Receptionist Portfolio: Personal Development in Professional Settings

This portfolio presents a comprehensive exploration of a receptionist's career path, encompassing career goals, industry analysis, and personal development. The student begins by outlining their chosen career as a receptionist, providing the rationale behind the selection and analyzing a relevant job advertisement. The portfolio delves into a personal SWOT analysis, identifying strengths such as communication and project management skills, and weaknesses like procrastination and numeracy. Feedback from seniors further validates these findings. The student then discusses their current role, highlighting skills gained and future career objectives, including managing data, world tour opportunities, and securing a position at a prestigious hotel. A gap analysis identifies areas needing improvement, such as time management and numeracy, leading to the creation of a personal development plan. The portfolio provides a detailed examination of the skills, experiences, and knowledge required for success in the hospitality sector.

Portfolio
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
PART 1: CAREER GOAL..............................................................................................................3
Career choice...............................................................................................................................3
Reason and suitability of selected role.........................................................................................4
Job advertisement ........................................................................................................................5
PART 2............................................................................................................................................6
Personal SWOT analysis..............................................................................................................6
Feedback from seniors.................................................................................................................7
Current role and future career goals.............................................................................................8
PART 3............................................................................................................................................9
Gaps in skills, experience and knowledge...................................................................................9
PART 4..........................................................................................................................................10
Ways to improve knowledge required in hospitality industry...................................................10
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12
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INTRODUCTION
A process and way of assessing skills and qualities by considering goals in life is known
as personal development (Anjum, 2020). This study is going to discuss effectiveness of
receptionist and opportunities that hotel receptionist can get. It will also discuss some skills that
play a vital role in taking employment opportunities in desired field. Some skills that this study
will cover are: communication, decision making, time management, team working, ability to
managing projects with effectiveness. Further, this study will discuss some ways of improving
skills for getting employment opportunities and making suitability with job advertisement. It will
further identify skills gap in order to improve skills and getting employment opportunities in
desired field or sector and profession.
PART 1: CAREER GOAL
Career choice
Here are 3 career choice that I have and in which I am interested to enter. Here are 2 main career
choices in which I am interested but as compared to 3rd one I do not want to enter. Here are roles
and responsibilities of 2 career roles that I rejected are:
Bartender: Bartender has variety of duties and the main duty of bartenders is to serve
and prepare beverages as well as food to customers as per their demands. As per the demand and
request of different tastes of customers, bartenders also need to garnish and mix cocktails and
non-alcoholic beverages. The main responsibility of bartenders is to make customers happy by
providing them beverages by preparing as per their needs and tastes (Corvino and Pirni, 2021).
It becomes important for bartenders to remain professional and not enjoying parties if
their friends and relatives come. They have to perform their duty, professionally. People at bars
keep eyes on bartenders so, it is the reason they have to be professional.
The reason of not selecting this job is respect. People at bars do not give respect to bartenders.
After having drinks and alcohol, they do not remain in their senses and they sometimes
abuse to bartenders and bartenders have to remain calm and polite with all customers. So, it is
the reason of not selecting this role.
Waitress: Waitress also have to play several roles and sometimes it becomes difficult to
manage different background and needs of customers. The main role and responsibility of
waitress is to take orders and serving food as well as beverages to guests and customers. In
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hotels, restaurants, waitress are considered the main key of success because they are the one who
interact and provide services to guests (Hasbrouck, 2018). Along with this, they also need to
make sure that customers are enjoying their meals and accordingly they need to take action.
Being a waiter is not an easy task as waitress have to work on weekends for longer hours.
If guests come late then hotel manager cannot deny them to come and enjoy meals. Most of the
restaurants do not provide perks and extra benefits like benefits from sick days, medical
insurance and others. so, it is the reason of not selecting this role.
Reason and suitability of selected role
Receptionist: I have selected role of receptionist because I am interested in it. I love to
interact with different needs and cultures of people. Some main roles of receptionist are: greeting
guests, booking meetings, forwarding and answering phone calls, sorting posts, arranging
couriers and making sure that guests are happy and satisfied with services given by the hotel and
company (Belshaw and et.al., 2018).
