Around the World and Back Again!

It feels like its been forever since I've wrote anything and I want to apologize to my Ambassadors who have been calling me and reminding me there still isn't a blog from me...this goes out to all of you!

This semester started off with a bang and it was one school and then another. After I left Purdue I went to Ferris State in Big Rapids, MI, then to Oklahoma State in Stillwater, OK, then to Washington State in Pullman, WA; then to UNLV in Vegas; then to UW Stout in Menomonie, WI; then this past week to Johnson & Wales Miami. Its been a long few months of great traveling and meeting some great students around the country. Heres just a few highlights from my trips...

At Ferris I was very happy to have Ted Lorenzi, Director of Engineering at the corp. office join me at the Career Fair and the information session. In addition, Leanne Davidson our Ambassador at Ferris joined us for the 5 hour Career Fair and assisted at the session as well. It was funny; because if you haven't done many career fairs before and then you do a 5 hour one it really gets you and at the beginning of the day Ted wanted to drive to Grand Rapids for dinner and by the end of the Career Fair he said 'lets just grab a bite somewhere around here.' He and I were both exhausted but had met many outstanding students. We took Leanne out to dinner with us and we all shared an order of 'escargot'; it was Leanne's and my first time ever eating it and lets just say it will probably be the last for both of us. Ted and I interviewed together the following day and we had a great group of students!

Then it was off to my alma mater OSU in Stillwater. Its always great heading back to OSU and this time it was Homecoming week and the festivities are amazing. Its the #2 ranked homecoming in the country and I was able to see all the beautiful house decks and signs all around campus. When I arrived at OSU I spoke to a seminar class about my experiences and I shared my Top 10 things I wish I would have known back then, from a recruiters standpoint of course. (I will have to share them on another blog). The class was great and my ambassador Leandra DiLorenzo showed up which was unexpected as she didn't think she could make it; Thanks Leandra! After the class we had our infosession and then went to my favorite pizza place 'Hideaway Pizza' which is a landmark for pizza lovers and always a hit during homecoming. The Paradise Pie pizza was out of this world and you know how I love eating pizza. The folllowing day I had around 10 interviews and overall it was a successful trip to OSU. It was off for a weekend with my family in between trips before off to my next school on Monday.

After the weekend I was on my way to WSU. Its not an easy travel day as I started out around 12 noon and arrived in Pullman WA. around 11PM their time. I did use an upgrade which was the best decision I had made all day. Wine, Nuts, Shrimp Cocktail, Ravioli, and Heath Ice Cream topped off my whole trip. I think everyone should fly first class at least once in their lifetime! It was a long day of traveling but I always enjoy going to the Pullman airport. It was to my disfortune that I didn't see the Pullman cat at the airport; I hope its doing well as its been 2 times in a row. The following day Kathryn Barajas (HR Director) and Hennings Noper (Rooms Exec.) from the Grand Hyatt Seattle joined me for the Hyatt Information Session. We were a little disappointed to see only 15 people show up for our infosession but having both of them participate in the presentation was exciting and made it fresh for me. The following day we interviewed around 10 students as well and Hennings informed me at the end of the day that it was a hard days work! Interviewing can sometimes become exhausting when you have one right after another for the entire day. After Interviews I headed to the place on campus where you can buy some of the best WSU cheese I have ever tasted. It comes in a large can and of course I bought two large cans. One was the famous Cougar Gold cheese and then I bought the Cougar Fire cheese. Its so delicious and I am still only have way through the first can. Since the flights out of Pullman are only 2 times a day and it really depends on the fog I had to wait till the following morning to head back to Seattle then on my way home to Chicago.

