How do I get into hotel industry?

How do I get a job in the hotel management industry in Las Vegas as a college student?

• So far, I've had few interviews and numerous applications but I never had success. I applied for night auditor, front desk, VIP representative, player's card representative and I'm continuously applying. Employers are looking for experienced employees but I don't have the experience, I'm still in college. I get that there is big competition for jobs, but I still need the job. How can I overcome the expected experience requirements and present myself to be beneficial to the company? Should I start with internship? Read a few more books on interviewing skills? Communication skills? Resume? I'm a sophomore in college, hospitality management major. I've had brief experiences as a server, kitchen helper, and juicer. My goal is to build up experiences while in college. If you were in my shoes, what would you do? HELP!

• Answer:

  As a Front Office Supervisor at a Top 10-US-ranked hospitality school-affiliated teaching hotel, you being a sophomore and unable to find work in one of the largest hotel markets in the world strikes me as strange. I don't know you and I have not interviewed you, but I would be willing to hazard a guess that your overall presentation skills are at least a proximate cause of you striking out at interviews. Another cause may also be applying to anything and everything, especially (I presume?) without faculty advice. Not working in the industry while in college for hospitality will not look good after you graduate, since you will not have had any chance to blend theory and practice. If you have a faculty adviser or a preceptor, start there. Then pay a visit to your campus career services office and see if they offer interview help. Get your resume rewritten while you're at it. There are almost certainly issues to be addressed, and they do not reside with the Las Vegas HR community, if you catch my drift.