Overworked

May 8, 2009 8:13 AM

My best friend is a senior level hospitality manager. He just quit a job as the director of operations for a large sports arena. He quit because he was working 90-100 hours a week and is simply burnt out. He would like to find a gig that provides a better life balance with more enlightened executive leadership. Outside of contacting hospitality companies directly, what is the best way for him to find a job? Are there head-hunters that specialize in hospitality careers? He would like to target the south-east coast of the United States. In the past he has used Monster.com, etc. but I think he would be better served by going through a head hunter. Can anyone provide some advice or information on how he can best find an employer that is a good fit for him? What hospitality / food service companies are great to work for?
posted by jasondigitized to Work & Money (5 answers total)

There are headhunters that specialize in just about everything. Does he have a LinkedIn profile? Just about every headhunter that has contacted me in the last year or two was via LinkedIn. Also, if your friend is a senior level manager shouldn''t he have contacts already? People he has met at conferences, etc. I can't imagine you can get to senior level in any industry without knowing a few people that can help in this kind of situation. In fact, he should know of some headhunters unless he is making an attempt to be invisible to his own industry, as they are usually pretty damn good at tracking you to pitch jobs when you aren't looking.
posted by COD at 8:43 AM on May 8, 2009

I have heard that only 5% of the people that search through websites like Monster.com are successful in getting a job. I would go with a headhunter.
posted by bolognius maximus at 9:58 AM on May 8, 2009

there is http://www.hospitalitycareernetwork.com/index.asp
posted by Gungho at 10:15 AM on May 8, 2009

I was coming in to suggest LinkedIn as well.
posted by misha at 10:29 AM on May 8, 2009

As someone who is waist-deep in the job-search muck, I am going to recommend that your friend go with his first instincts: Contact directly the companies for which he'd like to work.

The problem is that there are so many people looking for jobs right now that companies do not need to post listings to job search sites, and often they won't even post listings to the "careers" section of their own corporate sites because they simply do not need to solicit applicants.

The same goes for headhunters. I am currently transitioning from advertising to the nonprofit sector but have kept in touch with my three or four ad headhunters and they have almost literally NO JOBS coming across their desks. The headhunting business, at least for advertising in NYC, is dead.

So, my suggestion (which is also at the advice of many people with whom I have spoken on the subject) is to figure out to some degree where he'd like to take his career next (talk to mentors if he needs help there) and then make a list of companies for which he'd like to work. Then write a kick-ass cover letter and resume stating why he thinks the company is awesome and why they should hire him and send it along to the relevant person in the company. Better yet, find someone who works at said company (six degrees of separation) and get them to get him in the door. Which leads me to:

NETWORK NETWORK NETWORK. Join professional associations, go to cocktail hours, conferences, talks, etc. Get in front of people face-to-face. It's really the only way to get a job.

I wish him luck!
posted by anthropoid at 5:04 PM on May 8, 2009 [1 favorite]