JOHOR BARU: Hoteliers here are puzzled by a discrepancy when hiring suitable candidates to work in their establishments.
Candidates submit what appears to be well-composed letters of application to fill advertised vacancies, and attached to resumes whose details are nicely spelled out.
However, when job seekers turn up for a personal interview, the disparity between their application and their oral presentation is too obvious to ignore.
In an interview, GBW Hotel (formerly known as Grand Bluewave Hotel) assistant manager for advertising and promotion, Sutha Menon, shed light on the discrepancy.
She said: “We receive quite a number of applications every month for vacancies that we advertise.”
She explained that the hotel then makes a shortlist.
“The job seekers' applications and resumes are then scrutinised and suitable candidates are called for interview,” she explained.
According to Sutha, this is the stage when the disparity between error-free applications and their oral presentations become too stark to dismiss.
She was particularly struck by the verbal presentation of one applicant whose English was so broken that her error-free written application was rendered suspect.
The job seeker compounded matters by requesting “Boleh saya bercakap dalam Bahasa Malaysia?” (Can I speak in Bahasa Malaysia?)
Of course, the candidate failed the interview, leaving hoteliers highly sceptical of the authenticity of job seekers' written applications.
“What more when they even find difficulty filling in the job application form.
“However, we are not that discouraging as to reject them outright. We offer them another position in the hotel where we can then train them for job they had initially applied for,” she said.
Invariably, according to Sutha, the applicants accept the offer because they want the job badly and are willing to learn.
Relating an episode that purportedly showed how vital English proficiency was in the hospitality industry, Sutha said there was an occasion when a couple was dining at the hotel's coffee house and when they had finished their meal, a trainee waiter came up to them.
"The trainee waiter inquired of the guests, 'You finished already, ah?'
"What the waiter should have said was, 'Are you done with your meal, sir, madam?'”
Sutha pointed out that English language proficiency is a definite advantage in the hospitality trade.
Tan Ai Lee, general manager of New York Hotel, concurred, saying that language skills are a huge bonus in the trade.
“They are particularly useful if you want to work in the hospitality sector where your knowledge of languages is useful on an in-person, day-to-day basis,” she said.
She added that knowing an extra language can benefit careers in the long term, too.
“If you speak English, Bahasa Malaysia, Tamil or Mandarin, for example, then there could be operations and management opportunities for you to advance to a more senior level, such as in customer liaison or in relationship management roles,” she said.
She added that good oral and written English communication skills are a top requirement in the hospitality industry.
“It doesn’t matter whether you are a housekeeper or a manager, it is almost guaranteed that you will be expected to have not only a passive understanding of English, but also confidence in actively using it,” she added.
Universiti Utara Malaysia senior English Language lecturer, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hariharan N. Krishnasamy said communication in English is always considered an important skill that employers value in the hospitality industry.
He stressed that hotel employees' constant interaction with guests is one area of managerial concern, as the quality of interaction can influence guests' overall perception of the hotel's image.
“It is vital for a trainee to undergo regular training programs or engage in continuous development so that they communicate effectively,” he said, adding that a lack of English language skills can be
detrimental to career advancement, impedes communication and affects work performance.
