Seeing a gap in the market back in 2011, Olivier Bracard and Carl Julien started Hosco as a fully online hospitality recruitment service. Fast forward to 2019 and Hosco is the leading hospitality network, supporting professionals and connecting them with employers worldwide. But where does such a disruptive and innovative force in recruitment get its own talent? Les Roches, of course.
We caught up with Zhandra Fuentes, PR and Marcom Manager, to discuss Hosco, recruiting from Les Roches, and the vital importance of soft skills.
“My name is Zhandra Fuentes, I’m representing Hosco, the hospitality network. We have a very high level of skilled people who are already part of that platform, more than 300,000 at the moment, and we are working currently with more than 4,000 companies all only from the hospitality industry, meaning that we make it easy for both sides.”
If you’re a member and you’re looking for a job, we have the companies that you’re looking for, and if you’re a company we have the talent that has the skills you are looking for as well.
A hospitality network born in the hospitality capital
Like many leading hospitality organizations, Hosco has its roots in Switzerland. From there, the company has expanded, and now has plans to head across the Atlantic. “The company was born in Geneva in 2011, our main office is in Barcelona, Spain, where I’m based. In Barcelona, we are around 50 people and we also have an office in Dubai and our plans are to open another office in the USA next year.”
Why does Hosco recruit from Les Roches?
Zhandra is no stranger to Les Roches, having attended a previous Career Day and successfully recruited for the Hosco Barcelona office.
“This is my second time here. I came to the March fair and students engage, students are really well-spoken and for me, it was a very successful fair, that’s why we came back again this October. Last summer we had an intern from Les Roches and right now we have someone from Les Roches working with us in our offices as well .”
The importance of soft skills
For Zhandra, soft skills are increasingly important to navigate and succeed in the modern hospitality industry. She explained that many future professionals are not getting the soft skills training they need, with the exception of those that attend schools like Les Roches.
“I think the quality of education and the training in the soft skills in Les Roches is pretty impressive. Not many universities, and not many schools, and not many parents either are training their kids to build their soft skills and to develop them.”
“The ability to speak in public and don’t be afraid of it, the ability to deal with conflict, the ability to be flexible at work as well and switch from one department up and down or across departments.”
Recruiting talent right across the business
In a fast-moving and dynamic business like Hosco, interns and recruits need to be adaptable, and that’s why Zhandra chooses Les Roches students. As well as offering companies the very best minds in traditional hospitality roles, Les Roches also delivers leaders in all departments and across all disciplines. An approach Zhandra, and Hosco, are benefiting from.
“We are looking right now for interns to join the industry relations department, we are also looking for people interested in talent management, the marketing team is also growing, so people who are interested in digital marketing and offline marketing as well.”
Advice from the industry – use your network!
Whenever we have a successful hospitality professional under the spotlight, we always like to get their advice for students. Zhandra was gracious enough to share her insight.
“I would advise Les Roches students to take advantage of the network they have at Les Roches. It’s super powerful that connection that you build while you’re studying here. Many people that you didn’t get the chance to meet because they graduated before you, still they are Les Roches and they have that as part of their DNA.”
Take advantage of that and don’t be afraid of reaching out.
When the PR and Marcom Manager at hospitality’s leading talent community tells you your network is essential – you know it’s advice worth listening to!
Thank you to Zhandra for taking the time to talk to us about Hosco, Les Roches, and those all-important soft skills. Discover why more leading hospitality companies recruit from Les Roches in our series of industry interviews:
