From Marrakech to Dubai
Youssef, 27, describes his first months as a hotel receptionist abroad.

When a friend sent me a job advert for a receptionist at a large hotel in Dubai, I almost didn't apply. I had worked at a small guest house in Marrakech for three years, and I was sure that a big international hotel would want someone with much more experience. My friend kept telling me to try, so in the end I sent my CV, and two weeks later I had an online interview. To my surprise, the manager asked very little about my previous job. She was much more interested in how I dealt with unhappy guests.

The first month was harder than I had expected. The work itself was not the problem. In Marrakech I had already checked guests in, dealt with complaints and spoken French and English every day. What was difficult was the size of the place. The hotel has more than four hundred rooms, and at first I got lost every time I had to take something to another floor. I also had to learn a new booking system, which was faster than the one at home but had dozens of different screens.

Luckily, the hotel gives every new employee a “buddy” for the first six weeks. Mine was a woman from Kenya called Grace, who had worked there for five years. She never made me feel stupid when I asked the same question twice. She also told me something I still remember: guests will forgive a slow check-in, but not a cold smile.

Now, eight months later, I train new receptionists myself. My advice to anyone who is thinking about working abroad is simple: don't decide that you are not good enough before somebody else has decided. And when you arrive, ask for help early.