4 Ways AIHM Career Fair Boosted Student Careers

Stepping into the hospitality industry takes more than classroom learning—it takes real-world practice.
This June, AIHM hosted its first-ever Career Fair, bringing together leading employers and ambitious students. Over two inspiring days, the event transformed into a living classroom where connections, interviews, and ideas flowed. From networking games to on-the-spot interviews, students had the chance to put their skills into action.

Here are four powerful ways the AIHM Career Fair prepared our young professionals for their future careers.

4 Ways the AIHM Career Fair Helped Our Students Step into the Industry

This June marked the first inaugural AIHM Career Fair! We were honored to welcome a dozen employers to join in this inspiring showcase of the best of Thailand’s hospitality sector. The AIHM Career Fair was designed to allow for a mutual exchange of ideas, networking, connecting with peers, and investing in the future leaders of the hospitality industry and the wider business sector.

Class Time = Career Time

The AIHM Career Fair isn’t an optional event. It’s a must-attend, built right into our students’ class schedule. This isn’t something squeezed in between classes; it is the class.

Over the course of the 2-day event, the AIHM faculty and lecturers brought their classes down to the Career Fair, with assignments in hand, to talk with leading hospitality companies across Thailand and beyond. 

We believe the Career Fair is more than just a place to job-search; it is a training ground for AIHM young professionals to translate their skills from theory into practice. Here are 4 concrete ways the AIHM Career Fair is preparing students to navigate the start of their career with confidence.

1. Learning in Action

From Bingo boards to employer challenges, students stepped up: asking questions, making connections, and growing in confidence.

A big group of students approaches the registration booth in front of the Career Fair, herded along by their lecturer. “Welcome to the first ever AIHM Career Fair! Are you ready for my spiel?” Moving around the table as I talk, I show the students the AIHM Career Fair Bingo Sheet. They all crowd in closer to hear me better, their laughter and good humor already brightening up the space. “You need to get a Bingo to complete this assignment; complete any 5 items in a row on the board; then turn in this sheet to confirm your attendance!”

Every student who attended the fair was given a bingo board with items such as: “Take a selfie with someone currently working in your dream role,” or, “Ask an employer what kind of sustainability initiatives their hotel is involved in.” Not only was the activity fun, simple and engaging; it gave confidence to our youngest cohort of students to boldly approach each booth and begin conversations. One of the hotel representatives commented, “I love this bingo game! The students have been asking really great questions I don’t usually get to answer. Can I take a copy to use in some of our other industry events?”

While designing the Career Fair, AIHM kept these benefits top-of-mind: how could this event can be used to further the students’ learning, hands-on experience and immersion. Our faculty were invited to create assignments for each cohort to complete during the Career Fair. Assignments were developed to empower students to reach the academic goals we have in place for each semester. One such assignment was a match-making game. Using a helpful rubric to define their attributes and skills, one group of students matched those to the attributes and skills required by each employer.

In this way, the AIHM Career Fair becomes an extension of the classroom and a place for the AIHM young professionals to continuously practice their networking, elevator pitches, share their CVs, and sharpen their interview skills.

2. Tools that Get You Hired

From taking advantage of the AIHM Internship Database to interview prep, students came ready. And it showed!

At one of the open tables off to one side of the event space, an AIHM student sits down across from a hotel HR representative and adjusts their suit jacket. Right there in the midst of the bubbling chaos of the Fair, they launch into an on-the-spot interview. From across the crowded space I can’t hear what they are saying, but I can see the calmness and confidence the student is exuding. The interviewer asks questions, gesturing to the CV in front of them, smiling and nodding along with the student’s answers. To achieve such positive rapport during an interview is no easy feat.

It wasn’t just bringing a CV that made the difference in their interaction; the AIHM student knew exactly what internship position they were interested in applying for and directly asked about it when they stepped up to the hotel’s booth.

Long before any of the employers arrived at AIHM and began setting up their booths, they were asked to register their hotels in the AIHM Internship Database. Each of their available internships, management traineeship programs, and full-time positions were individually entered into this database to which all students have access. When the AIHM students received an email announcing the date of the Career Fair and which hotels would be attending, they were reminded to go check out the AIHM Internship Database.

The AIHM young professionals were able to research the hotels and determine which internships or jobs they wanted to pursue. They could even go the extra mile to tailor their CV and personal statement to target that internship and showcase how their skills are relevant to the employer. This preparation enabled the AIHM young professionals to make a strong first impression on the employers who attended. Employers conducted a number of interviews with AIHM young professionals over the course of the two-day event.