The next trip was off to sunny UNLV and its always a fast trip to UNLV. It was a fast trip to Vegas and normally I take some time to visit a Casino but I never win anything so I saved this time and enjoyed some extra R&R at the Hyatt Place Vegas. Its a great hotel and the best part is its right across the street from the UNLV campus! The career fair was a long 5 hours as well and Jaclynne Fortney our UNLV Ambassador was a trooper and stayed the whole time. The infosession was great and we had a very engaged audience with lots of questions and involvement. By the time we finished our Career Fair and Infosession with Q&A it was almost 8 PM and Jaclynne and I were ready for sleep. So, we said our goodbyes and then the following morning I finished up all the interviews early. Just as I finished around 2PM I received notification that my flight was cancelled. I was worried but when I called I had been booked on an earlier flight leaving Vegas in exactly an hour from then. I honestly rushed to the airport so quickly checked in to find out that the flight I was booked on was now delayed another 2 hours. I was a little excited though because I was able to spend some time at the airport slots and you know no one ever wins. I put $5 in and then left the machine with $20 and a gentlemen sat down on the same machine and what do you know...it went off and he won over $300! Good for him! What happens in vegas stays in Vegas...unless you're traveling with me and everything goes on the blog! haha

It was off to UW Stout in Menomonie. It started out as a beautiful morning and getting to the airport in plenty of time. Normally, I am pretty casual traveling wearing my jeans and a shirt but this trip I left in my suit because I was going to go straight to the infosession. Once I got to the airport I realized my flight was 30 min. delayed. Then it went to an hour. Then we finally boarded and once on the tarmac it was delayed another couple of hours. At this point I was worried if I would make the infosession. I called Tim Bruss our UW Stout Ambassador and told him the news. He was all prepared to make a list of students who attended and then I would call them all when I would finally arrive in Menomonie. Finally, we took off then landed at Minneapolis and I drove this great rental car to Menomonie in 45 mins. (don't try it its not safe or recommended). To my surprise Tim had the whole info session decked out with sub sandwiches, Hyatt cupcakes, candy bags, chips, fruit, water and soda everywhere! The students didn't even realize I was late as they were eating and enjoying themselves. I don't know what I would have done without Tim--Thank you! Afterwards, Tim and I needed a drink so we headed to the Stout Ale House and had some awesome cheese curds (it was my first time experiencing cheese curds) and yummy drinks. Honestly, Im not sure why I am just now trying cheese curds as I feel like they are my long lost friend with deliciousness inside! Yum! Thanks Tim for all your help!

Then this past week it was off to beautiful and HOT sunny Miami! Lots happened there and I think its good enough for its own blog so stay tuned till next week...

Ciao!

cassie

Grand Finale

After the NSMH Regional Conference in Columbus I was headed to the University of Houston for a Hyatt Day. Unfortunately I missed the campus career fair that I normally attend because I was in Providence. I flew into Houston Tuesday afternoon, got my rental car and drove to the newly renovated Hyatt Regency Houston. The rooms look amazing! I had a couple minutes to change and get to campus for our info session. The info session went well, unfortunately there were not as many students in attendance as I had hoped, but it was great to see some familiar faces. After the info session I headed back to the hotel, ordered room service and watched one of my favorite shows, Biggest Loser. Ironically I am always eating when I watch that show! On Wednesday I conducted a couple interviews and was able to catch an early flight back home to Chicago.

On Friday I headed back to O'Hare to catch my flight to Philadelphia for the NSMH Northeast Regional Conference. Due to the rainy weather in Chicago I landed in Philly a little late but made it to the hotel by 7:30pm. On Saturday I participated in several panels at the conference. I was really impressed with the number of students representing the Northeast Region, 120! I was also able to catch up with some of our campus Ambassadors, Justin Wusinich from Temple University and Nancy Qiu from University of Massachusetts. The conference was held over Halloween weekend. Kristy Seidel, Manger of Recruiting, sent out a Tweet before the conference letting everyone know about our attendance and that anyone who mentioned the Tweet may get some candy. I didn't just bring candy to Philly but also my witch hat. Getting my hat into my bag was no easy task :). At the Industry Round table portion of the conference I was in my Halloween gear and passed out candy to those students who knew about the Tweet and also asked great questions. It was a lot of fun!

