Your Guide to Navigating the Marriott Job Application Process
Employing approximately 175,000 people globally in numerous roles in a variety of career paths, Marriott is the world’s largest hotel chain. Understandably many jobs within the organization are highly sought-after and competition can be high. Understanding and being prepared for the hotel’s rigorous hiring procedures will most certainly give you the best chance of success.
The application process has several parts. We will address each one individually and in the order in which they occur.
Table of Contents
Initial Application Through the Marriott Website
You can search for Marriott job vacancies via their website jobs.marriott.com. You will need to set up an account that, once created, will store all of your details and job applications. You will be asked to provide your email address, Google+ or Yahoo! Account details when creating your account.
Search the site to find a vacancy that suits your skills, experience, and chosen career path. Once you have done this, you will be directed to the Marriott’s ATS – Taleo.
What Is an ATS?
ATS, or Applicant Tracking System, is a piece of software that manages the employer’s recruitment and screening processes. Using this software, the employer can display, arrange and sort through candidate applications. This automated process replaces the many actions formerly done by HR recruiters, saving the employer time and money.
The ATS will be your first interaction with the company and will grade your resume, keep track of any relevant test scores, and subsequently recommend you for the interview process if you score highly enough.
The ATS used by Marriott is called Taleo, which is the largest and most prominent in its field globally. Taleo has over 5,000 clients, around half of whom are on the Fortune 100 list. This means that whichever company you are applying to, if they use an ATS then Taleo is the one that you will most likely encounter. However, if you are applying for a position within a Marriott franchise, you may encounter Jobvite or SmartRecruiters as an alternative to Taleo.
The URL will indicate when you have been successfully directed to the Taleo site.
What Is the Process of Taleo?
There are around 12-14 steps in the Taleo application process. As you progress through the stages, the bar at the top of the page will show the different steps and whereabouts you are in that process.
The main steps are as follows:
1. Resume Upload
As with many job applications, this is the first stage of the process. You will be asked to upload a copy of your resume but you may also use your Indeed or LinkedIn profile. If you choose either of these options, then it is important to make sure that your profiles are up to date, correctly edited, and give a professional representation of you and your skills and experience.
Marriott is different from other companies in that it also gives you the option to fill in details manually, which is a great option if you do not have a prepared resume.
If you do have a prepared resume that still needs perfecting, you can also upload this and edit it in the resume tool software later. This will save you time in the long run. As you progress through the sections in the resume tool, you will be able to make the necessary amendments and updates to your resume.
The resume tool will do the following two things:
- It will extract your information and insert it into the Taleo interface. If your resume is perfect, this should mean that you will not need to do anything in the later sections of Work Experience, Education, Certification, and Language sections.
- It will analyze the text in your resume to determine your match score for your chosen role. If you are applying for different roles within the Marriott group, you will be able to upload a different resume applicable to each position and the ATS will then determine if your resume is up to standard.
2. General Questionnaire
These questions will relate to the technicalities of working for Marriott, along with any declarations such as whether you have any relatives working for the group. There will also be legal questions regarding issues such as work permits or giving permission for drug testing in line with company policy.
3. Work Experience
The title of this section is fairly self-explanatory. If your resume was formatted in a way that Taleo can read, then this part should be extracted and entered automatically. It is good practice to look through the fields once more to check that your data has been entered correctly just in case there are any errors.
When filling your experience section,, there are some good practices to bear in mind:
- Use keywords exactly as they appear in the job posting at least once. Avoid using only abbreviations for the role. For example, if the role is for a Customer Services Manager, do not only use the abbreviation of CRM.
- Make sure you explain any gaps in your work experience as this can work against you in ATS. Gaps in employment will raise suspicion and may hinder your chances of employment. If you had a long gap for maternity leave for example, write this as a section in your employment history.
- When listing your tangible achievements, try to use numbers and figures where possible.
- Do not use images as these will be scrambled by Taleo.
4. Education, Certifications, and Languages
- Education – This section is second in terms of importance behind your work experience, which is mainly used by employers as the most telling reflection of you as a future employer. However, if you are a student or graduate, then your education history will be the highest-ranking on your application.
- Certification – Your main aim when applying for any job is to set yourself apart from your competitors and providing relevant certifications may just give you the edge you need. You may not have the exact certifications for your chosen post but any similar certificates or qualifications, especially if they contain similar keywords, may still have a positive impact on your ATS score.
