Why Hospitality Recruitment Is Broken
- 360° Agency Middle East
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
Why Hospitality Recruitment Is Broken Across Global Markets
Hospitality recruitment is broken because the industry still hires based on job titles and CVs instead of real skills, service standards, and human behavior. On paper, two candidates may look identical. In reality, they can deliver completely different results.
A waiter in one country may provide highly polished, guest focused service, while a waiter with the same title somewhere else may only follow basic instructions. A Chef de Partie may lead an entire section in one kitchen and simply execute orders in another.
Same job title. Same CV structure. Completely different reality.
This is one of the main reasons hospitality recruitment continues to fail across Europe, the Middle East, and other global markets.
How Job Titles and CV Based Hiring Damage Hospitality Recruitment
Job Titles Do Not Reflect Real Experience
The hospitality industry relies too heavily on titles. Restaurant manager, waiter, bartender, front office agent, Chef de Partie. These titles sound standardized, but they are not.
Service level, responsibility, pressure, and autonomy vary dramatically between countries, brands, and even venues within the same city. Yet recruitment decisions are still made as if these roles mean the same thing everywhere.
This disconnect is a core reason why hospitality recruitment is broken.
CVs Hide the Truth
CVs are easy to manipulate. Fake profiles, exaggerated responsibilities, unclear references, and overstated language skills are common problems in hospitality hiring. Many candidates are not dishonest by intention. They simply adapt their CVs to what they believe employers want to see.
Add inconsistent recruitment agencies and limited verification, and the result is predictable. Bad hires. High turnover. Lost time and money.
Why Technology Has Not Fixed Hospitality Recruitment
Technology can help hospitality recruitment, but only if it is used to create clarity, not more noise.
Today, technology is often used to process more CVs faster instead of understanding candidates better. Automated filters reject profiles without context. Databases grow larger, but quality does not improve.
This is why hospitality recruitment remains broken even with more tools than ever before.
What Hospitality Recruitment Actually Needs
Hospitality recruitment does not need more CVs.
It needs more transparency.
Better hiring outcomes happen when employers understand the person behind the title. Real experience. Real skills. Real communication ability. Cultural fit. Service mindset.
When recruitment focuses on people instead of paper, better matches follow naturally.
by Kevin Michel Joliat | Founder 360 Agency Middle East
