Tourism - Course Ambassador Q&A

Scroll to see replies

Weekly update (06 March): Businesses Need Millennials if They Are to Remain Competitive

Hello guys!

This week instead of my usual Tourism update, I'd like to share with you this very interesting article that I have found in the ASTD magazine. With the graduation day approaching faster every day, I cannot help but think about my career and employability skills.

It was very interesting (and veeeeeeeery MOTIVATING) for me to read the following article which is based on a recent research, and I couldn't help sharing it with you as it is (I am pretty much sure) relevant to anyone of us here, regardless of what we study or aim to persue as a career in the future.
Enjoy!:

" Businesses Need Millennialsif They Are to Remain Competitive
BY DAN SCHAWBEL AND JALEH BISHARAT

As businesses vie to remain competitive,managers are quickly recognizing the critical role Millennials (those born between 1982 and1993) play. Projected to be the largest workforce generation in the United States by 2015, Millennials provide unique skills organizations need to innovate.

The 2015 Millennial Majority Workforce Study—commissioned by Elance-o Desk, an online workplace,and Millennial Branding, a Gen Y consulting firm—found that nearly seven out of 10 (68 percent) hiring managers say Millennials have skills that prior generations do not, and more than eight out of 10 (82 percent) believe that Millennials are technologically adept.

While businesses strive to find and recruit talent with higher levels of technical skills (54 percent of hiring managers report a technological skills shortage), Millennials may provide ananswer to this talent gap. Millennials report possessing a wide varietyof science, technology, engineering,and math (STEM)-based skills that are seeing growing demand, including 3Dprinting, cloud computing, and wearable technology.

For those skills that Millennials donot have, they tap into another advantage unlike previous generations,Millennials frequently consume materials online to ensure their skills are relevant to their work. Additionally, 66 percent of Millennials believeit is their professional responsibilityto keep up-to-date with emerging technologies.

While we talk about resistance tochange, Millennials may be the generation to overcome this barrier. Beyond the constant evolution oftheir own hard skills to remain marketable,the study’s findings show some positive personal characteristics. Compared with Generation X, hiring managers view Millennials as more open to change, creative, and adaptable.

Why might that be the case? Millennial adaptation in the workplace has been compulsory. They are inventing what it means to be successful in a technology-driven world where workdays are infinite, needs change on a dime, and independence and flexibility are at a premium.

Clearly Millennials are an asset to organizations, but as the youngest generation in the workforce, they also need help. Findings ranked Millennials low on teamwork and organizational skills. Millennials themselves seem to realize this deficiency—results show them yearning for guidance. When asked what they prioritize when choosing a place to work, they were much more likely to seek mentorship and good team members than hiring managers estimated, and less likely to seek out higher compensation.

Learn more about the study’s findingsat http://elance-odesk.com/millennial-majority-workforce."

I hope this was as motivating to you as it was to me and I'll see you next time for more interesting stuff!

Have a great week ahead and all the best,

Ivelina
MDX Course Ambassador
Tourism

(edited 8 years ago)

Middlesex University

London

Reply 21

princessreyes_

Hello,

How many days a week are the lectures?

Many Thanks,

Princess Reyes

Reply 22

Ivelina at MDX

Dear Princess,

Thank you for your question.

The timetable is very flexible and normally at the beginning of each academic year, you are given the chance to change it so that it's as compressed as possible and you have more free time for independent study and maybe a part-time job. Normally, you'll have your lectures and seminars throughout 3 weekdays. It is a very rare occasion when students have to come 1 day more or less but as I said, depends on the modules you're doing and if you manage to alter it at the beginning of the year.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Ivelina
MDX Course Ambassador
Tourism

Original post by princessreyes_

Hello,

How many days a week are the lectures?

Many Thanks,

Princess Reyes

Reply 23

Ivelina at MDX

Weekly update (13 March): Travel Blogs

Hello again everyone,

This week I'd like to reveal to you a list with 5 of my favourite travel blogs. I use them to indulge my love for travel, whether I'm on the road or staying home. To narrow down endless options (hotels, sites, destinations) to those that are special. And to find the best travel stories.These sites deliver all of the above through their hotel intelligence, off-road adventures, useful tips and tricks on your whole journey and lastly but not least - great writing. I hope you are thrilled to get to know them....

1. Extra Pack of Peanuts (http://www.extrapackofpeanuts.com/) - You can find a lot of cool advices and strategies on how to travel for C-H-E-A-P and save money; provides a starter toolkit on subscription.

2. I am Aileen (http://iamaileen.com/) - Loads of interesting posts and reviews, such as " 5 JOB TYPES THAT ALLOW YOU TO EARN AS YOU TRAVEL THE WORLD " (Let's face it - we've all dreamt about it!!)

3. Eat Your World (http://eatyourworld.com/) - Dining details that make meals memorable. Founders Scott Rosen and Laura Siciliano-Rosen are earnest without being indulgent. Their international selections feel like real foodie finds. Caution: Prepare yourselves some napkins and get ready for some serious drooling!