- Language – Even if you have just a basic grasp of an additional language then it is worth mentioning this as a skill, particularly if the vacancy makes a mention of additional languages as advantageous. Marriott is a global company and thus, serves customers from all over the world and it is therefore easy to see why this could give you a major advantage in your application and future role.
5. Job-Specific Questions
These questions will be set by the Marriott HR team and will be entirely relevant to your role.
They will have two functions:
- Raters – These questions will affect your overall ATS score
- Eliminators – These questions will address any conditions deemed necessary for the role for which you are applying.
In general, the job-specific questions will cover topics such as how many years of experience you have in a specific role or proof of any specific skills you have that are suitable for your chosen role.
6. WOTC
WOTC is the Work Opportunity Tax Credit that is offered to employers who are open to employees from vulnerable groups such as ex-felons or long-term unemployed. The WOTC will not be relevant to every position but if you are from one of these minority groups and it is applicable, then make sure you complete the relevant section – in short, Marriott has an incentive to hire you and give you an opportunity to resume or rekindle your career.
7. Marriott Assessment Tests
The assessment tests that you encounter will depend solely on the position for which you are applying and there may be several components to the administered assessments. The tests you may encounter are as follows:
AON Hewitt G.A.T.E Tests – AON Hewitt provides several aptitude tests for many companies in the US. The tests mainly comprise verbal, numerical, and logical tests, although there are others. The tests are administered via the tech testing platform known as G.A.T.E (Global Assessment and Talent Engine). AON now also owns the cut-e company and so, whilst preparing for your AON assessment, you may also encounter cut-e style aptitude, personality, or SJT.
SJT (Situational Judgement Tests) – These psychological tests assess your work behavior and actions, particularly under stress or when dealing with conflict. A range of work-related scenarios will be presented to you and you must select from a range of possible actions. Select the option that you deem to be most appropriate for the given scenario.
This popular assessment tool is well respected and trusted by companies to give an accurate picture of the behavioral and cognitive abilities of prospective employees pertaining to work-related situations.
Personality Tests – These tests assess your personality traits and whether you are a good match for the organization and your chosen role. The required traits for each role will, of course, vary depending on the specifications of the job. Having a sound understanding of the underlying principles and skills required for the position you seek will definitely stand you in good stead.
Leadership Assessment – These assessments will only apply to roles that contain leadership responsibilities. They will evaluate your suitability for managerial and supervisory roles and will measure traits such as motivation, assertiveness, and your ability to make decisions. Combined with other AON aptitude tests, they will also evaluate your ability to solve problems and think quickly.
Accounting Tests – Unsurprisingly, these tests will form part of the hiring process for roles within finance. Sections such as accounting terms, accounting problems, working with letters and numbers, memorization, inductive reasoning and deductive reasoning will all form part of an accounting assessment.
Marriott Interview
This is the final stage of the process and your chance to really showcase your talents and experience. Make sure you know what is on your resume as you may well be asked questions about your submission. It is important that you appear calm and well-rehearsed in your answers.
You can use the STAR method (situation, task, action, result) to give real-life examples for your answers and engage the interviewer more fully.
How to Prepare for the Marriott Tests?
Preparing for the Marriot assessment tests is simpler than you think. There are many online resources that can help you learn the exact format of the test and try real-life practice questions.
The resources provided by Job Test Prep can provide you with an extensive preparation package, including:
- Sample questions
- Practice tests
- Fully explained answers
- Solving tips
In Summary
Marriott is a major employer and competition for roles is fierce. Preparation and familiarization with the hiring process will give you the best chance of success. Using preparation materials means that you will have everything you need to secure your dream job.
Written by Karen Stanley
Karen is a former teacher of 20 years and ten times published author. She writes content for educational organisations and businesses, nationally and internationally. She coaches new and budding writers through to publication and is passionate about creativity; she runs creative writing workshops in schools and fostering agencies.
Sarah is an accomplished educator, researcher and author in the field of testing and assessment. She has worked with various educational institutions and organisations to develop innovative evaluation methods and enhance student learning. Sarah has published numerous articles and books on assessment and learning. Her passion for promoting equity and fairness in the education system fuels her commitment to sharing insights and best practices with educators and policymakers around the world.
