About Connor
Connor has 20+ years’ experience in the Accommodation and Food Services industry. Like many, he started with a casual job at a venue near his home while he was studying. He loved it straight away and soon assumed leadership positions where he was responsible for all aspects of running a licenced venue.
From here he moved into hospitality marketing and is now working at a start-up developing a platform to streamline the hiring and payroll processes within the industry he is passionate about.
"I would say everyone has considered a job in hospitality. Whether at 14 or 64, hospitality provides a great working environment for anyone."
How did you become an Accommodation and Food Services Executive?
My start in the hospitality industry was like many people who are just looking for a readily available job that doesn’t really require any formal education. That’s what I love about hospitality – you can get into the industry relatively easily. I would say everyone has considered a job in hospitality. Whether at 14 or 64, hospitality provides a great working environment for anyone.
At the time I was studying Sports Management at university, so I was looking for a flexible part-time gig.
Local licenced venue
Manager
Worked here while studying at university and ultimately managed all aspects of the venue.
Global liquor brand
Sales and marketing
Worked in various roles that involved liaising with hospitality venues and sponsoring major events.
Hospitality start-up
Sales and business development roles
Working for a hospitality technology platform to connect jobseekers and venues with each other. The platform also manages onboarding and payroll processes. Connor is still involved in the business.
Retail/Point-of-sale provider
General Manager
Using hospitality and technology platform experience to move into a different industry.
Connor has also spent time working in marketing roles at agencies and in-house for media organisations.
What does your job involve?
I don’t serve customers from behind a bar or at their tables anymore. But my customers now are the people who do – the hospitality community – the workers and the venues where they work.
My focus is on building a mobile and web platform that helps with the hiring, onboarding and payroll for the Accommodation and Food Services industry in Australia.
Working as part of a team
All my colleagues have their own hospitality stories and love the industry and where it has taken them. As a team, we want to make sure it’s easy for venues to find staff when they need them, and that staff get paid fast after every shift. We know how annoying it is when this doesn’t happen.
Being flexible
In my current role the approach is simple – deliver your tasks when they need to be delivered and manage your time around this. Most of my colleagues have their own side businesses in hospitality or similar industries. There are lots of entrepreneurial minds in this industry.
What often attracts people to hospitality is the flexibility, which is great if you have commitments outside of work. I’ve also worked previously with people who were studying or colleagues who had carer responsibilities.
Using technology
As a platform company we use a lot of cloud-based systems ourselves. These include Microsoft and Google apps for writing presentations and briefs, and products like Figma and Whimsical for platform design and project management. Tools like these sometimes have free versions or trials that you can use to get familiar with how they work.
Embracing the gig economy
The next generation of casual employees think differently about how they work and that’s exciting. They want to work when they need some extra cash and this may mean working at several different venues in the same week.
Being able to easily connect to different venues, sign a contract and onboard, work and get paid fast is the future. This is what the gig economy is all about and it fits with global trends of work life balance.
What has helped you succeed?
The right attitude
While you often don’t need any official training, there are some important personal attributes such as high emotional intelligence or getting on with people, advanced verbal communication and conflict resolution skills, creativity and most importantly positivity.
Constantly looking to improve things
Working in hospitality I experienced frustrations around finding work, and then when I was a hiring manager, finding staff. I thought there must be a better way to do this. When the opportunity to build a platform focused on hospitality resourcing presented itself, I jumped at the chance to address this significant operational challenge.
Thinking big
I see hospitality technology as a great way to contribute to an industry I am passionate about. If both hospitality venues and staff can use technology to facilitate smoother hiring, onboarding and payment processes, that will be a great outcome for the Accommodation and Food Services industry in Australia.
Challenges in this industry
- The hours are often long and unpredictable
You are required to work while most people (your customers) are having fun. Working nights, weekends and holidays is common. - A high-pressure/fast-paced environment
Meeting the constant demands of customers, managing large volumes of orders and ensuring high-quality service with a smile can be stressful and exhausting. - Dealing with customers
Sometimes – despite your best efforts – customers can be difficult or unsatisfied. Handling these situations in a tactful and professional manner can be challenging.
Connor’s career tips
Access support and training at school
Twenty years ago there was very little support, but now there is a lot. Careers advisers at school are the best first stop, and you can now complete Hospitality courses in high school.
Get online
There’s also a whole heap of information online. Hospitality-specific websites have job advertisements, free training and information about the industry. You can set up a profile and then employers will contact you.
Network in your community
Almost everyone starts working at a local venue – a fast-food chain, a café, at an event or the local pub or club. Take the time to meet the local workers and proprietors in your area to find out how you can get involved.
You can do this by using your connections or visiting the venue when it’s not too busy. Take a CV or resume with you – interactions like these can often lead to job opportunities.
What’s next for you?
Using my experience in Accommodation and Food Services I am about to move into a role in the Retail Trade industry. The company supplies point of sale systems and software for stores like supermarkets. It’s a different industry, but I am confident that everything I’ve learned working in both hospitality and hospitality platform development will serve me well.
Additional questions about Accommodation and Food Services?
NSW Careers has a team of industry experts who can talk to you one-on-one about what it’s like to work in this industry.
