Westin Hotels recently opened the brand's first retail recruitment office to fill jobs at the soon-to-open Westin Lombard Yorktown Center Hotel in suburban Chicago. Since May, the new recruitment office inside the Yorktown Center Mall has experienced a steady stream of job candidates exploring career opportunities at the hotel. The recruitment office in the mall operates seven days a week during the 90-day hiring period.

The new hotel, slated to open its doors in mid-August, will employ 325 persons.

Unlike the typical hiring process, the recruitment office eliminates job fairs and mass hiring, often conducted in a hectic atmosphere.

In fact, the office, with its warm and inviting design and comfortable amenities puts applicants at ease, says the Westin's Human Resource Director Diane Wnek.

With the new approach, the recruitment office allows potential employees to gain a better understanding of what the Westin Lombard Yorktown Center Hotel's workplace culture would be like. It also allows hotel management to get to know potential employees and see if they would be a good fit for the company.

“I believe this recruitment office will surprise and delight our potential associates,” says General Manager Brent Menzel. “They get an immediate understanding of the Westin brand and the hospitable, personable culture we're trying to create for our associates and guests.”

“Applicants can apply online or come in and use the three workstations on site at the office,” says Wnek. “We can usually conduct pre-screening at that time and managers are often there to interview potential candidates.

“The applicants love it,” she says. “ We've had over a thousand applicants and we get a lot of walk in traffic. It's been a great experience.”