This role is the most suitable in hotels and by becoming receptionist I can apply in any
sector or field. I can gain knowledge and improve relation with different cultures of customers. I
also believe that by going ahead and entering in this field I can take several opportunities like
chance to travel the world, sponsored by hotel on the basis of performance.
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Job advertisement
Immediate vacancies
RECEPTIONIST
Due to the continued growth and expansion within Chewton Glen Hotel and Spa we are
currently recruiting for the following position:
Job title: Receptionist
Location: England
Our client is one of the leading group of company in hotel trade and looking for highly
motivated individuals with experience working in a fast-paced. We provide excellent career
opportunities for successful candidates. Per year salary for receptionist will be £19500.
Requirements
At least 2 years of experience in the same field.
Effective communication skill.
Good command in English
Computer and numerical literacy
Public relation skills
Age should be between 20-30
Education
Minimum requirement: graduation
Interested applicants may send their resume to [e-mail]
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PART 2
Personal SWOT analysis
For knowing suitability with job advertisement, it is important to identify own skills,
strengths and weaknesses. SWOT tool is known an effective way of identifying both strengths
and weakened areas. The main reason of analyzing own strengths and using this tool is to
improve skills for getting employment opportunity as receptionist in Chew ton Glen Hotel and
Spa. MY strengths and weaknesses that I have identified by analyzing and working in previous
company are:
Strengths:
 An effective communication skill is the main strength. This skills and ability can make
able in performing roles of receptionist. For interacting with customers and makes them
feel satisfied it is important to have better communication skill.
 Other main strength that is identified by analysis is strong project management skill. This
skill can also make me able as a receptionist to perform tasks with effectiveness and take
opportunities based on it (Yaduvanshi, Sharma and More, 2019).
 Experience as a hotel receptionist is other main skill that can also help in getting
employment opportunity in Chewton Glen Hotel and Spa. It can also help in career
development by providing promotional opportunities.Hirdes, J.P. and et.al.,
2020Bowling, N.A., Wagner, S.H. and Beehr, T.A., 2018Ahn, H.S. and et.al.,
2019,Trovato, G. and et.al., 2017PLANNING, C., 2018
Weaknesses:
 The biggest weakness that can create barriers in the path of success and getting
employment opportunity as a receptionist is tendency to procrastination. It can delay in
work or task submission.
 Numeracy and maintaining data to the great extent is other weakness and I need to work
on it immediately as it is must for working effectively as a receptionist.
Opportunities
 With the help of communication I can improve relation with customers.
 I can take career development and promotional opportunities with project management
skill (Astuti, Ginaya and Sadguna, 2018).
 Opportunity of world tour by improvising performance with the help of skills.
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Threats
 Increasing competition in hotel industry and availability of skilled candidates is the main
threat.
So, on the basis of above discussed strengths and weaknesses, I can say that I meet job
requirements as per the given job advertisement to the great extent. There are some areas on
which I need to focus such as: time management and numeracy skills. Managing data online and
analyzing them for taking better decisions. For improving these skill I will need to make personal
development plan. It is an effective plan that can help in improving skills as it suggests better
resources and tools along with time period of accomplishing goals. Overall, on the basis of
analysis
Feedback from seniors
For knowing about my own strengths and weaknesses and making sure that I am going
on the right track, skills and weaknesses that I analyzed from self evaluation is right or not, I
asked some questions from 5 people such as:
1. According to you which skill do you like the most?
I received positive answers from my previous hotel's manager and he said that I have
good communication skill. I do not hesitate in interacting with customers of different background
and culture. They also said that the reason of increasing rate of customers with trust and loyalty
is all because of my communication skill (Hirdes and et.al., 2020).
2. According to you in which area I need to improve for better performance?
This question was asked with my ex colleagues and they said that time-management is
the area in which I need to focus the most. They also said that due to procrastination and not
prioritizing work I suffered. They also suggested that delay in submission in projects can make
people depressed at workplace. It can also affect future goals and both personal and professional
life. So, it is the main area in which I need to improve the most.