4. Cool Hunting (http://www.coolhunting.com/travel) - Consistently uncovering the best and newest under-the-radar spots around the world.

5. Eat this Poem (http://www.eatthispoem.com/) - Local writers and bloggers share the best bookstores, coffee shops, reading nooks, and restaurantsto inspire the traveling bookworm who has an appetite for both food and fiction.

YOUR TURN
What are your favorite travel blogs? And what do you travel for? Tell me in the comments below.

I hope you guys enjoyed the virtual travel!
I'll see you again next week for some more insights.

Best,
Ivelina
MDX Course Ambassador
Tourism

P.S.: Please follow us on Instagram for more updates on the various cources and related events, organised on campus: https://www.instagram.com/mdxcourseambassadors/

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 24

Ivelina at MDX

Weekly Update (21 March):

Hi Guys,

I hope you had a great weekend and you are ready to rock&roll during this final week before Easter break.

After I gave you an insight into some of my favourite blogs last week, now I'd like to share with you some of the websites with Travel & Tourism news that I follow on a daily basis.
As future Tourism professionals, it is crucial for us to stay up-to-date with the most recent news, trends, vacancies and interesting articles from the industry and its stakeholders. I hope you'll enjoy it. :smile:

1. Travel Daily News, available @ http://www.traveldailynews.com/
2. Travel Pulse, available @ http://www.travelpulse.com/
3. Breaking Travel News, available @ http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/
4. Travel Weekly, available @ http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/

Other news websites such as The Economist, Telegraph, The Wallstreet Journal and The Guardian also have special sections dedicated to our industry, so you can always download any of their apps on your phone and keep yourselves informed whenever you have a spare minute.

I hope guys you like my advices and keep following for more updates.

All the best,
Ivelina
MDX Course Ambassador
Tourism

Reply 25

Ivelina at MDX

Weekly Update (27 March):
Hi Everyone,

This week I’d like to tell you a bit more about the opportunities that I’ve had while studying at Middlesex and mostly how I managed to secure my volunteering experience at the World Expo 2015 in Milan – one of the biggest tourism events for 2015.

My participation was very spontaneous as I wasn’t aware of the opportunities that were offered and my plan for the end of the summer was to go home after I finish my year of internship in Brussels. However, during my experience as an intern at MCI HQ, not only have I gained valuable knowledge and skills, but also expanded a lot my professional network of contacts and lastly but not least, found a lot of new friends.

One of my fellow colleagues was working on a project related to the EU Pavilion at the EXPO, and as I was always showing interest in the news related to the event, one day she informed me that they were actually looking for volunteers to support with the visitors’ experience and I could apply to become one of them for a period of two weeks.

I got extremely excited as this was an excellent chance for me and a useful addition to my CV. Plus, my summer was going to end in style... in MILAN!!! I applied immediately and got my phone interview for the week after. Everything happened very fast and before I could even realise, I was flying from Belgium to Italy.

The EXPO consisted of more than 150 participants and about 5000 events held in 184 days of exposure and was visited by more than 20 million people. The slogan, "Feed the Planet, Energy for Life," aimed to put stress on important issues such as sustainable development and food security. It was very interesting for me to learn a lot about these issues and particularly how the EU is trying to raise awareness amongst the 28 member countries and what regulations are in place to minimise the harm. Through my involvement in such a multinational and multicultural event, I managed to find friends from all over the world and get to know their cultures also by visiting the various pavilions. In my spare time (which was obviously never enough as there was SO MUCH to see), I was exploring the site and trying to get as much as possible out of this amazing opportunity. I cannot find the right words to describe this new world I discovered, it was like I had the chance to visit any country in the world that I could think of. Every pavilion was exceptional and what was the most remarkable part for me was how innovation was the main tool for exhibitors to showcase thousands-of-years-old cultures and still manage to preserve their authenticity.

At the end of the whole experience I was feeling much more confident and ready to conquer new horizons.

Tell me about your experience in the comments below if you had the chance to visit EXPO2015 in Milan or any other national and multinational events and exhibitions. Have you taken part in any?

If not, here are a couple of similar events that are happening soon, why don’t you drop your CV and experience the life of a volunteer as well? :smile:

EXPO 2016 Antalya: http://www.expo2016.org.tr/Anasayfa/en
EXPO 2017 Astana: https://expo2017astana.com/en/
World 2020 EXPO, Dubai: http://expo2020dubai.ae/

All the best,

Ivelina
MDX Course Ambassador
Tourism

Reply 26

Ivelina at MDX

Hi Guys,

I hope you are all doing well.

Can you believe it's already end of term! Two more weeks and uni is officially finished for me! HELLO to my Bachelor degree!! WHOA!! What a year it's been!

