If you want a job that will let you unleash your creativity, there are several hospitality roles that may be a good fit. You can find creative jobs across many departments. What these positions have in common is that they present you with open-ended challenges, they call on you to bring fresh ideas to your work, and they provide opportunities to develop your ideas and apply them.
Social media campaigns that are unique and clever get a lot more buzz than the same old press releases reformatted for Facebook. As a social media director, you’ll create hashtags, dream up social media challenges for guests and team members to participate in, and spark a positive conversation about your company online. It’ll help if you’re able to transform familiar memes to support your company’s message and to adapt your approach to the latest platforms and trends.
An executive chef is typically in charge of developing menus, creating one-of-a-kind dishes, and overseeing the culinary side of a restaurant or group of restaurants. In addition to creative flair, executive chefs need strong business skills because it’s also their responsibility to procure ingredients and make sure offerings are profitable. Executive chefs train and supervise other professionals who work with them in the kitchen, so they should be comfortable communicating their creative vision.
A sales manager needs to find creative ways to solve clients’ problems and address their pain points. And it takes creativity to grab prospects’ attention and keep them interested in learning more about what your company offers. Sales managers should also have stellar communication skills and the ability to respond to customers’ objections or complaints without ruffling any feathers. Good number sense is useful in this role, because you need to understand performance metrics and sales targets, and you should be able to calculate quotes for clients.
Marketing managers lead campaigns to build awareness of their company and attract guests. They should be adept brainstormers who can develop catchy messaging and find new ways to inform potential guests of their property’s best features. Marketing campaigns often aim to be innovative, so this role requires generating lots of original ideas and being willing to think outside the box. Marketing managers are typically skilled collaborators who are at ease accepting feedback and incorporating colleagues’ contributions into their work.
Event managers plan and oversee events, banquets, and other happenings. They need to be creative to think up fun possibilities to make events special, and also to find solutions to any challenges or delays that may arise before the big day. To be a successful event manager, it will help if you’re a master organizer, focused on details, and comfortable with multitasking, because any event has lots of moving parts that managers need to keep track of.
It’s the job of a director of programming to design activities and attractions for their property that are welcoming, inclusive, and fun. In this role, you’ll create a schedule of programs that reflects the seasons and incorporates holidays and special events. You’ll also reach out to the community, and you may collaborate with local creatives and cultural groups. A director of programming should have excellent organizational and planning skills, cultural literacy, and a talent for identifying activities that will resonate with diverse guests.
A brand director crafts the theme and feel of a brand and sets the standards that differentiate it from other brands in a company’s portfolio and from competitors. In this role, you need both creative vision and the ability to communicate effectively and convey your brand’s characteristics to colleagues in marketing, sales, and other departments. You also need analytic skills such as data visualization and confidence with business statistics so you can monitor your brand’s performance.
Ski instructor/surf instructor
You’ll need to be creative to succeed at teaching skiing, surfing, or other skills to guests. You may have limited time to introduce guests to the basics of a sport, and using your imagination can help you connect with your students quickly and keep them focused on your lessons. You’ll also probably find that guests are more engaged when you teach in an innovative way, and originality can boost your reputation as a sought-after instructor at resorts. Working as an instructor calls for excellent social skills, patience, careful attention to safety standards, and of course, knowledge of the skill you’re teaching.