Prominent players in the hospitality industry are looking to recruit Isenberg School of Management students during the Hospitality and Tourism Management Career Fair to be held Thursday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Campus Center Auditorium.
Seventy companies – including Marriott, Hyatt and Starwood Hotels – will be in attendance looking to hire University of Massachusetts students. In addition to hotels, restaurants, skiing companies, real estate companies and other industries of hospitality and service will be in attendance this year offering career opportunities in sales, marketing, financing and accounting.
“All levels benefit because it’s not too early to start to network and there are so many opportunities,” said Meg Lee, a junior majoring in hospitality and tourism management and the marketing chair of HTM Career Day.
The HTM Career Day is the largest student-run hospitality career day in New England, and has been holding annual fairs for 42 years, Lee said. According to her, 90 volunteers are participating in the preparations for this year’s career day.
In the past two summers after attending career day, Lee worked as a volunteer for the Nantucket Wine Festival.
“They get all of their volunteers from the HTM Career Day,” Lee said. “It’s so much fun and I learned so much about the industry.”
Companies are willing to assist and train students for their offered positions, she said.
Seventy Isenberg students have already pre-registered for the event. According to Lee, around 300 students attended last year’s career day.
Lee is expecting most HTM majors will attend the fair. According to Lee and Ally Sterns, a junior hospitality and tourism management major and key marketing volunteer, some HTM professors are requiring students to attend the fair.
“Sometimes, they don’t realize how important it is to go,” Sterns said. “Students should also look for experience during the summer, (get) their name out and (get) in contact with people.”
During her freshman year, Sterns attend HTM career day, where she met a recruiter from Chatham Bars Inn. She accepted a summer job there and an internship at Kimpton Hotels.
“It’s kind of an intimidating thing for a freshman,” Lee said. “It’s nice that the faculty backs us up and pushes the freshmen to go, which is the reason why I went in and I’m very happy.”
After seeing her friends get jobs from HTM Career Day, Lee said she’s confident that any student who is serious enough can get a position.
“Our HTM Career Days have been very successful in placing students in jobs and internships,” Lee said.
The planning process for the career day started in September. Along with the help of their faculty advisor, Rod Warnick, student volunteers planned the event.
“We all make the major decisions together,” Lee said. “It’s very team-oriented.”
“Obviously, it’s really (hectic) leading up to it, but it’s so worth it,” Sterns added. “It’s a great (event) and everyone should go, unless you’re not in Isenberg.”
Danny Cordova can be reached at [email protected] or followed on Twitter @DanielJCordova.