I thought the moment for these words would never come but I have to say it: I AM going to miss uni! I can genuinely say that the past four years have been THE most amazing years of my life. I've learned a lot, I've traveled a lot, I've achieved a lot and I can proudly say that I've become a better version of myself. I am extremely glad that I made the choice to go to MDX because of all the opportunities I was given and the amazing experience, not to forget the great people (friends and teachers) I met during my studies here!
I know this might sound to you as a final goodbye but I've actually already decided that I'd like to spend one more year of my life as a student, so I will soon be applying for my Master's degree. Even though I have already started my career in the hospitality, I'd like to broaden my competences even more in the HR field so that I can expand my future areas for development and realisation.

And by the way, YES!, I haven't shared with you that I started my first hospitality job in a small boutique hotel as a receptionist. I am very excited about the new experience and am craving new knowledge and skills. It is very interesting and I am thrilled to meet new people every day. I hope that after a while I would be competent and confident enough to try my luck in a bigger chain or pursue my dream job for working for an airline. It is a long road ahead of me, but finishing the first and most important chapter really fuels me with a lot of motivation, courage and eagerness to see what awaits for me further up the journey.

See you again next week!

Yours,
Ivelina
MDX Course Ambassador
Tourism

Reply 27

Ivelina at MDX

Weekly Update - LinkedIn Tips and Tricks - Pt.1

Hello Everyone,

After a short break due to my exams and assignment deadlines I am officially back! Everything has now ended and I am now waiting for the results and for the Graduation day!! SO EXCITING!!!

As university is now finished I was thinking about career opportunities, job hunt, etc. so I thought I would share with you some very useful tips on how to use LinkedIn as it is the most popular social network for professionals and one of the top social networks overall with more than 380 million members. Enjoy!

1) Customize your public profile URL.
Make your personal profile look more professional (and much easier to share) by customizing your LinkedIn public profile URL. Instead of a URL with a million confusing numbers at the end, it will look nice and clean like this: http://www.linkedin.com/in/pamelavaughan. Customize your URL by following this link: http://www.linkedin.com/myprofile?editwp=# and modifying your public profile URL on the right-hand side.

2) Add a LinkedIn background photo to your personal profile.
Give your LinkedIn profile a little bit more personality by adding a background photo of your own. Just keep in mind LinkedIn is a professional social network, so choose your photo accordingly.

3) Share a Standout Trait
If you’re recommending someone, there’s a good chance you think he or she is smart, talented, organized, wonderful to work with, the list goes on. So, there’s no need to use the limited characters in your recommendation to state the obvious. Instead, think about one or two things this person does better than anything else—or that really stand out to you above others—and focus your recommendation there. You can also ask the person if there’s something he or she would like you to talk about: For example, if she was your executive assistant but is now applying to her first management role, she’ll likely want you to highlight her experience managing volunteers over her organizational skills.

"I was particularly impressed by Kelly’s ability to handle even the toughest clients—and effortlessly. That skill often takes years to develop among customer service professionals, but it seemed to come perfectly naturally to her.”

"I was always in awe of Fred’s ability to command a room and get people on board with ideas—even people who were initially on completely different pages.”

"Matt’s ability to juggle multiple projects was unlike any I’ve seen before and made a dramatic difference in the productivity level of our team.”

4) Search engine optimize your LinkedIn profile.
You can also optimize your profile to get found by people searching LinkedIn for key terms you want to get found for. Add these keywords to various sections of your profile such as your headline or in your summary.

5) Show work samples.
Did you know LinkedIn allows you to add a variety of media such as videos, images, documents, links, and presentations to the Summary, Education, and Experience sections of your LinkedIn profile? This enables you to showcase different projects, provide samples of your work, and better optimize your LinkedIn profile.

6) Add, remove, and rearrange entire sections of your profile.
LinkedIn also enables you to reorder entire sections of your profile in any way you prefer. When in edit mode, simply hover your mouse over the double-sided arrow in each section. Your mouse will turn into a four-arrowed icon, at which point you can click, then drag and drop to another position on your profile.

7) Take advantage of Saved Searches.
LinkedIn allows users to save up to ten job searches and three people searches. After conducting a search, clicking the Save search option at the top right allows you to save a search and easily run it again later. You can also choose to receive weekly or monthly reminders (+ daily for job searches) via email once new members in the network or jobs match your saved search criteria.

8) Quickly convert your LinkedIn profile into a resume.
Job seeking is one of the most common -- and beneficial -- uses of LinkedIn. Were you aware that LinkedIn enables you to turn your profile into a resume-friendly format in seconds with its Resume Builder tool? Just choose a resume template, edit it, and export it as a PDF that you can print, email, and share.

10) Find a job through via LinkedIn's job postings.
Now that you've generated that awesome new resume from LinkedIn's Resume Builder tool, you can use it -- and LinkedIn Jobs -- to help you land an awesome new position. Using its Advanced search feature, LinkedIn allows you to search for jobs by keyword, title, industry, location, company, function, experience level, and more. It even suggests jobs you might be interested in based on a brief survey that gauges your job preferences relating to location, company size, and industry.

I hope you find them useful!
I'll share with you some more next week.

All the best,
Ivelina
MDX Course Ambassador
Tourism