Five-Star Hotel Internship in Australia - Vivian

Class and internship time

1. Classes:

International College of Hotel Management (ICHM)

From July 14th to December 8th, 2019.

2. Internship:

At Park Hyatt Melbourne five-star hotel

From January 16 to March 16, 2020.

(Expected to work until July 16. Due to the epidemic, she returned to Taiwan earlier).

Threshold

The main threshold of ICHM is the IELTS score, with an average score above 5.5 points, and each part cannot be less than 5 points. After passing the IELTS, ICHM sent a teacher to Taiwan to interview students. A resume, IELTS scores, and semester scores are required.

Required ability

During the hotel interview, the managers of the hotel’s human resources and the application department video interviewed me. The interviewers tested speaking and listening skills through the conversation. The most important is to show your strengths. Among the many interviewees, why would a five-star hotel hire you? Examining your strengths and weaknesses, grasping every opportunity to practice, showing your difference, and maintaining self-confidence in the interview are the keys.

Cost

At first, you need to prepare about NT$700,000. In the first half of the year, the main expenses are tuition, air tickets, and living expenses. You use the salary earned from the internship in the second half. If you are good at saving, you may save NT$350,000 to NT$400,000.

Main work content

Vivian is an intern in the Housekeeping Department of Park Hyatt Melbourne. The working hours are 5 to 6 days a week (the rest days are not fixed), from 8 am to 4 pm, with a half-hour break in between.

Before work every day, the manager would first brief which VIP guests will come to the hotel on that day, as well as some precautions. Each employee would be assigned a mobile phone to check the rooms to be cleaned and the cleaning progress. Each person needs to clean 12 to 13 rooms per day. Tthere are many details to pay attention to. Each item in the room has its angle and quantity, and there are many types of pillows and quilts.

Special experiences

 Vivian learned a lot and had many special experiences during the internship. The most important is to expand the horizons and affirm herself. While in Australia, Vivian met a lot of different people, and gradually fit in with Australians. She started to know how to get along with different people, understood what she wanted, and even discovered more possibilities of herself. She never thought that after listening to the sharing from her seniors in sophomore year, she could also study in Australia in her senior year. She could not only work in restaurants and get an internship in the hotel but also live independently in Melbourne. She discovered that she has many possibilities and that her abilities are far greater than she could imagine.

The difficulties

Although Vivian’s English scores were higher than the requirement, she still felt the language weakness when she went to Australia. When she was getting along with classmates, there were many problems with communication. Especially during the internship, she needed to report problems to the supervisor, or communicate and serve customers. If she expressed incorrectly, she might be scolded or complained.

Besides, housekeeping required a lot of physical strength and had great time pressure. She often had to do her best to finish the work on time, so she had many bruises and wounds. This is the most difficult part to adapt to at the beginning. At that time, she would sacrifice her rest time to continue cleaning. Later she found that if she didn't take a break, she would not be able to work the whole day. To improve the situation, she asked colleagues for tips. It took her almost two months to get used to working.

If you want an internship, …… 

If you have enough money, it is recommended to come to Australia. It is very special to have the experience of an internship in the hotel. It is far better than having classes. Because of ICHM’s recommendation, rookies like Vivian who have no relevant experience can also get an interview opportunity from five-star hotels, but whether people can be hired depends on themselves. Many people have been interviewed but not hired, so they changed to four-star hotels. ICHM gives students a lot of help, such as helping students to have a better resume, having mock interviews, and contacting hotels for interviews. Therefore, students can concentrate on preparing for the interview.

If anyone wants to come, it is better to finish the required credits before the internship. Junior year is the best year to go abroad so that your graduation would not be delayed. The most important is to pass the graduation requirement of the Japanese Test. Otherwise, it is easy to forget most Japanese after a year in Australia. It will be very painful to pass the examination after that time.