Recruiting Abroad, Dinner in an Igloo…. “Learning & Growing” @ Hyatt
Editor’s Note: This piece was written by Brook Luedke, one of our College Recruiting Managers. – Enjoy!
At least twice a year, every Hyatt employee has the opportunity to formally discuss their individual development goals with their manager. During one of my discussions, I expressed my interest in recruiting internationally for Hyatt. As one of our company’s College Recruiters, I currently travel to colleges across the United States selecting Corporate Management Trainees and Interns. I thought the experience of recruiting abroad would expand my knowledge and give me an opportunity to continue learning more about recruiting.
I’ve worked for Hyatt for twelve years and know our company believes in supporting an employee’s desire to learn and grow. Luckily my Spring 2011 recruiting schedule in the United States allowed for me to travel to Switzerland and have the opportunity to participate in an international career fair. This was an opportunity that I had been hoping for, and it was right in front of me. Not only would I get to attend the International Recruiting Forum (IRF), but I would also have the opportunity to meet fellow colleagues from Hyatt International. Goal….reached!
I booked my trip to have a direct flight from NYC to Zurich, even though I wasn’t looking forward to an eight hour flight, I also did not want to encounter any delays. So, I arrived at 8 AM Zurich time on a Saturday. My thought process was to stay up when I got there and try to adjust to the time change…..I should have consulted others first. I was fine until about 6 PM when I feel fast asleep in my Grand bed at the Park Hyatt Zurich.
The time came to meet my Hyatt International peers at the train station on Sunday afternoon. This is where the nerves set in…would we all get along? Would they already have a bond and know each other? Would I meet them in the right place, since everything is in German, and I don’t speak any?? These were all the questions swirling around in my head. I was spending the next three days with these individuals, and of course wanted to make a great impression. I made it on time, and in the right place that Sunday. From there, it was natural, as I should have known it would be with the Hyatt family. Over the next three days, I had the opportunity to build friendships with Human Resource Directors from Dubai, Moscow, Paris, and Zurich.
The IRF put together a great program of events for us while we were there! On Sunday evening, they hosted a reception for the recruiters in Montreux. The following day each company had an opportunity to give a presentation on their organization and then it was off to interview until almost 5 PM.
Our program stated that we had pre-arranged plans for Monday evening, but it was a surprise. We were told to be in the lobby no later than 5:15 PM and to dress warm. Of course this peaked our interest, and we tried to get information out of anyone we spoke to with IRF, but not many knew the plans. When we stepped outside, there were helicopters waiting for us and we were told that would be our transportation to our event. What? A helicopter ride?!? No one in our group had ever been in a helicopter before and we were so excited….there may have even been a few screams! I was thinking to myself the entire time, “I am in Switzerland and I get to take a helicopter ride all in the same trip?!? This is crazy, I have to text my mom! ”
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