How Event Jobs Can Help You Develop Transferable Skills While You Study By Marlowe Bennett

Careers in hospitality can be so varied and there are endless opportunities to learn and grow.

Get inspired! Start your hospitality

career with us.

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Passion, dedication and motivation can take you far in your career – even if you’re studying something unrelated to hospitality – there’s an array of transferable skills you can pick up in the field and apply to almost any industry. Here’s one great example...

Meet Chris Williams, previous

BENCHMARQUE casual and

current Bar Lead at The Star’s Event Centre.

We caught up with him to understand more about his experience working in the industry, his thirst for bartending, and his dream to own and run his own small bar.

You were initially employed at BENCHMARQUE as a casual, what attracted you to work in events??

I had worked previously as a waiter in a small family run restaurant and really enjoyed it, but it was when I started studying at university that I needed to find a job that could not only fit in with my studies, but also one that I liked doing.

A casual role with BENCHMARQUE was able to provide me with the flexibility I needed to study while also giving me the opportunity to work in an industry that I wanted to learn more about.

You are now currently working as a Bar Lead, what are some of the main day-to-day duties??

I look after all aspects of the bar. This doesn’t just mean running it when events are on, it includes training the new employees, teaching them how to mix the different drinks that we offer and being the team’s point of contact if there are any issues or concerns.

I love it as I not only get the opportunity to do my own thing with creating drinks but I am also able to teach the newbies some of the skills I have learned over the years and help them grow into becoming better bartenders.

What kind of personality traits do you think are essential in order to work in events??

You have to be confident in yourself. This is the primary trait I think you need to be able to work in any part of hospitality.

You also have to want to be there, you have to be motivated and you have to be dedicated enough to practice your skills so you can continually provide quality service.

The industry’s standards are only getting higher and the customer’s expectations are following, so your skills and level of service has to improve with it.

What do you think is the most exciting part about working in events? ?

100% the big A-list events!

I have been lucky enough to work at a lot of exciting events. My favourite so far would have to be the ARIA Awards. I had the opportunity to serve and meet James Blunt and Ed Sheeran, and they even went out of their way to thank me for the work I was doing.

What have you found to be the most challenging part about working in the hospitality industry??

There are good days and bad days in every job, and I think it’s important to learn that not every event or service is going to run perfectly.

One of the biggest challenges in this industry I think is learning to put your personal feelings aside when things go wrong. Learning how to solve problems and get on with the job is a valuable skill that can definitely be applied outside of the hospitality industry.

During your time working in hospitality, have you noticed any major changes and/or trends within the industry??

People are becoming more and more knowledgeable and educated about the products, produce and service they expect.

The experience of fine dining isn’t a rare outing for most now, and because of that the standard of service expected from even casual restaurants is now high.

Both hospitality staff and venues need to keep evolving and learning new skills in order to keep up with expectations of their customers.

What’s the best piece of advice you could give to somebody starting out in a similar role in the industry??

The best pieces of advice I would give to anybody starting out in the industry would be to:

• Not take things too personally, and

• Never be afraid to ask questions

If you don’t know how to do something, or if you are unsure of a customer request, then don’t be afraid to ask the question.

A lot of the skills you learn along the way are because of the questions you ask. Practice makes perfect. If you always try your hardest, then you can’t fail.

What are your plans now that you are coming close to finishing your Forensic Science degree? ?

My passion lies with hospitality. It has always been a dream of mine to open a small bar in Sydney and I hope to make that into a reality in the next few years. It will be a secondary job to my Forensic Science career, but I love hospitality and I love creating drinks and the bar environment.

The skills that I learned during my time as a bar lead, will absolutely help me turn my dream of owning and running a bar into a reality.

The team leadership, time management and customer service skills Chris has learnt over the years from working in hospitality will be crucial in helping him achieve his dream of opening his own bar.

What’s your dream?

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