Our hunt for potential recruits!

By Melissa Chauvet

The Workaway team has been hard at work for the past few weeks, marketing the program, distributing flyers and approaching numerous restaurants, hotel schools and varsities for potential candidates to join our upcoming season.

I’d like to urge suitable candidates to take this opportunity with both hands and attend one of our remaining presentations. The outcome of these presentations has been amazing thus far, and we’ve met some great candidates along the way.  There are still a few more presentations coming up over the next few weeks – you can find all these details on our website if you were unable to attend prior sessions.

Word of mouth has also brought a lot of great applicants forward, if you know of anyone currently in the hospitality industry that could be interested in the program please direct them to our next presentation.

If you are interested in attending a presentation and are excited to apply to the program, don’t delay!  We’re still looking for great candidates with hospitality experience – for example, chefs who have been working in the kitchen for two years, or servers who have been working for at least three months.  While not all our positions require experience, most of them do and this will to put you in a favourable position for our program!

Although the country clubs train their staff, having background knowledge about the hospitality industry is a great advantage.

So come and see for yourselves what a great opportunity Workaway International has to offer.  It can help you take your experience to the next level, internationally!

Interview Tips and Pointers for potential recruits!

By Dayne Swanepoel

With the Workaway interviews coming to an end, signalling the start of the Country Club interviews at the end of July, I thought it would be useful to help all the potential recruits prepare as much as possible for the final hurdle!

I've taken this opportunity to put together a few useful tips and pointers for the final Country Club interviews because I know just as well as you do that first impressions really do matter…

First of all you need be there on time! Make sure you are there early to avoid any unforeseen circumstances. I understand that life “sometimes happens” and there are unavoidable situations, but take those situations out of the equation and get there 20-30 minutes in advance.

When you arrive for your interview, ensure that you look the part. You should look smart, neat and presentable. My advice is to avoid hoodies, jeans and caps, brush your hair and clip your nails. You are interviewing at one of the top 100 country clubs in America, so dress the part, look good and smell good. For men, stick to a tie and a smart shirt with suit pants (suit is not a bad option at all), for woman, any formal clothing will do.

Do your research on the Country Club you’re interviewing for as you may be asked questions about that specific club and why you’d like to work there. You should know what you can expect if you make it through, as well as what the Country Club has to offer, both of which will illustrate confidence and interest.  Try to ask questions about the position and Country Club, which demonstrates enthusiasm and eagerness.

Stay calm and use that opportunity to show off your personality in your interview. You only have one opportunity to stand out, so don’t be shy or nervous. I understand nerves are unavoidable, but be confident and make sure you know what you are talking about. Show who you are and what you have to offer the Country Club – they will always go for the candidate with a great attitude and less experience as opposed to someone who has tons of experience and a really bad attitude. A good attitude counts for a lot!

Spend time practising answers to questions that you think they may ask you. There is no guaranteed set of interview questions, but a few that usually crop up are listing your strengths and weaknesses, and why you think you would suit the job. Always keep an open mind when answering questions that require you to think out the box and show your personality. Try use real life situations as examples wherever possible.

Lastly, always remain authentic because interviewers can pick up when you aren't being sincere. Remain focused, confident and attentive - body language is important so don’t slouch, stare into the distance, check your phone or show bad habits like biting your nails.  Most importantly, remember to SMILE!