Chapter News

Heartland Hospitality Career Exploration Day

The words we have written or seen written too many times in the past couple of weeks….Out of an abundance of caution we are postponing the Hospitality Career Exploration Event for March 28th! Many of the colleges that participate in this event have already stated that they will be holding classes virtually for the next many weeks, which means we would not have the attendance we have had in the past. Combined with the fact that so many of our speakers are not only responsible for their own important meetings/jobs but they also have families (young and old) to care for. We felt we could not take the chance on someone catching the virus and being quarantined. With that said we hope to convert the HR panel to a live webinar and provide the students with the information, we have collected about internships and entry-level job openings. Best wishes to everyone as we move through this time of uncertainty. We will be back in touch once we have determined some good fall dates.

 

For the past three years the Heartland PCMA has hosted a Hospitality Career Exploration Day for the Student Chapters of PCMA at KState, Iowa State, MU, University of Nebraska, University of Arkansas and Ok State. The  day is filled with career tips from industry professionals in both a general session format as well as small group discussions at round tables about specific jobs in the industry. During the small group discussions, students get to hear about a typical day in the life of a Hotel sales person, or an Audio Visual Tech, or a Meeting planner who coordinates a city-wide annual meeting, just to name a few jobs featured.They rotate six different times during the day so they get a broad perspective on the industry.

While these students are enrolled in Hospitality Management programs, and in some cases getting ready to graduate in May, they have had limited exposure to actual jobs in our industry. We have two goals with this event, first to broaden the students perspective on the career paths they could explore within the Hospitality industry and secondly to educate them about the importance of belonging to an Association that supports their industry. In this case: PCMA.

Here’s how you can help?

  1. Do you have a PAID internship available during the summer months?  This includes Convention and Visitors Bureaus, Assn and Corporate planners with events held in the summer months.  BUT keep in mind some of these students will graduate soon and are looking for an internship that might lead to a full time job!!
  2. Does your company hire entry level positions?  Such as Front Desk, Catering or Hotel Sales, Venue event coordinators, AV technicians, etc.?  If so,  your company must have a representative at the event on March 28 to speak about these open positions.
  3. Would you be interested in being a speaker or a mentor on March 28?

 

If any of these areas interest you please email [email protected]

Jena VonderhaarHeartland Hospitality Career Exploration Day