. Hospitality job recruitment means you will have to keep your guests happy all the time and your first and last objective will be customer service. This question is a ubiquitous one and can be asked at the administrative level and also to someone who will be recruited as a receptionist. Your answer should not be just customer service. An excellent way to impress the interviewers is by telling them about the steps that the hotel wants to take or promises to customers regarding customer service and how they will keep the customers happy. You shouldn’t mention the name of the hotel at any time, but your answer should be well crafted so that the interviewers do not understand that you are quoting stuff from their website. It will be best if you can appreciate the vision and mission of the hotel first and then answer the same in your own words.

5.            Why should we hire you? 

Probably, the most cliché question that is asked in an interview is why the company should hire you. This is the same for the hospitality department too. After answering all the questions correctly, if you are asked this, it will be quite tricky to answer but if you can showcase your skills and ability to tackle the challenges even while having a positive relationship with our co-workers and supervisor, that will help the interviewers to understand that you are prepared enough for the job.

There will be questions from core hospitality departments, but the above questions are the ones that can put you in a spot of bother. Your main aim should be to stay calm and follow the instructions given here to ensure that you crack the interview with flying colours.