1 What to look for in job advertisements
Your analysis should begin with understanding what any job advertisement is telling you.
Below is an advert and sample analysis. It is an advert for a graduate to work as an assistant housekeeping manager in the hospitality industry. The company is fictitious. The advert is based on those for similar roles appearing each week on recruitment websites in Myanmar and contains the kind of information that is useful for demonstrating how close reading can tell you a lot about an employer’s needs.
The bracketed numbers and bold text in the advert indicate points that were considered important to understand, or remember, by the person considering applying for the post. Read the text through first without looking at the notes, then read it again noting what the applicant thought was important.
Assistant Housekeeping Manager, Mingalabar Hotel Group
Myanmar – Mandalay
Full Time
Job description
- [1] Manage the Housekeeping Department on the manager’s scheduled days off and all other times as required.
- Assists the Housekeeping Manager in maintaining quality control in all areas of the Housekeeping Department.
- [2] Supervise Laundry attendant, room attendant and public space attendant positions.
- [3] Prepare store requisition, and purchases of supplies and equipment.
- Submit requests for repair and periodic maintenance of cleaning equipment and monitor completion.
- Coordinate with vendors e.g. pest control, laundry services and other outsourced services.
- Check all housekeeping staff members have arrived and find substitutes for absent employees.
- Assists Housekeeping Manager in all areas of daily housekeeping service.
Open to
Male/Female
Job requirements
- [4] Any graduate
- At least three years experience in the housekeeping field.
- Able to use a variety of software packages including Microsoft Excel, Word and PowerPoint.
- Intermediate level in English (spoken and written).
- Good communication skills, leadership skills and effective time management skills.
About our company
[5] Mingalabar Hotel Group has been operating for over a decade and is the third largest hotel group operating in Myanmar. [6] It employs around 10,000 employees across its 25 hotel sites. [7] We are recognised as excellent trainers providing both formal training opportunities and learning on the job with a strong coaching record. We also offer a range of benefits such as freshly laundered uniforms each day, transportation to the hotel site and a group medical policy.
Assistant Housekeeping Manager notes
[1] Opportunity to learn from the Housekeeping Manager and put the learning into practice by being responsible for some of their duties when they are away (learn on the job and apply learning directly).
[2] How many staff are managed by the Housekeeping Manager?
[3] Ask what purchasing system they use, and speak about my experience of the systems I’ve used.
[4] Want a graduate but emphasise how my degree equips me best for the job.
[5] Find out more about company.
[6] Will be proud of being part of a large company.
[7] Mingalabar Hotel Group is a large employer with opportunities for promotion.
One way of learning something new is to observe what someone else does. You have seen the way someone analysed a particular advert, for example, noting the general information about Mingalabar Hotel Group, the responsibilities of the job, the skills required for the position and the opportunities for further training.
It doesn’t matter what kind of job advert you are looking at, it is this kind of detail that you need to concentrate on.
Introduction