RMIT alumni make waves in Vietnam hospitality industry

RMIT alumni make waves in Vietnam hospitality industry

Two alumni have leveraged their soft skills learning from RMIT Vietnam to make a mark at two of the country’s best hotels.

In just two years, Dao Thu Trang, who graduated from the University’s Saigon South campus in 2014 with a degree in Professional Communication, has risen to the position of Marketing Communications Manager at the Sofitel Legend Metropole in Hanoi.

“It was purely by chance that I got into the industry,” Trang says. “At the end of our degree we need to get an internship and a friend told me about a full-time position at the Park Hyatt Saigon and I got it, so since then I’ve just been with hospitality.”

Even though she didn’t have a degree related to the industry, Trang quickly found that her education at RMIT Vietnam was a huge asset.

“I think the skills I learned at RMIT are really hands-on,” she shares, “especially the writing skills and skills you need for the PR industry in particular.”

Trang also shared advice for current students considering hospitality. “Communications is very much about how you keep yourself updated with current trends in the industry,” she says.

“Hospitality is a very intimate occupation, it’s not like your normal corporate environment where you go to work and interact with your colleagues in a very professional manner and then you go home. It’s kind of like a family.”

Dao Thu Trang is the Marketing Communications Manager at the Sofitel Legend Metropole in Hanoi. Dao Thu Trang is the Marketing Communications Manager at the Sofitel Legend Metropole in Hanoi.

Meanwhile Nguyen Minh Duc, who graduated from Hanoi City campus in 2012 with a Bachelor of Commerce degree, has found great success at the Intercontinental West Lake, also in the capital. He currently manages three restaurants and two lounges at the hotel, and believes attending the University was one of the best decisions of his life.

“When I decided I wanted to go into the industry I realised I didn’t have any skills for it,” he shares. “But I had skills that were prepared when I was a student, like time management, communication skills, professional behaviour and leadership competencies.”

Nguyen Minh Duc manages three restaurants and two lounges at the Intercontinental West Lake in Hanoi. Nguyen Minh Duc manages three restaurants and two lounges at the Intercontinental West Lake in Hanoi.

Duc believes the ability to ask the right questions of the right people, which he learned through his courses, has helped him immensely.

“I remember when I asked a question in my first meeting everyone laughed,” he says. “I was very embarrassed and annoyed, but if I don’t ask then I don’t know and I will make a mistake.”

Duc is also currently enrolled in a management trainee program provided by the Intercontinental Hotel Group for Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Story: Michael Tatarski

14 February 2017

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