3. According to you what is my strength?
When I ask question from my friends then they said that my ability to work under
pressure and empathy is my skill They said that ability to understand human behavior makes me
better person in personal life.
4. According to you what is my main achievement?
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When I asked this question from my HR manager then he said that getting promotional
opportunity and performance appraisal within 3 months after joining hotel was my main
achievement.
5. How can I better get involved and improve myself as a receptionist?
You just need to focus on time management as due to procrastination, it affects
performance and productivity.
Overall it can be said that majority of answers were positive and it shows that I need to improve
on some areas in order to boost confidence.
Current role and future career goals
Currently I am working with Hotel Indigo Chester as a receptionist and I have developed
several skills while working here. I believe that working practically is better than learning skills
and gaining knowledge with theories. While working with this hotel. I came to know about
importance of having active listening skill. It is important for receptionist of listening to
customers' needs and queries. Active listening improves image and have great impression on
customers. It boosts confidence and help in improving performance. It also increased problem
solving skill (Bowling, Wagner and Beehr, 2018). It becomes important for receptionist to take
better decision and this is associated with problem solving. Better problem solving skills can
help in taking better decision and it can makes people stressed free at workplace.
On the other hand, while working with this hotel as a receptionist, I found that I am not
good in time management skill and the main reason behind this is procrastination. It is important
for receptionist to reduce procrastination and by prioritizing works completing all tasks in a
timely manner. Overall, it can be said that current role as a receptionist increased my knowledge
and skills to the great extent. There are some goals that I need to accomplish in the future:
1. To manage online data of around 5000 people.
2. To get opportunity of world tour on the basis of performance.
3. To become the best receptionist and getting employment opportunity in Hilton hotel.
4. To increase sales of hotel up to 20% by attracting and retaining customers.
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PART 3
Gaps in skills, experience and knowledge
From the above analysis I found some gap between my own skills and requirements of
job advertisement for receptionist in well-known Chewton Glen Hotel and Spa. As per the job
requirements, individual mush have communication skill, better time management, relationship
management skills, It is also important to have numeracy skills and good command in English.
From self analysis, I found that I am having good communication skills but lacking behind in
time management and numeracy skills.
For completing tasks of Chewton Glen Hotel and Spa, it is important to have better time
management. It is well known hotel of England and perform several functions such as
interacting with customers, dealing with their queries, maintaining relationship and others. So, on
the basis of this skill gap, I need to make PDP and make use of better resources and tools. In
regard to experience, as per the job requirement, individual should have at least 2 years of
experience as a receptionist in same field and currently I am working with this Hotel Indigo
Chester for 2.5 years. So, I can say that on the basis of experience I can meet job requirements
and can get employment opportunities in this Chew-ton Glen Hotel and Spa (Ahn and et.al.,
2019). I need to identify appropriate ways and strategies of improving skills in which gap has
been identified. PDP and support of superiors and mentors can help in increasing all these skills
and filling this skill gap.
Opportunities identified in university: While studying in university. I learned several
skills and by participating in some seminars I gained knowledge. Some skills that I learned while
studying in university are: team working and communication. I knew at that time that I love to
talk and interact with others and for reducing public speaking fear I took initiation and
participated in group discussion. I believe that these skills can help me out in getting
employment opportunity in my desired sector and in my desired profession that is receptionist.
For becoming an effective receptionist, there is requirement of having communication and team
working.
Importance of resource available on digital library: Electronic information resources
play a vital role as it can help in increasing skills and knowledge. I made use of some digital
library resources such as: online library catalogue, E-journals, E-books, search engine. All these
helped me out in gathering information related to my desired profession. I came to know about
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etiquette and skills that an effective receptionist in hotel require. On the basis of that information,
I improved myself in a manner and I believe that all searched and gathered information made me
able in increasing all these skills that are now my strengths.
Opportunities from SWOT: Some opportunities that I identified from self evaluation
are: promotional, improved relations with customers and others, improved image and world tour.
All these opportunities can boost my confidence and can make me self motivated. Self
motivation also plays a vital role in improving skills and career development (Trovato and et.al.,
2017).
