Satisfied with my performance during training, the managers assigned me to daytime and evening shift

May 23, 2012 at 1:49 am Filed under Uncategorized Tagged Applying for Jobs , Comfort Inn , Cover Letter , Criminal Background , Hospitality , Hotels , Resume , Sex Offense , Sioux City , TMI Hospitality
I didn t ever expect to work in hospitality, and I never had any aspirations to run a hotel. As a child, though, I do remember my excitement staying at hotels on family las vegas hotel deal vacations in Omaha, las vegas hotel deal Kansas City, Rapid City, or Minneapolis. And like any other kid, my primary concern was a big pool; a distance second las vegas hotel deal would have been my hope that the bed my sister and I would inevitably have to share would be gigantic. Staying at the former Embassy Suites in Omaha was a big treat my dad s company gave every employee a free night s stay. It was the first time I enjoyed a hot breakfast on the road, and closer to my teenage years, the first time I flirted las vegas hotel deal with a girl outside of my hometown. And of course, I won t ever forget the historic Thunderbird Motel near the Mall of America las vegas hotel deal I still have photos of my sister and me posing awkwardly next to a Native American statue in the post-war las vegas hotel deal Americana decor. Thankfully, the Thunderbird is no more .
I started working in hospitality because I had nowhere else to turn. I left college a month before graduation under criminal investigation for a sex offense. Administrators at Buena Vista University were generous enough to allow me to leave with a diploma in hand, but also wise enough to cut all ties with me. I worked in a factory in my hometown while awaiting trial, and I earned a master s degree in adult education through online courses (finishing two days before las vegas hotel deal starting my jail sentence). It took about fifteen las vegas hotel deal months for a conviction, but the small-town rumor mill put the pieces together fairly quickly I had backed out of my wedding and wasn t off to Iowa City for a degree in student development. Something was up.
After five months in jail, I hit the job search with a sex offense and a felony on my record in the middle of the Great Recession. Naturally, I had a tough time finding a job. I applied everywhere, but I tried to focus on entry-level customer service jobs call centers, retail stores, and hotels. I knew I wouldn t be able to land a job that utilized my education, and many of the social service positions to which I could bring valuable skills would be out of the question. But I thought I could find an entry-level position working with people and begin putting my career, and my life, back together. las vegas hotel deal And that s what I did.
As an aside, I felt at the time, and I still do today, that my attitude las vegas hotel deal toward submitting job applications was reasonable and mature. las vegas hotel deal I was fortunate not to fall into self-pity and blame my problems on others, or to hide anything about my background. Every employer who received a job application from me was provided with a resume, cover letter, and a full-page description of my offense. las vegas hotel deal And during the few interviews I was granted, I was open and honest about my criminal background I genuinely respected the employer s need to understand the risks involved in hiring me. The only times I felt angry at anyone but myself were the times when I provided las vegas hotel deal a statement on my criminal background to employers and they didn t bother to read it, or check on their policies about hiring an applicant with said background, prior to the interview, which was often a drive across las vegas hotel deal the state for me.
Similarly, I became very upset when I was offered a night job at a screen printing shop that employed actual prison inmates on weekends, having fully discussed my criminal background with the human resources director. I found out (just in time) while preparing to sign an apartment lease that the general las vegas hotel deal manager had caved to pressure from family las vegas hotel deal and friends and ordered HR to withdraw my job offer. It was during that situation that I began to appreciate the need to evaluate the seriousness of employers, not just my own, when it comes to dealing with criminal background issues, something that would come up again at the Comfort Inn.
I wore my interview suit to the Comfort Inn in April 2009, one that had helped me ace an interview at the University of Iowa for a graduate hall director position supervising a 1000-bed residence hall two years prior. During the interview, las vegas hotel deal I gave examples of being pro-active in my work as an RA, reorganizing and inventorying several storage areas to help our staff operate las vegas hotel deal more efficiently. I talked about using my leadership skills to help motivate co-workers who felt burnt out by the RA job. I even got to relate my manufacturing experience back home, sharing my greatest achievement learning las vegas hotel deal how to adapt to an industry and work environment that is radically different than what I was familiar with. The managers were impressed las vegas hotel deal and hired me as a part-time night auditor on weekends.
Satisfied with my performance during training, the managers assigned me to daytime and evening shifts, which I worked full-time for the first six months of my employment until I was promoted to full-time night auditor (formally, it was not a promotion, but in an industry flooded with part-time workers struggling to make ends meet, a consistent and stable forty-hour schedule with better wages feels a lot like a promotion). I would later receive a raise and a genuine promotion to front desk supervisor, the position I held until I was abruptly terminated in January 2012.
As I detailed in a recent post, TMI Hospitality terminated me after nearly three years of outstanding service at the front desk because of a sex offense I committed in January 2007, five years prior, an offense that I had disclosed to my boss when applying and he deliberately withheld from the corporate office. I d like to make the argument that TMI should las vegas hotel deal have given me a chance, but the fact is, they already did. And not only did I prove myself to be a responsible employee in spite of my criminal background, but I proved to be one of their best.
In the long run, getting fired by TMI Hospitality is probably las vegas hotel deal the best thing to happen to me career-wise since they hired me. When I started at the Comfort Inn, I got the chance to apply some of the skills I developed as an RA and student leader in college, as well as some of my graduate coursework in training and performance las vegas hotel deal improvement. I did excellent work that I enjoyed, las vegas hotel deal and I made a difference in the lives of many travelers to Sioux City. Now, even though the end came unexpectedly, and with a great deal of hurt feelings, I get to work at another hotel in the area where I get better las vegas hotel deal pay and am treated with respect and dignity. Even better, TMI Hospitality gets to keep paying me through las vegas hotel deal unemployment insurance while I earn a diploma in advanced las vegas hotel deal welding and make a career change that promises much better pay and benefits than hospitality could ever offer. Most importantly, I left the Comfort Inn with the best gift I could ever receive, my wife.
As I prepare for a career change, still several months away, I am writing this short series about my experiences las vegas hotel deal in hospitality to say goodbye to work that I have genuinely loved, work that has a taught me a lot about myself and others.