After the panels and Industry Round table I was able to participate again in the Open House. I joked with the other recruiters and NSMH that I was taking the PM shift. My flight home wasn't until Sunday morning so I was the only recruiter left after the round tables and stayed through dinner. It was great for me to represent and have all the students to myself. After dinner a dance party was about to break out so I snuck out. I can not dance!

On Sunday morning while I was waiting for a cab to take me to the airport I saw Spike Lee! It was really cool to see someone famous but unfortunately I became immediately dumb in his presence. For some reason I felt the need to say to him "You look familiar." Who says that? I knew exactly who he was! He looked at me strangely and then I said "Good morning!". He smiled and proceeded to walk into the hotel. The good news is I saw Spike Lee and the even better news is he will most likely never remember our interaction and will definitely not give it another thought. Hopefully next time I run into a celebrity I won't sound like such an idiot!

This past week I had my last recruiting trip of the season. On Tuesday morning I made the 4 hour drive to Michigan State. I don't know why, since I have been going to MSU for a while now, but I always forget about the time change. This of course makes me panic a bit when I realize it and arrive to Michigan an hour later than anticipated. Luckily I still had time to grab a quick bite, run to the hotel and change and make it in time to the Kellogg Center to set up for the career fair. MSU is the only school I attend that has an evening career fair. The fair is always full of employers, over 50 this time, and students, too many to count! Although I made the trip solo I was overjoyed to have the help of our MSU Hyatt Ambassador Chelsea Schroeder. The Hyatt booth had a huge line per usual which is something we are extremely grateful for. Good thing Chelsea was there to help me. She did a great job of answering questions and sharing her Hyatt experience. Thanks so much for all your help Chelsea!

After the fair we were famished and honestly needed a drink so I took Chelsea to The Post. When I recruit at MSU we always hit up The Post because it is right across from our hotel. Chelsea had never been so it was fun to bring her there to catch up and enjoy the great pizza and spirits. We had a great time!

On Wednesday morning I headed to the Spartan Football Stadium to interview. I had a full schedule starting at 8:30am and ending at 5:00pm. At lunchtime I went to one of my favorite places in East Lansing that was introduced to me by a former CMT and MSU Alum, Kate Mueller. It's called Harrison Roadhouse and is conveniently located just a couple minutes from the stadium. I'm not going to lie, sometimes it is a little depressing eating alone and this time I was feeling a little lonely so I called up my team at the Corporate Office and chatted their ears off. It never fails to make me feel better! Thanks Amanda and Kristy! After I completed interviews I jumped into my car and made the 4 hour drive home.

I'm always surprised how quickly the recruiting season goes. It was another great one and I look forward to heading back to campus again at the end of January. Thanks for reading about our recruiting adventures. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season! Until next time...

Johnson & Wales and NSMH-Midwest

This past week I flew to Providence, Rhode Island to attend the Johnson & Wales career fair. It was a quick flight and a short ride to the hotel. So as I always do in Providence when I have time, I headed out to the mall for some food and a little shopping.:)

On Thursday morning, Chef Robert Daugherty, from Hyatt Regency Cambridge, picked me up at the hotel, we grabbed some coffee and headed to campus. Chef has a great relationship with the school and I always tease him that he is the mayor. It's funny when you go to a Culinary school and stand at the booth with a Chef in his or her whites, somehow you become invisible. The fair was much smaller this year but still had a great representation of employers and a lot of students. The only thing that was missing were Culinary seniors. Unfortunately they had class until almost the end of the fair. Hopefully I will get to meet them when I'm back on campus in the spring. Also helping at the fair was our Johnson & Wales Hyatt Ambassador Anna Stark. The help of Chef and Anna was truly appreciated. I don't know what I would have done without them there. Our booth was crazy packed the entire time and the 3 hours flew by. Immediately following the fair we conducted the Hyatt info session. The room we were given was really cool. It was in the Culinary Arts Museum Theater and looked like an old school diner. Definitely not like any room I've been given before. We had a good turn out at the info session and I was able to schedule several interviews with Hospitality seniors for the following day. After the info session I went back to the hotel, caught up on some work and then went back to the mall. :)

On Friday I took off on foot for the downtown campus where my interviews were scheduled. I chatted with the doorman at the hotel and he told me how to get there. Unfortunately what we both didn't know was that the address I had was the main address for the University. I proceeded to take my own campus tour and after walking into 3 buildings and looking like an idiot I ran into my first interviewee who escorted me to the right location. Thanks Daniel!

