Employed by the hotel I had left (5)
I believe the answer is:
hired
'employed' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'the hotel i had left' is the wordplay.
'the hotel' becomes 'h' (phonetic alphabet: alpha, bravo, charlie etc.).
'had' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'left' becomes 'red' (I've seen this in other clues).
'h'+'i'+'red'='HIRED'
'by' is the link.
(Other definitions for hired that I've seen before include "Chartered" , "Engaged for wages" , "Taken into service" , "Paid to work" , "Taken on to staff" .)