How to Write a First Job Resume for Tourism

Tourism jobs encompass a wide variety of positions. People who work in tourism may be travel agents, ticket salespeople, cruise ship or hotel employees or timeshare sales professionals. Many of these positions are entry level and are sought-after first jobs for students and young adults recently out of college. Tourism jobs offer excitement, variety, flexibility and a chance to make better money than other first jobs. Here is how to create a resume that can help you get your foot in the door in the tourism industry.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Put your name and contact information at the top of your resume. Your name should be in slightly bigger type than the rest of the text, so that it stands out and catches the eye. Consider putting your name in caps, or using bold type to highlight it.
2. Write your career goals. This should be the first section of your resume, and should be no longer than five to six lines. This section should state why you want a first job in the tourism industry, what a prospective employer can hope to gain by hiring you, where you see yourself in the industry in five to 10 years and how you plan to get there.
3. Tell prospective employers about any relevant experience you may have, such as volunteer work, coordinating a school field trip or helping others plan their vacations. Include this information in a bulleted list and write down the dates and places where you gained these experiences.
4. Write in a section that lists any training courses or certifications you have. Such training may help you get a better first job. Examples may be a travel agent training course or having earned a real estate license for selling timeshares.
5. Create a section titled "Other Skills." This section needs to be a bulleted list naming any non-tourism skills you have that would help you in a tourism job. These kinds of skills could be good interpersonal skills, exceptional dependability or the ability to operate office machines such as copiers, fax machines and computers.
6. Include a section title "Education." List all schools you attended, the dates you attended them and include any degree, diploma or designation you received upon completion. If you have a travel and tourism-related degree from college, bump this section up to the top of your resume where it can attract the attention it deserves.
7. List any academic awards or honors you have received in the "Education" section.

Tips & Warnings

• While the majority of tourism jobs provide on-the-job training, a few positions, such as travel agent and timeshare sales professional, require special skills or certification. If you want to work in a job that requires advanced preparation, apply to work in a different position for that employer, such as a receptionist or an assistant, then see if the employer will sponsor you to get the certification and training classes you need to qualify for the job you really want.

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