Anna met me at noon and took me to a great Providence restaurant for lunch called Tazza. The food was great and it had a very hip atmosphere. Good thing I have my Ambassadors to keep me cool! It was great to catch up with Anna and chat with her about her upcoming graduation and placement into CMT program in January.

After interviews I went back to the airport to catch my flight to Columbus. Unfortunately there aren't any direct flights, I'm so spoiled, so I flew from Providence to Cleveland then Cleveland to Columbus. I made it to the hotel in Columbus around 10:30pm. I went to bed pretty early that night because I knew I had a full day ahead of me. I was in Columbus for the Midwest Regional NSMH conference.

The turnout of both employers and students at the conference was great! The students were very professional and eager to learn from us panelists. I participated in a Networking panel called "The Dance". I joked that I signed up because I thought we were discussing "So You Think You Can Dance", one of my favorite shows! The panel was a lot of fun and we even role played to demonstrate the art of proper networking. Following the panel I had lunch with some fellow recruiters and then we were off to conduct the Industry Roundtable portion of the conference. This is a lot like doing several mini info sessions. It was great to chat with the students about Hyatt in smaller groups. I also got to see some familiar faces which is always nice. After the Industry Round Tables I participated in the last panel which allowed students to ask anything that they had not had the opportunity to ask during the conference. We were all impressed by the great questions. The group then took some photos and we ended the night with a great meal.

On Sunday morning I flew back home to Chicago. This week I am off to the University of Houston and the Northeast Regional NSMH Conference in Philadelphia. Maybe I'll have another cheese steak. :)

Phillies, Cheese steaks and Cops

On Monday morning I headed to Philadelphia for my visit at Temple University. The flight was smooth and we got in early, I didn't use my segments to upgrade this time, definitely not worth it for an hour and a half flight. I got in around noon and picked up my rental, no minivan yay!, and drove to the Hyatt Regency Philadelphia at Penn's Landing. The Hyatt Info Session was scheduled at 4pm. The Hospitality school recently moved to a new building and luckily, with Brandon's help, I found it with no problem. I was very impressed when I got to Speakman Hall. The new building is very spacious and state of the art. We had a great turn out at the presentation thanks to the Temple staff and our Hyatt Ambassador Justin Wusinich!

After the presentation we headed out for some BBQ. Joining me was Rick Ridall, Brandon Mayer, Greg DeSheilds, Jeff Montague, and Justin Wusinich. It's funny because there always is a friendly debate about where we should eat. There are so many great restaurants in Philly and everyone is so passionate about food as are us College Recruiters. Despite this, we always end up at a great place and the BBQ restaurant was no exception. We had a great time at dinner chatting about Hyatt and Temple. The guys were glued to the Phillies game and their team was victorious! Way to go Phillies!

After dinner I gave Justin a ride home. I pulled into a store parking lot to drop him off and out of nowhere a police officer was behind me yelling through his loud speaker. Apparently he wasn't happy that I didn't pull into a parking space. Justin and I think he just wanted to hear himself talk on the loud speaker. Ha! Good thing is we didn't get a ticket.

On Tuesday I headed back to Speakman Hall to interview. I met some great students who are truly interested in Hyatt and the program we offer. At lunch time I was determined to find a cheese steak and Brandon took me to a spot on campus. I was impressed by the number of lunch buggies at Temple. When I was in college, at Ohio University, we had a couple of these that were very popular but the amount of choices at Temple was incredible. Apparently there is a crepe buggy that is really popular that I need to try next time. After lunch I wrapped up my interviews and headed back to the airport. It was a short trip but another great one.

