Her Story
About Shannan
I've been working in the hospitality industry for 20 years, since I was 18 years old. I maintain the front of house team, which means I focus on service rather than kitchen operations. My responsibilities include training staff, overseeing guest satisfaction on the floor, and handling marketing for the kitchen and events. I've been largely self-taught throughout my career, developing strong sales skills over the years because in the service industry, you're basically selling yourself when you're working for tips. You're running your own section like your own business. I earned my associate's degree in business administration in 2022. I've had a lot of good managers along the way who have helped me grow and develop as a service industry professional. Outside of my main work, I also own a small business that restores furniture.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Shannan
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think believing in myself, kind of putting my money on me. Even if I'm not having the best day, I still have to go out there and put a smile on my face and leave it all out the door. Sometimes that's not super easy, but I always bet on myself and give myself little affirmations and pep talks so I can make it through.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've received is to try to meet people where they are. In hospitality, you're dealing with the general public most of the time, with all different personalities. Some people might not be the nicest, but we have no idea what's going on in their life. You have to kind of meet people where they are. If someone's a little bit more in a rush, or there's a group of people who really want to take their time if they're celebrating something nice, being able to meet people where they are in any given moment throughout the day is probably the best advice I've ever been given.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say know your worth. If there's a job or a situation that's not serving you, and you want to move up, and you try but there's certain blocks in your way, maybe professional disagreements with somebody higher than you, because that can happen in this industry sometimes, don't be afraid to do something different and step away. There are other companies out there that would love to obtain somebody with those types of skills. So, definitely know your worth.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges I would say is finding somewhere that supports work-life balance. In the service industry, it is a lot of nights, a lot of weekends, a lot of holidays. The busiest time for a service industry is when the rest of the world is off. So work-life balance can be hard, especially if you are in a more important role where that kind of falls back on you if you have staff who want off for holidays or certain weekends. Being able to find somewhere that promotes work-life balance can be challenging. On that same coin, there are places that offer tuition reimbursement and stuff like that, so that is a really good opportunity in the industry that hasn't always been there. Service can be a forever career, but for a lot of people, it's getting them through school or a bridge job, bridging the gap between a couple jobs. So offering more incentive to get young professionals in there, I think, would be positive for more places to adopt.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I would say patience and kindness are important to me.
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