How to Write Resumes for the Travel Industry
A resume is a one-page overview of your professional history: work experience, education and other qualifications. When applying for jobs in the travel industry, be sure that your resume highlights your range of experience and years working in travel. Because the travel world is a competitive one, target each item on your resume to relate directly to the responsibilities of the open position to create an immediate connection in the mind of the employer.
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Instructions
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Create a Professional Overview section. List the highlights of your career and travel experience. Take your cues from the open job posting, and highlight items that demonstrate that you fit the requirements. Include any degrees in hospitality or international communications, a statement of the number of years you've worked in the travel business, and any certifications you have, such as coursework from the National Business Travel Association. Format the list with each statement in a bullet point to make it easy to read. Add a bullet that describes your personal travel experience to demonstrate your understanding of the audience.
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Create a Work Experience section. List your last three to five positions in the travel industry, beginning with the most recent. Include the name of the position, the years of employment, and a bulleted list of your job duties and responsibilities. Target each statement to relate to the duties of the open position. When describing a cruise ship job, you might write, "Worked directly with on-board passengers to ensure satisfaction and comfort." This demonstrates experience with in-person customer service, which can translate to almost all travel jobs.
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Create a section called Industry Experience. List skills that relate to travel positions. Jobs in the travel industry often involve directing and assisting customers in the selection of activities, such as rock climbing, water sports, hiking or off-road tours. If you have firsthand experience in such activities, you will be better able to serve the customers, List your years of experience and level of expertise for each activity. If you do not have experience in outdoor activities, use other examples, such as extensive travel, language skills or experience leading tours.
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Create a brief Education section. Positions in the travel industry focus on experience, but many require a university degree for consideration. List the name of the degree, the university and the date of graduation for each degree.
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Close with References. Often overlooked, your references can be the difference between getting the job and losing it. Quality references are particularly important for travel positions that involve considerable interaction with guests, such as cruise ship jobs or resort positions. Because they rely on personality and confidence, which are difficult to convey on paper, a reference that can speak to your interpersonal abilities can give you the edge over other candidates. For each reference, list the name, professional title, relationship to you, phone, email and mailing address.
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