Bond university hotel and tourism management students post graduation career preferences

The study on Bond University Hotel and Tourism Management student's career preferences consisted of secondary and primary research, which resulted in recommendations for Human Resource professionals within the hospitality and tourism industry. Secondary research conducted on global, national and local levels identified that students place a high importance on receiving opportunities for career development, receiving work challenges, earning a sufficient salary, receiving opportunities for promotion, receiving increasing responsibility and having a good relationship with their managers. The students analyzed across these studies prefer a career in hotels while working 40 - 50 hours per week in their chosen management role. The studies identified that many students look for work in higher paying industries or complete degrees in other disciplines due to the impact of the negative associations within the industry. The primary research method for this study was a survey, which was distributed during two tourism classes at Bond University. Various techniques were used to construct and analyze the surveys, such as: mixed methodology, aggregation, content analysis and pilot studies. The topics addressed in the survey included: demographics such as age, gender, relationship status and current semester, likert scales regarding general industry perceptions, specific questions on working hours and pay rates, specific questions on the career students expect to obtain and work experience observations. 12 males and 39 females completed 51 surveys with only 34 of these students wishing to pursue a career within the industry. The overall results derived from these surveys were: Most students are not affected by the negative perceptions placed on the hospitality and tourism industry, Students placed a large importance on earning a high salary, having a good relationship with their colleges, encountering challenging and flexible work and receiving opportunities for career development, Students expect to work between 41 and 50 hours per week while earning an annual salary of $41,000 - $50,000, 24 students completed a positive work experience with the primary important factors being; great employees, receiving a high level of responsibility and having the opportunity to learn about service standards, Majority of respondents wish to enter the hotel sector within the front office department in a management level role, The most popular employer of choice was the Marriott followed by the Hilton, Students wished to work in Australia or South East Asia upon graduation, 17 Students do not wish to pursue a career in the industry due to a loss of interest, other interests and the desire to study in other fields, and Students obtained their advice from hospitality and tourism professionals while university academic advisors was a last resort for career assistance Recommendations were made regarding focusing on the values of the industry that students place a high importance on, the importance of universities creating partnerships with hotel chains and supporting the trend of graduates wishing to work in the Asia- Pacific region.