By continuing you agree to eChinacities's Privacy Policy .
Sign up with Google
Sign up with Facebook
Q: How does a foreign university student get to work part-time in a hotel?
How does a foreign university student get to work part-time in a hotel such as intercontinental or the Hilton? Can I help out with administration if I speak English,Portuguese, Arabic and Dutch? Where do I start looking, how do I go about?
8 years 19 weeks ago in Business & Jobs - Qingdao
As someone who has worked for both those companies in China, I can tell you chances are very slim. They will not help a foreigner to get a visa just for part time work, and they will not let you work illegally. Big companies like that can't be seen to be employing illegal foreigners.
When I first started in hotels in China 7 years ago, the big hotels employed 10 or more foreigners, now its more like 1 or 2..... if any! Have you got any experience in hotels? What do you mean by administration, and how do you think you can help? All the admin is done by Chinese, all the paperwork is in Chinese. Unless your Chinese is fluent it's not the job for you. Foreigners are almost always in the front of house jobs. I've also never known a hotel here to employ a foreigner part time. I don't wish to puncture your dream, but I always find brutal honesty is the best way forward. Good luck to you, and if you need more hotel info PM me.
expatlife26:
Estern speaks the truth. Big downtown & resort hotels might employ a few westerners in customer-facing roles. But below a higher management level there isn't much reason to have an expat in admin.
I think most of the young expats you see in those roles were recruited from college for the company management training program. Hilton's is called Elevator and I know somebody who did that.
Best bet might be with a respectable local hotel in an area where they get lots of expat guests. You'd probably need good chinese though to work with the rest of the staff.
They probably require fluent speaker of Chinese, 'cause in Chinese hotels nobody speaks English as per my 'visitor's' experience.
Not only in the small cities, in Beijing too!
Hit the 'Jobs' tab, top R of this screen, and see if there are any vacancies posted.
As someone who has worked for both those companies in China, I can tell you chances are very slim. They will not help a foreigner to get a visa just for part time work, and they will not let you work illegally. Big companies like that can't be seen to be employing illegal foreigners.
When I first started in hotels in China 7 years ago, the big hotels employed 10 or more foreigners, now its more like 1 or 2..... if any! Have you got any experience in hotels? What do you mean by administration, and how do you think you can help? All the admin is done by Chinese, all the paperwork is in Chinese. Unless your Chinese is fluent it's not the job for you. Foreigners are almost always in the front of house jobs. I've also never known a hotel here to employ a foreigner part time. I don't wish to puncture your dream, but I always find brutal honesty is the best way forward. Good luck to you, and if you need more hotel info PM me.
expatlife26:
Estern speaks the truth. Big downtown & resort hotels might employ a few westerners in customer-facing roles. But below a higher management level there isn't much reason to have an expat in admin.
I think most of the young expats you see in those roles were recruited from college for the company management training program. Hilton's is called Elevator and I know somebody who did that.
Best bet might be with a respectable local hotel in an area where they get lots of expat guests. You'd probably need good chinese though to work with the rest of the staff.
As student - and on a student visa - you are not allowed to work, not even have a
part-time job! If they catch you you will be sent home.
Your best bet would be to get your visa from the hotel directly as an intern or employee. I have a friend who did a 1 year paid internship at a hotel in a tier 1 city. In his spare time he studied Chinese. The general rule is that you can study on a work visa but can't work on a student visa. If the hotel is willing to get you a visa and working hours that fit your schedule, you might be in luck. As others have said, however, a large hotel chain would never employ an illegal student and it would likely be tough to get a job there without experience. You could try a smaller Chinese hotel but working illegally at a front desk seems like a pretty dumb risk to take.
