Head-hunters Poachers or Valuable service providers?
Advertising and selection is like standing at the bottom of an apple tree and shaking the trunk, normally the bad apples are the first to fall. One picks up the motley selection of fruit and selects the best from a bad bunch. Head-hunting is like placing a ladder against the same tree, climbing to the top and selecting the ripest juiciest apples.
My name is Stephen and I am a Dryathelete!
Let’s face it Chaps, the restaurant industry does not accommodate temporary temperance at all. A dryathelete in a month of self-denial is familiar with the delights of a well matched combination of wine and food, paired enthusiastically by a skilled sommelier.
South African Service Please !
By Stephen Hickmore – For our hospitality industry to get the best out of our South African personalities, we have to be brave and trust that the natural warmth and welcoming will come through. Train the technical side of service but not script or stiffly formalise every action.
Show me the Money
By Stephen Hickmore - I am sure that you had the same career advice as me. Some jaded teacher at high school stared at you over his battered spectacles didn’t he? Then he dropped the bombshell, if you choose a career as a chef, it was akin to a life of slavery and...
Jobs for Africa
Often candidates tell me that they do not want to work in Africa. Well, the answer I always give is “But, you do” Some South African hoteliers think that we live on a separate continent. But the good news is, billions of years ago, when the land was known as Pangaea,...
I blame MasterChef
Don’t you love that magic moment when you light the braai on a lazy Saturday afternoon? Mates round for the rugby and a couple of brews on ice. The coals glow scarlet anticipating the hiss of the first tjop hitting the flames. You hungrily inhale the smoky aroma, you...
You don’t have to be mad to work in hospitality but it helps
I was incensed! Not just slightly miffed, but mad as a snake. A well-known company turned down my candidate following three in depth interviews because she “failed” a personality profile test. You would imagine that this well qualified lady must have a major...
Three Icons and Five Reasons for their Success
If you have grown up with the hotel industry surging through your veins, no doubt you will be no stranger to these three names. Charles Forte, Sol Kerzner and Conrad Hilton. I have worked for one of them, recruited for another and met the great grand daughter of the...
“Tell me Lies tell me sweet CV Lies”
How accurate are the CV’s that you receive from candidates in the hospitality industry? Can you ever trust the information you get? I would hazard a guess that a lot of the CV’s you receive contain anything from simple omissions of information to far-fetched fairy...
Banning of Labour Brokers, ill-concieved and selfish
Stephen Hickmore – The ANC and COSATU’s call for the banning of Labour Brokers is ill-conceived. I am the first to support the unions and politicians in a call to ban all abusive labour practices and any other violation of human rights and dignity. But a complete ban will lead to massive unemployment.