Next week I am off to attend the career fair at Johnson & Wales University, RI and the Regional NSMH conference in Columbus. More adventures to come!

First Class & the Grand Canyon

On Monday I headed out to recruit at Northern Arizona University. We have a great relationship with NAU and have been recruiting there for many years. NAU is the longest trip I have to make for on-campus recruitment. It's a four hour flight from Chicago to Phoenix and a 2 and a half hour drive to Flagstaff. Prior to my trip Brook and I were chatting about racking up airline miles. She told me how she used not her miles but her segments to upgrade to first class. I had no idea you could do this! So when I got to O'Hare I asked the American representative how many segments I had and how many I would need to upgrade to first class. Well little did I know I had 24 segments and only needed 3! So I flew to Arizona in style otherwise known as first class! :) Wow, what a difference the front of the plane makes. Large comfy seats, lots of leg room, free drinks, dinner and best of all warm cookies. The flight was very comfortable and the four hours flew by, no pun intended.

Once I landed in Phoenix I took the shuttle to pick up my rental car. If you've read my last couple blogs you know I was hoping for anything but a minivan. This time I was in luck. I didn't have to wait and I was given a really cute, red Pontiac Vibe. I though it was kinda funny because my vacuum cleaner and dust buster are called the Vibe too. Pretty sure those aren't made by Pontiac though.

The drive to Flagstaff was smooth and uneventful. I am however always taken aback by the change from desert to evergreens and the change in temperature from 80 degrees to 50 degrees. I made it to Flagstaff Tuesday evening, checked into the hotel and went to bed early so I would be ready to go the next morning.

On Tuesday I was scheduled to speak in three classes. My first class was at 8am and consisted of mostly freshman. Surprisingly, being an early class and a young group, the class was very engaged and asked great questions about Hyatt and the hotel industry. My second class was Senior Seminar and it was great to see a lot of familiar faces. We discussed career opportunities and everyone was geared up for the Hyatt info session later that evening. My last class was a mix of underclassmen who were studying housekeeping. I tested their knowledge and was happy to find out they had learned a lot in just the couple weeks they had been back in session.

I finished up my class visits around noon and didn't have anything scheduled until 6pm. I decided this was finally my opportunity to see the Grand Canyon. I have visited NAU many times and the Grand Canyon is only an hour and half away but unfortunately I never had enough time to make the trip. So I punched in the Grand Canyon into my GPS and off I went!

The Grand Canyon was an amazing site! Even though it was a Tuesday afternoon there were still lots of people there to check it out. I wandered around and asked strangers to take my picture, otherwise I know no one would believe I went, especially Jon Hales from NAU! I had a little over an hour to explore and then I had to head back in order to get back to campus in time for my presentation. On my way back to my car the craziest thing happened! I turned to my right and standing only a couple feet from me were a group of elks. Never in my life have I seen an elk in person. At first I was in awe and then I was scared they were going to charge me. I quickly pulled out my camera to capture the moment and then I took off!

I made it back to campus for the Hyatt info session. We had a good turn out and I was able to sign up 10 students for interviews the next day. After the presentation Jon and I went to dinner at a new Greek restaurant in town. It was great, you can never go wrong with flaming cheese!

On Wednesday I conducted interviews for the majority of the day. I was able to spend my lunch break with our NAU Hyatt Ambassador, Laura Yoccabel. It's always great to see Laura we laugh a lot. She does a great job for us on campus. Thanks Laura!

Wednesday night I was invited to attend the NAU NSMH chapter meeting. I was so impressed by the number of attendees. We talked about Hyatt, career opportunities, and the upcoming NSMH Regional Conferences. The students were excited about our involvement, as are we, and I look forward to seeing them all again.

Thursday morning I headed back to Phoenix to catch my flight home. I was able to fly first class again, I think I'm addicted, and I made it back safe and sound.

I'm heading to Temple University in Philly tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing everyone there and satisfying my cheese steak craving!

