Student: SINEAD

Degree: BSc Hospitality Management,

College: Dublin Institute of Technology (2010)

Work Experience: Six-month hospitality internship in Wellington, New Zealand (2009)

Reference: Article written by gradireland.com and will be featured in the gradireland Work Experience and Internships 2010 Guide.

For my third-year internship placement, I spent six months in New Zealand working in a five-star boutique hotel. Although I had no idea what I’d be doing, the experience exceeded all my expectations.

I began organising my trip towards the end of my second year (the placement began in the second semester of my third year). DIT had connections with some US resorts, but these didn’t appeal. I got in touch with Intern Options and after discussing my options with them, I decided to go to New Zealand. I found having the safety net of an organisation like Intern Options reassuring. DIT was also very supportive – no one from college had ever travelled that far for an internship although I think they will in the future.

Working in New Zealand

I’d worked in hotels before, but always in their sales and HR departments. As I was able to experience all the different departments, I developed an in-depth understanding of how a hotel is run. As well as overall inductions to the hotel, for each area I worked in I had a day of training. To begin with I worked in housekeeping – this way I got to know my way around. Then I moved to reception where I worked full-time for five months. I also worked in the restaurant whenever I could.

During my time on reception, the morning was taken up with checking guests out and keeping in contact with housekeeping staff. I also had to keep on top of the cash and tills, answer the phone, take reservations, and deal with guests checking in early. I learnt a lot – reception really is the hub of a hotel.

Accommodation and Living

I organised my own accommodation and lived in a backpackers’ hostel for the first month. Although in some ways this wasn’t ideal as I was working full time, I absolutely loved it! After a while though it was very nice to move into a flat where I didn’t have to share a room with six others!

Living away from home

The travel aspect was one of the major appeals of my internship – I visited Hong Kong and Vietnam on my way back to Ireland. For me it was about more than just the work: it was about living far away from home, trying to find my own way and learning from the experience.

If you’re interested in a Hospitality Internship in Wellington, New Zealand just like Sineads, check out the Hospitality & Tourism Internships page for more information.

Name: Kyle

University: Bournemouth University

Course: BA (Hons) Tourism Management

Currently in: Queenstown, New Zealand

For how long: 12 months

Kyle applied for a 12 month tourism internship back in April 2009.  When Kyle applied he asked Intern Options to find him a placement in the following area:

I would like the opportunity to work in one of the World’s top tourist destinations, well known for their speciality for outdoor and adventure tourism.

Well Kyle started his placement in July and he certainly is in one of the world’s top tourist destinations – Queenstown!  Queenstown is New Zealand’s adventure tourism capital and some say the adventure capital of the Southern Hemisphere.

Kyle was snapped up by the largest tourism operator in Queenstown and the largest employer in the area.  Set on a mountain overlooking the town of Queenstown you need to get in a gondola to go to work every morning.  Working here you will feel like you are working on top of the world! Some of the attractions offered are bungee jumping, luge carting, extreme swing, paraponting. Over the years we have placed many UK, USA, Canadian and even some Australian students into this operator and all (apart from one, long story…) have loved the tourism placement and Queenstown.

Kyle was joined last month by Jessica, also from Bournemouth University and we will be hearing how Jessica is getting on in Queenstown soon.

Well enough from me, I will pass you over to Kyle to give you an idea of how he is going, what it was like when he first applied and anything else that is on his mind.

For more information on the Tourism Internship programme be sure to have a read of the Tourism Internship page.

Phew, so much to think about and these are just some of the questions we get asked each day.

Not to worry though, that’s what we’re here for, to help you every step of the way.  From planning your hospitality internship, right the way through to what shoes to wear on your first day of work and how to get your tax back and a partial refund on your airfare when it’s time to hop on a plane home.

So looking ahead to 2010 and to help you plan, we will be telling you all in this series of hospitality internship articles, to answer your questions and much more.  If you have questions or concerns, feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of this page or on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/InternOptions and we can include these in the next month’s article.

We often get asked by students applying if they can hear from students who are in NZ or have finished their hospitality internships in New Zealand.  Well you ask, you get!

You will also be hearing from some of our past and present Hospitality Interns, there is a large group in New Zealand now working hard to complete their hospitality internships.  We also have a good group who have just got back from New Zealand and will be starting their final year of university with some very good experience on their CV.

To keep up to date with these students and how they are going, you can bookmark the New Zealand Internships – student bloggers page.

So some of the areas we will be covering over the next 10 months, to help you prepare for your hospitality internship are:

• Why look abroad for your hospitality internship?
• Money Matters – How much is it going to cost and how much will I earn?
• What cities will I be working in and what are they like?
• The top questions you’re parents will ask you
• Am I eligible for the hospitality internship programme?
• Internship Visa – which one and how do I apply?
• What support will I have in place?
• Accommodation – How will I find this
• Where in New Zealand will I be working

So first off; Why look abroad for your Hospitality Internship?

To answer this question we need to look at the nature of the hospitality industry.  It won’t come as a big surprise that this is an international industry based on international travellers.  Many of our students are studying international hospitality and are required to undergo their placement abroad.

New Zealand is known as a stunning holiday or tourist destination and regularly tops the UK awards for most sort after tourist destination.  With tourism being one of the top revenue earning industries, Hotels, Resorts and Restaurants are very advanced and thriving.

UK hotels today are finding it harder and harder to distinguish between hospitality graduates. Working overseas will give you a point of difference from other graduates who complete a sandwich degree in the UK and Ireland each year. Incorporating travel, culture, and practical, hands-on work experience, your time in New Zealand will not only make your CV stand out to employers but also, more importantly, will give you the life skills to shine in a job interview.

If you have to do a placement or internship as part of your qualification or as a graduate – what better place to do this than in one of the most beautiful countries in the world.

One thing you will hear from our student guest bloggers is why they chose New Zealand as the place to do their internship, so next week you will hear from the first of our UK interns in NZ.

We look forward to your comments and questions and for more information on hospitality internships see the Hospitality Internships page and also the page on New Zealand hospitality starting offers.