Ways to decrease threats: Some threats that have been identified by SWOT are:
competition and increasing number of skilled workforce. I believe that due to lack of availability
of jobs, people strive hard and it is increasing competition. So, I will focus on improving my
skills and will require to make my self the best and specialist in this profession so that I can get
employment opportunities easily. It can be done with the help of supervisors, manager and
mentors.
PART 4
Ways to improve knowledge required in hospitality industry
For becoming the best receptionist in Chewton Glen Hotel and Spa, it is important of
having some soft and transferable skills. Some weaknesses and skills gaps that identified in self
evaluation and analysis are: time management skill, lack of numeracy skills. Both these skills can
be developed by producing PDP (PLANNING, 2018). It can help in developing skills in better
manner as it suggests appropriate resources such as:
Skills need to be improved Resources Time frame
Time management Some time management tools
are available in the market
such as Trello and time camp.
By prioritizing tasks and
practising, time management
skills can be improved.
5-6 months
Numeracy and technological By taking extra class where, 3-4 months
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numeracy and technology skill
s can be taught, I can improve
this skill.
CONCLUSION
It has been summarized from the above study that employ ability skills such as
communication, problem solving, team working and decision making play a vital role. It helps in
getting employment opportunities in desired field and profession. Further, it has discussed
effectiveness or reasons of using SWOT analysis and how it helps in knowing own
skills,strengths and weaknesses. On the basis of analyses strengths and weaknesses appropriate
ways can be taken for filling skills gaps. It has then shown the best strategy and tools by which
knowledge required in hospitality sector can be gained.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
Ahn, H.S. and et.al., 2019, October. Hospital Receptionist Robot v2: Design for Enhancing
Verbal Interaction with Social Skills. In 2019 28th IEEE International Conference on
Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN) (pp. 1-6). IEEE.
Anjum, S., 2020. Impact of internship programs on professional and personal development of
business students: a case study from Pa
Astuti, N.N.S., Ginaya, G. and Sadguna, I.G.A.J., 2018, October. A Hotel Front Desk
Receptionist and Catur Paramita Values: A Study of Implementing Local Wisdom in
Hospitality Industry. In 1st International Conference on Social Sciences (ICSS 2018) (pp.
479-484). Atlantis Press.
Belshaw, Z. and et.al., 2018. Owner and veterinary surgeon perspectives on the roles of
veterinary nurses and receptionists in relation to small animal preventive healthcare
consultations in the United Kingdom. Veterinary Record. 183(9). pp.296-296.
Bowling, N.A., Wagner, S.H. and Beehr, T.A., 2018. The facet satisfaction scale: An effective
affective measure of job satisfaction facets. Journal of Business and Psychology. 33(3).
pp.383-403.
Corvino, F. and Pirni, A., 2021. Discharging the moral responsibility for collective unjust
enrichment in the global economy. THEORIA: An International Journal for Theory,
History and Foundations of Science. 36(1). pp.139-158.
Hasbrouck, H.L., 2018. The American Diner Waitress: An autoethnographic study of the
icon (Doctoral dissertation, Goldsmiths, University of London).
Hirdes, J.P. and et.al., 2020. The Seniors Quality Leap Initiative (SQLI): An international
collaborative to improve quality in long-term care. Journal of the American Medical
Directors Association. 21(12). pp.1931-1936.
PLANNING, C., 2018. Personal Development Plan.
Saffari, M., Sanaeinasab, H., Rashidi-jahan, H., Alipour, K. and Khalaji, K., 2020. Evaluation of
an Education program to Improve Communication Skills among Clinic Receptionists in
Baqiyatallah Hospital. Journal of Military Health Promotion. 1(1). pp.22-31.
Trovato, G. and et.al., 2017. A receptionist robot for Brazilian people: study on interaction
involving illiterates. Paladyn, Journal of Behavioral Robotics. 8(1). pp.1-17.
Yaduvanshi, D., Sharma, A. and More, P., 2019. Application of queuing theory to optimize
waiting-time in hospital operations. Operations and Supply Chain Management: An
International Journal. 12(3). pp.165-174.
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