Den Pop!!!

I was really excited and anxious to begin my recruiting season at Purdue University last week. Summer was great and now I was ready to hop back into recruiting mode and visit my schools. On my way to Pudue I stopped at my favortie Fair Oaks Farms to buy my Triple Scoop Mint Chocolate Chip Sundae! See, it all started last Fall on my way to Purdue when I stopped there and found out its buy one scoop get two free and then after the first lick I was sold! If you haven't been there its a must and a delicious treat. Picture this: me driving in my SUV listening to Kings of Leon and eating a 3 Scoop Waffle Cone. Life couldn't be better. :)

Once I got to Purdue I went straight to campus for our infosession. My infosession was scheduled in a different building this semester and I was not familiar with the location of the building. I called our Purdue Ambassador 'Mallory Piekarski' and she informed me it was right behind the big waterfall. Once I got to campus I went to the big waterfall and it wasn't the right building. Then, I asked a student. The student informed me it was the building by the other waterfall across campus. I walked across campus and found two more waterfalls. So, of course I asked another student on campus and she told me it was around the building by the 'big' waterfall. I laughed and followed her directions. Once I reached the big waterfall I finally found the building and called Mallory. How many waterfalls are even on the Purdue campus? I still ponder that question.

The Infosession went very well and then Mallory and I headed to the Senior Reception and then the Career Fair the following morning. We ate dinner at La Scala which was the students' idea and happened to be a delicious little Italian Restaurant. Throughout my trip at Purdue the students kept referring to the must buy 'Den Pop' at a local convenient store. On my way back to my hotel I stopped and purchased a Den Pop. Let me say....this is a fantastic idea! Its just a Large Soda Fountain but they have named their own creations of mixtures of flavors and you can get a 44oz for 75 cents. I don't remember the name of mine but it was 1/3 Coke, 1/3 Cherry Coke, and 1/3 Red Cream Soda. Need I say more...it was DELICIOUS!!! Thanks Mallory and Purdue students for introducing me to my new Den Pop addiction. I can't wait to try another one next semester.

Ciao!

A minivan? Really?

The rental car saga continues. No offense to all the soccer moms out there but I wasn't very happy when I was handed keys to a minivan. I'm not sure why there is a shortage of cars lately but when I got to Buffalo, NY on Wednesday I was again told that I could wait for an hour or take a minivan. Maybe the problem is I don't have any patience. So off I went to Niagara University rolling up in a minivan! I'm hoping this doesn't become a regular occurrence.

I was very happy this trip because I was not flying solo. Paul Trudel, HR Director at the Park Hyatt Toronto, made the hour and a half drive to join me at the Hyatt Info session. Thanks so much Paul! Once again it was the Paul & Heidi show and we had a blast. I think the students get a kick out of our back and forth bantering. We were very pleased with the turnout at the info session.

Katie Finamore, Director of Experiential Opportunities at Niagara University, invited us to dinner. Paul and I of course said yes and then convinced Katie to take us to the Casino for crab legs! This has become a tradition that we are determined not to break. We also invited along Brittany Pingtella, our Hyatt Ambassador. We were excited to share the wondrous buffet with Katie and Brittany when we found out they had never been! We proceeded to stuff ourselves and had a great night. Thanks for dinner Katie!

I stayed at the newly renovated Hyatt Regency Buffalo Wednesday night. The hotel looks amazing and the associates are so proud and excited to show it off. If you have not been since the renovation I highly recommend it!

Thursday I headed back to campus for interviews. I was truly impressed by the resumes of the Niagara students. The 800 hour requirement the school has really helps set these students apart. After interviews I was off to return my minivan, thank goodness, and catch my flight back to Chicago. It was a quick trip but a great one. My next trip will be to Northern Arizona University on Monday, October 5th. Here's to hoping a really cool and smaller car is in my future.

Flying solo

The College Team is back on campus! I kicked off my fall campus recruitment last week at Colorado State University. I flew into Denver on Tuesday night and headed to the rental car facility to pick up a car for my drive to Fort Collins.

