Hospitality this, Hospitality that. Hospitality is where it’s all at.
The hospitality industry is known for its fast-paced nature and its interesting customers – two things that, when combined, will prepare you for all of life’s uncertainties. One moment, you’ll be enjoying a cheerful conversation with one table and the next, you’re at another diffusing a volcanic eruption. It’s an experience that will take you through the good, the bad and the ugly; a window into various everyday realities.
Come along and find out what it’s all about and why we love it!
“What I do have are a very particular set of skills. Skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you.”
Hospitality workers across the world would be forgiven for thinking Liam Neeson’s famous line from Taken was about his experience working behind a bar and not as an agent for the CIA. Stories from anyone who has worked in a restaurant, kitchen, or bar can make Liam’s spontaneous rescue trip to Paris seem rather bland.
Listing ‘hospitality’ on your CV stands out to employers as these experiences are indicators of highly desirable skills. Here are our top two hospitality skills that will benefit you in your future career, whatever that may be…
Communication
Master the art of communication and through words and words alone, you can inspire confidence in those with little belief and pacify proverbial storms that can sink proverbial ships – it’s an incredibly powerful skill.
In hospitality, it is essential to enter the industry with great communication skills, but it is almost impossible to leave without levelling them up to exceptional heights.
Working so closely with new people each day will provide you with an excellent opportunity to perfect your conversational prowess. You’ll meet beautiful people, from the weird to the wonderful, from all walks of life, and learn to communicate with them like one of their own.
Adaptability
But make no mistake, the hospitality industry is not for the faint of heart.
It’s tough, with long hours spent on your feet, under immense pressure in unpredictable surroundings and often in front of an audience of baying customers. BUT for the right people, it’s an environment to thrive in.
For those who can handle the heat, it builds resilience and adaptability, skills possessed by some of the world’s most iconic individuals. To future employers, adaptability as a skill testifies that you can be taken out of your comfort zone and when the going gets tough, your tough gets going!
Let us take you back to lockdown, not the initial three-week lockdown which was largely spent frolicking in the sun and accessing the drinks cupboard like we were on an all-inclusive. No, the other lockdown…the one that went on a tad longer than three weeks and involved having very little access to our freedom and a little too much access to TikTok. It was then, in-between binge-watching Tiger King and Bridgerton, that the public realised just how vital the hospitality industry was to their lives.
Of course, we knew that it brought a lot of money into the economy – £59.3 billion to be exact – but nobody truly understood how much joy came from just going out for a meal with friends and family. Our local bars, restaurants, cinemas and stadiums house a lot of our memories, the moments in life we cherish most – from our first dates to our birthdays, catch-ups with friends and sanity-saving lone lunches.
And who makes all of that happen? Hospitality workers!
Our social lives revolve around them. And you, as a Hospitality worker, can make someone else’s memories as meaningful as yours.
Dolly Parton once said, “What a way to make a living!”. Even in 1980, just seven decades after the 9-5 became mainstream, the novelty of Groundhog Day was starting to wear thin. Rather unsurprisingly, it turns out that some people just aren’t cut out for the monotony, and there is not one thing wrong with that!
Looking for summer jobs in-between terms? Looking for full-time or part-time work to boost wages? Working full time and looking to break the monotony? Look no further.
At Arc, you get to pick and choose where and when you want to work!
When you have a fabulous event staffing agency, with hubs in Liverpool, Manchester, London, Birmingham, Leeds and Glasgow, that offers temporary work in amazing places, who wouldn’t want to enjoy the flexibility?!
Apparently, some people say work is boring. But we say, they’re just in the wrong job!
For those who want them, we at Arc, one of the UK’s leading event staffing agencies, offer truly incredible flexible working opportunities. Festivals, concerts, sporting events, you name it, we have it. Temporary work in amazing places, no strings attached.
Even if ‘work’ may never wriggle its way to the top spot on your list of favourite things to do, you can still thoroughly enjoy what you do! If you’re thinking we sound like a slightly delusional red flag, allow us to calm your concerns with feedback that we receive from our Team Members (that’s what we call our workforce of temporary staff) who work with us in an array of roles from bar and hospitality to kitchen and retail.
“Best flexible hospitality agency in the UK. With supportive schemes for workers to learn and improve in the hospitality job sector” Thato, Arc Midlands Team Member
“I love working at Manchester United staff are all really professional and caring.. my kitchen has a great team and we all get on so well .. recommended working united to everyone.. ynwa” Paul, Arc Manchester Team Member
“Great fun place to work, fast-paced environment with plenty to keep you busy! Great staff and well run” Charlotte, Arc Yorkshire Team Member
“Working at Arc has been an experience, it may not have always been positive but hey you get that with any job. It’s honestly a thrill working at different venues especially when you are with your friends. So far I’ve had an absolute blast.” Arc Liverpool Team Member
Convinced yet? Take a look at a list of our current vacancies and you could soon be working at world-class events.
A 2022 study found that only 5% of school leavers are considering a career in hospitality, citing a variety of reasons, including a perception of low pay and a lack of career progression. In the UK, hospitality jobs are seen as a temporary fix, something to tide you over whilst you are finishing your studies or in-between jobs. Of course, like many jobs, hospitality can be a temporary fix, but it can also be a highly lucrative career path. It’s a little bit of luck and a lot of what you make of it.
Hospitality is the UK’s third largest private-sector employer and covers an array of industries, including food and beverage, accommodation, travel and tourism and entertainment and recreation. Like in any job, you’ll start off at the bottom and then it’s up to you how far you decide to climb up the ladder. But the important thing is that there is a ladder and a vast one at that. Hospitality is not just a big player in the UK but dominates on the world stage, offering those who are working in the industry the opportunity for international work.
One thing that schools don’t do very well is teach students about the sheer scope of jobs that are available within each industry. For example, marketing, finance and human resources may not be the first things that come to mind when you mention hospitality, but they are all vital roles that play a part in its success.
If you want a career in hospitality, regardless of role, the earlier you start gaining real hands-on work experience, the better. Temporary work can be a great first step into the industry, as most roles that we offer require no previous experience. We hire based on attitude and interpersonal skills; great energy and teamwork skills go a long way.
The Hospitality Industry has space for everyone and if you would like to get involved, join the ARC Family now and become a Team Member!
Take a look at our current vacancies.