Career on Fire: How to Have A Blazing Hospitality Career

It’s undeniable that the hospitality industry is one of the best industries for leading an exciting and adventurous career. Theresa Lynette, the author of Career on Fire: Your Blazin’ Roadmap to an Amazing Career, gives insight on how to create the career of your dreams. Whether you’re just starting out or a seasoned professional, Theresa Lynette outlines a six‑step process to ignite a career you love. Here are some of our favorite points from Career on Fire.

1) Know Yourself

“When you are living according to your core values, you start to feel stronger and you start to feel empowered—it is then that you really start to believe.” According to Theresa Lynette, one of the first steps in maximizing your career is understanding yourself. Identifying and being in alignment with your core values and goals are key to understanding where you want to go in your career. By understanding what motivates you, you’ll be able to cultivate the most fulfilling career for yourself. Next, you’ll want to take some time to identify your core values. Core values are essentially the fundamental beliefs that you choose to live by. Whether your core values are discipline, excellence, trust or honesty, you’ll begin to think and make decisions based on those values. Identifying these key values will help you start to view and respond to your environment in a whole new light, ultimately helping to guide you on the career path of your dreams.

2) Your Professional Packaging

A saying you may have heard before is “You have to dress for the job you want, not the job you have.” In such a competitive industry, it’s so important to ensure that your packaging stands out from the crowd. Beyond the way you dress, you should be cognizant of your overall presentation (physical and in‑person) to give yourself a competitive advantage. Also, consider your work experience and education when seeking new career opportunities. Does your experience align with the career you’re seeking? If not, what steps can you take to align yourself with your dream career.

3) Know Your Options

“You have an inner compass set to the frequency of success.” When building your ideal career, it’s important to not allow your limiting beliefs to hinder you from seeking exactly what you want in your career. Author Theresa Lynette explains “Limiting beliefs are those beliefs that you have formed about the world around you that constrain you.” By understanding that your thoughts have a direct impact on your reality, you can truly take control of your life and build the career that you’ve always dreamed of.

Once you’ve acknowledged limiting beliefs, you can then take inventory of the skills that you possess to go after the position of your dreams. Typically, the career of your dreams may include encompassing certain skillsets or experiences in order to land the position. So, take a moment to identify your passions, talents or interests in order to determine which career path may be the best fit for you. Career options will begin to present themselves once you change your thinking, identify your vision and hone in on your goals.

4) Ignite

A dream without action is just that, a dream. Once you’ve taken steps to identify your core values, understand your skills and identify your options, it’s time to get going! While this may seem daunting, you can develop an action plan with simple and measurable action items to keep you on your path to success. You can implement the SMART goal‑setting technique (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time‑Bound) to help you create a realistic plan to achieve your goals. Each of these elements work together to help you develop goals that are specific to your wildest dreams, yet not out of reach. Consider writing down your goals and revisiting them as often as needed to stay on track and remind yourself of why you started in the first place.

Let these points serve as reminder that it’s never too late to obtain your dream career or create the life that you’ve always envisioned. If you’d like to learn more, be sure to pick up a copy of Theresa Lynette’s Career on Fire: Your Blazin’ Roadmap to an Amazing Career to launch the career of your dreams!