Interstate Hotels & Resorts to collaborate with Goodwill on hiring for hospitality industry

Goodwill said Wednesday that it has joined forces with Interstate Hotels & Resorts to connect qualified candidates with jobs in hospitality.

Based in Arlington County, Interstate Hotels & Resorts is a global hotel management company that offers many full- and part-time positions in various areas of hotel operations, ranging from guest services and sales to food and beverage and finance.

At any given time, there are more than 1,200 job openings at Interstate-managed hotels available in the U.S. At the same time many people come to Goodwill looking for help in finding employment and building their careers.

To help these individuals, Goodwill provides services such as career counseling, computer and job readiness classes and résumé and interview preparation.

Through Goodwill's virtual career navigation website, local Goodwill staff plan to use a customized jobs portal, created in conjunction with Hospitality Online, which allows them to search for nearby openings at Interstate-managed hotels.

Local Goodwill staff could then review open positions and refer qualified job seekers. This pre-screening process, the company said, would help Interstate efficiently fill job openings with qualified candidates who are ready to work.

“Goodwill prepares hundreds of thousands of people for the workforce, helping them earn paychecks — some for the very first time,” Jim Gibbons, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International, said in a statement. “Our collaboration with Interstate and the customized jobs portal will mean that more people in our local communities will have the chance to earn jobs in hospitality, helping them care for their families and build their economic self-sufficiency.”

Last year, Goodwill said it helped more than 318,000 people find jobs and provided support services such as childcare, financial education, mentoring and transportation.

“The hospitality industry provides unparalleled career opportunities, and Interstate offers diverse career paths for job-seekers with nearly any level of expertise. We can teach the technical skills, as long as a person is 'hard-wired' for and passionate about service,” said Laura E. FitzRandolph, chief human resources officer at Interstate Hotels & Resorts.