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ALUMNI SUCCESS


Ana Garvan

RIT Croatia Class of 2013
Tourism, Hospitality and Service Management

Employment: Hotel Villas Koločep
Job title: Assistant General Manager & Quality Assurance Manager

 

I graduated from RIT Croatia in February 2013. As my graduation date was approaching and I was coming closer to the date of turning in my senior project, I became more worried of what the future held for me. I knew I had to find a job, so I contacted the Career Services office to inform them that I was searching for employment and to keep me in mind if an opportunity arose. Luckily, in less than a month, I was contacted concerning a Job opening in Hotel Villas Kolocep. They were looking for an administrative assistant and I thought this would be a good starting position. Therefore, I applied for the job and was interviewed by the management company within the hotel, Karisma International. The interview went so well that ten days later I started packing my belongings and moved to the island- I GOT THE JOB! Not only did I get the job, but the whole situation turned out to be even more positive. Based on the successful outcome of the interview, my CV and recommendation letters, I was offered a better position: Assistant General Manager & Quality Assurance Manager.

On my first day at the job I was very excited. I met the General Manager, a very knowledgeable professional with high ambitions and a strong work ethic, who explained to me in detail my job description and the plan for the hotel. At that time the team consisted of around 10 people, including the Financial Directors and Controllers, F&B Manager and Executive Chef, Operations Manager, General Manager and myself. We had less than two months to successfully prepare Hotel Villas Kolocep for opening. The pre-opening of the hotel is always the hardest part, and there are so many things that need to be thought-out. Implementing new standards, right from the Karisma handbook, was not only something I had to understand, but then implement in actual situations. My work day started at 8am, and I sometimes worked up to 14 hours! It was not an easy task, but I utilized so much of my knowledge gained at RIT Croatia and prior work experiences. I felt amazing. My job description included various activities from translating legal documents and procedures, working closely with the GM and leadership team on implementing hotel operations standards, taking part in the Welcome Committee team and brainstorming sessions in improving guest relations, reporting, overseeing hotel operations and making sure everything was up to standards, overseeing activities of various hotel departments to employee hiring and training.

Today, I am utilizing the valuable knowledge I was taught at RIT Croatia from courses such as Assessing Service Quality, Globalization, Finances, Hotel Operations, Human Resources, Technical Writing, Business Ethics and others. The many presentations and all the projects, including the intense team work that we had in college really paid off. In my job, it is all about joint efforts and having everyone work together. Tourism is a tough industry to work in, where individuals have to be organized, flexible, open-minded and strong in communication. Fortunately, I was taught all of this at RIT Croatia, and I am very grateful to all the faculty and staff who passed on their knowledge and experiences to us through conversations, lectures, case studies and projects. Currently, I am enjoying the position of Assistant General Manager & Quality Assurance Manager. My future goal is to continue working and growing in the tourism industry and enroll in a master's program. I plan on enrolling in the Master of Science program at RIT Croatia in the fall of 2013 in the Service, Leadership and Innovation program to and expand my knowledge and enhance my leadership skills. Wish me luck!