While we offer many tools like the Internship Database to the young professionals at AIHM, it is ultimately their responsibility to use them to the fullest and be proactive in building their careers. This is something AIHM strives to create in its students: a sense of self-determination, drive, and the independence it takes to one day be a leader. We support our students and provide numerous opportunities for them while tasking them with the responsibility of stepping up and being proactive in achieving their goals. As an Institution, one of the highlights of the Career Fair was hearing from our hotel partners how impressed they were with the professionalism and warmth of the AIHM student body. AIHM’s young professionals brought a level of engagement and openness that is unique in the landscape of aspiring business professionals today. That spirit truly embodies our motto: #AIHMHigher.

3. Student Life on Display

From mocktails to menu design, enrichment clubs showed off their creativity and collaboration strengths. 

“Oh wow, you’re kidding! The students made all of this themselves?!” The surprise and delight on her face is mirrored by each of the employers I talk to around the Career Fair. Even those who might otherwise have abstained from a sweet treat couldn’t resist trying a bite and exclaiming over how delicious each of the brunch and afternoon tea items were.

When considering where to cater food for the Career Fair, we realised that there was a chance to involve our students while showing employers a glimpse of what students do outside of class time.

Student Enrichment is a mandatory extracurricular initiative, created and led by the AIHM’s emerging professionals. Every week, a dedicated two-hour window is allocated for activities that are entirely student-driven. The Student Committee and Club Leaders are responsible for planning, budgeting and executing a diverse range of experiences that promote creativity, collaboration and personal development. For a deeper look at the programme, we invite you to read a thoughtful article by our Head of Student Engagement, Alison Stanworth.

This year the Kitchen Club, Mixology Club and Student Committee each took ownership of a small part of the Career Fair. The Kitchen Club and the Semester 1 Practical Arts students, with guidance from Gavin Tiffin, prepared a menu of delicious light bites that were available for free throughout the event. The Student Committee displayed art and photographs from across each of the Clubs. The Mixology Club set up a booth and prepared mocktails for everyone in attendance. It was a joy to celebrate a successful event together, with a cheers and a sip of the blue Minor-themed cocktail that the students had invented!

At AIHM, we always aim to provide as many opportunities as possible for students to show off their skills and spend time on projects they are passionate about. The more we empower students now, the more confidently they can take on their next endeavor after graduation.

4. A Forum for the Future

The Employer Forum sparked honest conversations about leadership, work, and what really matters.

The featured event this year was the Employer Forum, revived from last year and newly integrated into the Career Fair. Let’s step into the scene of this special event…

The room falls quiet as everyone answers the prompt on the screen. “What kind of leaders would you prefer to work with?” Words like collaborative, supportive, open-minded and empathetic begin to form a word bubble on the screen. “Ok, now please turn around and talk to the students behind you. Share a bit about your thought process and what you think as you look at this word bubble.” The room immediately fills with warm chatter. “I think it is really interesting how aligned we are on what kind of leaders we all want to work with.” All around me, similar conversations begin to take off. The employers and the students alike share their experiences of interacting with both good and bad leaders, and they talk together about what makes an effective leader.

The Employer Forum, in addition to be a networking opportunity, serves as a unique research project lead by Dr. Yuth Thongchareon. Employers often share with us their difficulty in relating to the new generation of individuals that are beginning to enter the workforce. The employers who attended the Career Fair had the opportunity to join in an interactive and engaging session where students and employers talk directly about their views on career, life and personal wellbeing.

Employers were able to talk about what skills they want to see new candidates bringing into their companies, and students in turn can express what they desire in a job. One of the most exciting outcomes of this research is realising how much closer together the desires and values of both sides are than they ever anticipated.

As a research initiative, the Forum is incredibly productive. The employers and students who attended suggested a wealth of relevant questions, more than could even be possibly explored in the research. The insights of both employers and our young professionals are invaluable in our efforts to push the industry forward and facilitate its development and innovations.

The AIHM Employer Forum will continue to act as the capstone event for the Career Fair, a place for young professionals and established industry leaders to collaborate on their vision for the workplace of the future.

Industry Leaders: If you are an employer interested in joining the upcoming AIHM Career Fair on 4 December 2025, please fill out this form before 15 August to join the Interest List. We will contact you directly to confirm your spot by 1 September and provide further information at that time.

Register Your Interest:
Career Fair Employer Interest Form

AIHM Students: Are you excited to practice your own networking skills, meet recruiters from top hospitality companies, and find your dream position? Mark 4 December 2025 in your calendar! We look forward to seeing you at the next Career Fair.