Hi All, this (unfinished) essay is a part of entrance requirements to Master Programe (3 page essy reflecting intellectual abilities, sense of imagination and interest in tourism and hospitality)
The leading sentence is: My most important experience sought me out. It happened to me, I didn’t cause it.
The supporting part is almost done - please find below for your review (I might add one more supporting point)
The conclusion is not ready yet, but it will evolve around the following statement "Now, doing a degree at *** UNIVERSITY is concsious choice to put all efforts into fully developing and playing out my talents" The submition deadline is in few days..Look forward to your comments. Many thanks.
My most important experience sought me out. It happened to me, I didn’t cause it, nor did I look for the opportunity.
Having returned to my home city in Russia after one year work experience abroad in the UK where I worked for 5 star city hotel group (first, half a year in London followed by six months’ placement in Birmingham), I went to work for my previous boss as a restaurant manager. He was very excited to have me back and that was handsomely reflected in salary package. I must admit it felt comfortable working at Lounge DJ Cafe; a few new waiting staffs, same bartenders, same customers. But comfort was not what I was after, no cozy, warm place in an easy, totally predictable environment.
So what was it I was interested in? I wanted to be where wars of business are fought. Where global language and intercultural/personal skills make the difference. This is where I can make my best contribution. In short, I wanted to be where the action and the challenges are.
One and a half month into restaurant management job and I had a surprise (to say the least) phone call from a friend of mine. We hadn’t spoken for ages as both traveled: Sergei worked in a boutique villa development on a south-eastern tip of Phuket Island and I lived and worked in UK.
“Would you like to come and work in Thailand for couple of months or so? *** HOTEL are looking for someone like you” - was his first question as he surfaced after the wave of excitement I blew at him. Clearly, my friend enjoyed tropical lifestyle and work experience in that distant Asian country, and he tried his best at selling idea to me. The moment couldn’t be better for someone to do so - I needed to get out of the comfort zone and explore.
Now there was a clear plan in place: a chance, a challenge, and a choice. A chance to open my intellectual door to the world Europeans consider psychologically the most distant one from Western culture, and to broaden my view well beyond the usual. A challenge to learn a big resort operations in a compressed timeframe and to adapt to a completely unfamiliar environment. A choice to diverge from the mainstream path.
At the end of 2 months’ management traineeship (not a common one as the company covered my return airfare and provided decent monthly remuneration) I signed one year contract with the hotel, and later a two year contract followed it. And again, the opportunity knocked on my door, I didn’t apply for those positions. Before I could think of making an enquiry to HR department, my manager approached me directly and asked if I would consider to take up next step and further my expertise first, in sales and marketing systems management and second year it was an offer to transfer to group sales department.
A rather unique opportunity came along when I worked as a Wedding Specialist. I would be one point contact for all wedding related enquiries made to the property, prepare quotations, contract rooms and entertainment and, once the contract is signed and deposit secured, pass the file over to Event Management Team, who would coordinate all the logistics and activities. So we had a confirmed function with symbolic western style wedding blessing ceremony in the gardens and not long before its commencement Master of Ceremony informed us that he could not make it…Everyone pointed at me as the most “experienced in wedding matters” - I had to save the ceremony and I did. After ceremony heartfelt thanks from friends and family of the newly wedded proved it went very well. Since then I was Master of Ceremony on many wedding functions held at the hotel. Event Executives preferred to work with me as it saved them time and hassle to book someone from outside; besides, couples left positive comments regarding the option to have a female MC that our resort provided.