Normally when I visit CSU I spend the night at the Hyatt Regency Tech Center and drive up with the HR Director, Todd Jaffee, the following morning. Janell Peterson, HR Director at Grand Hyatt Denver also typically joins us on campus. Unfortuntately this time around I was without my buddies and flying solo. You wouldn't have known it by my rental car though. Apparently there weren't any mid size cars available when I arrived so I had the option of waiting or going with a larger vehicle. Since I was antsy to get to Fort Collins I decided to go with the larger vehicle, not the best decision I've made. In my everyday life I drive a very small car so it felt like I was driving a bus! It all worked out fine and the students thought my ride was pretty cool.

On Wednesday I attended the career fair and conducted the Hyatt presentation. It was great to be back on campus and talking to students! Solo or not there was no way I wasn't going to our favorite dinner/drinks spot, Woodys. You can never go wrong with the "All you can eat" pizza bar for $7.99! On Thursday I conducted interviews and I was back on the road to Denver to catch my flight home.

This week I will be at Niagara University. I'm looking forward to seeing the Purple Eagles!

Hyatt Recognized by Businessweek Magazine as "Best Place to Launch a Career"

CHICAGO (September 10, 2009) – Hyatt Hotels Corporation has been recognized on BusinessWeek’s “Best Places to Launch a Career 2009” survey, published in the September 14 issue of the magazine. The industry-leading and widely read business publication included the organization as part of its fourth-annual survey of the year’s best companies for entry-level workers. The list of 69 employers spans 14 industries and highlights best-in-class companies, non-profits and government agencies that impressed editors with feedback from career counselors, students and company-specific statistics

Chicago-based Hyatt Hotels Corporation gained its #27 position through a combination of effective intern-to-hire programs, training methods and promotional opportunities for entry-level hires into its internship and Corporate Management Training programs. As noted in the article:

■Nearly 100% of the organization’s entry-level hires into the Corporate Management Training (CMT) program have been undergraduate interns, and primarily hospitality and hotel and restaurant management majors.
■An average of $7,500 per new hire was spent on orientation and training in 2008.
■All new hires participate in a mentorship program.
■New hires into the CMT program are eligible for a raise and promotion in the first year (within five to 12 months, depending on program length).
■Additional benefits include access to health benefits (extending to same-sex partners), 401(k) plans, relocation packages, employee discounts, free meals, among others.

“We are thrilled that Hyatt Hotels & Resorts is being recognized for its ongoing efforts to attract and reward new employees,” said Randy Goldberg, Vice President of Recruiting, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts. “We work hard to create a family-like environment, in which our associates can thrive and feel proud of their accomplishments and company. Our policy to first consider our own associates when filling senior positions reflects our confidence in our training and hiring methods. The fact that 80% of our associates take advantage of these promotional opportunities indicates their satisfaction with their experience at Hyatt.”

About BusinessWeek's "Best Places to Launch a Career"
To compile the "Best Places to Launch a Career" ranking, BusinessWeek polled 60 college career services directors across the country; collected data from a survey of more than 60,000 U.S. undergrads by Universum USA, a Philadelphia research company; and required employers to submit statistics on everything from pay and benefits to training programs and retention.

LATINA Style Magazine Announces the 2009 LATINA Style 50 Report

LATINA Style Magazine Announces the 2009 LATINA Style 50 Report: "50 Best Companies for Latinas to Work for in the U.S.

We do't usually post press releases here but when Hyatt is being recognized in the 50 best places to work for Latinas, we can make an exception...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- LATINA Style Magazine proudly announces the LATINA Style 50 Report for 2009. Now in its 12th year, this annual evaluation sets the standard for identifying corporations that are providing the best career opportunities for Latinas in the U.S. The LATINA Style 50 Report is the most respected evaluation of corporate America's career advancement opportunities for Latinas. This year, more than 800 of the most prominent corporations in the United States were included in the extensive search."