Hospitality is one of Australia’s largest industries, employing over 6% of the workforce, and it’s only growing. In Queensland alone, jobs in hospitality are expected to rise by 8% by 2025-2026, making it an ideal time to start your career in the industry. It’s a sector where you can thrive if you enjoy socialising, work well under pressure, and take pride in making people happy.
Whether you’re a new arrival to Australia, looking for your first job, or ready for a career change, hospitality has something to offer plus it has excellent job security, flexibility, and plenty of room for growth.
But where to start?
Maybe you dream of serving coffee at a beachside café in Byron Bay or pouring pints at the local bar in Melbourne. But with so many options, it can be overwhelming— never fear this guide will help you take that first step.
What is the hospitality industry?
The hospitality industry is focused on providing food, drink, accommodation, or experiences to customers.
This can be at a café, a bar, a restaurant, a hotel, a cinema to name just a few.
With such a broad industry there are also a heap of roles that you can aim for, including:
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Waiter – As a waiter you can work in restaurants, cafes, or bars. Your role will include setting up and closing the establishment, taking orders, welcoming customers, delivering food, and taking payment.
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Bartender – a bartender tends the bar. They can work wherever there is a bar like a restaurant, nightclub, cocktail lounge, sports club, and events. A bartender takes orders, makes drinks and takes payment plus additional duties like cleaning the bar.
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Chef/Cook – a chef is position open to qualified people. Their role is to prepare food.
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Dishwasher – the dishwasher works in the kitchen cleaning the dishes, this is often an easy job to get.
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Kitchen Hand – a kitchen hand helps around the kitchen with a variety of tasks including making sauces, peeling vegetables, helping prepare and so on.
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Barista – a barista’s job is to make sweet, sweet coffee. Or bitter coffee. Just coffee really. And teas, hot chocolates.
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Plus, a heap more.
Reasons to work in the hospitality industry
Great atmosphere
As you may know, hospitality is all about customer service and keeping customers satisfied, so businesses like to maintain a lively, vibrant and fun atmosphere. For this to happen, employers are most likely to hire friendly and uplifting staff which allows to create a great environment in the workplace for you and your colleagues.
It’s a safe bet
The most common products and services this industry has to offer is food, beverages and places to relax, making hospitality an everlasting industry. Therefore you can be certain to have a long-life career that can offer many opportunities along the way.
Creative
There are lots of room for creativity in the hospitality world as this creates the atmosphere your customers choose to be in. Create and implement new ideas to give to your customers a unique experience but always keeping in what you were taught when obtaining your hospitality certificate. While doing this, you are not only giving your customers a memorable time but also an opportunity for yourself to enjoy the workplace.
Many opportunities
When working in hospitality, you can expand your career abroad. Each country in this world has its own hospitality industry however, the knowledge and skills you acquire throughout your career can be transferable and an asset in other countries. Keep in kind that the course outline for a hospitality certificate vary in each country.
Making people’s day
People in hospitality must always present a friendly good character towards customers, this encourages people to smile and enjoy their day. Whether you are working in a hotel, bar or café, every time you are working you’re making people’s day feel better.
Get certified.
Most of these roles will require some sort of certification.
If you’re working in a business that serves alcohol, you’ll need to get an RSA certificate (Responsible Service of Alcohol). This is a legal requirement in Australia.
Getting an RSA is pretty straightforward. You just need to complete a course which can be done online and can be completed within a day. We offer RSA certificate course for most states in Australia:
Having an RSA certificate before applying for a job is a great way to make yourself stand out and shows your dedication to the industry.
An RSA isn’t the only certificate you can get, if you’re aiming for a role in the kitchen, you may want to consider a food handling certificate or even a food safety supervisor certificate. CTA Training Specialists offers courses in all of them as well.
Key skills to highlight on your CV.
If you’re coming into the hospitality industry without any hospitality experience, you can still highlight transferable skills which would make you a great candidate.
Here’s a list of soft skills you might want to demonstrate in your application:
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Communication Skills
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Adaptability
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Problem-Solving
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Team Player
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Customer Service
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Attention to Detail
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Time Management
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Cultural Sensitivity
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Leadership Skills
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Conflict Resolution
If you have experience in any of these, even if it’s through a hobby or volunteering then it’s great to show potential employers.
Apply for jobs.
There are plenty of places to find hospitality jobs to apply for. The easiest is online with a job board like seek.com.au, but with hospitality you can also call into the different places and hand your application directly to a manager.
They may not have something for you right then but it’s a lot more memorable than a name on a piece of paper.
Another way to find jobs is through your network, talk to friends and friends of friends and other people you’ve met to find out if they are aware of any jobs going.
Increasingly companies are advertising their vacancies on social media, and not just LinkedIn, they are also advertising on Instagram and TikTok. Follow a few of the local brands you’d like to work for and keep an eye out.
There are also recruiters who can help you find jobs to apply for. They can also give you feedback on CVs for your best chance to land a gig.
Interviewing
Presentation
Firstly, you need to look presentable. If you dress appropriately, the employer will see that you are serious about the job and value your tidiness. Hospitality staff interact with customers every day, so looking presentable is important to both the company and the customers.
Punctuality
Employers will sometimes judge on first impressions. Thus, arriving on time to an interview will make a good first impression. Employers also expect you to start work on time. Arriving early to an interview, will give employers the impression that you are well prepared to begin your shift on time as well.
Research
It is best to do thorough research on the company before attending an interview. The more knowledge you have about the business, the more it will reflect your interest in the job and working for that particular venue.
