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Re: Working at a Restaurant
| quote: | Originally posted by Nick Cenik
1) I have zero related experience--do I still have a shot at securing a job? I am thinking about hosting, waiting, or working in the kitchen in some capacity--is this unreasonable? I'm basically willing to do anything besides wash dishes (I think). |
Yes, you have a chance at getting the job. You will NOT be a waiter in a nice establishment without past experience, or happen to be a female with a hot body and cute face. You DO stand a chance at becoming a bartender or waiter EVENTUALLY, but it'll require putting a good show on in the kitchen first. Speaking of kitchen work, as a new guy, you WILL be doing dishes, and you will be doing dishes until the powers that be decide you're not an absolute donkey and can handle the pressure of actually having to DO something during the dinner rush. You may think dish-pit is a shit job, but if you can't handle the pressure of a dinner rush in the dish-pit, you don't stand a chance when you have to keep track of all the food you have to make. In addition to doing dishes, you will also be the sweep+mop bitch, the garbage collector, and be called upon for any other donkey (see: bitch) jobs that are required to help the cooks in the kitchen.
| quote: | | 2) Which things should I make sure to mention and, conversely, avoid in my cover letter/resume? |
Avoid anything that makes you seem lazy, or afraid to do grosse work. If you can work in anything about being able to multi-task, work with a cool head under pressure, and be available and on-call for any particular night, you stand a good chance at getting the job. Also understand and declare your understanding that when your shift is 5-9, that could actually mean you'll be working til 1 in the morning, depending on the business and what needs to be done to close up the kitchen.
| quote: | 3) What kind of money should I expect to make as someone with no experience?[quote]
Hard to say, most places don't give new hires much more than minimum wage, in nicer resteraunts, you're probably looking at 10.50-12 bucks an hour, and you'd be DAMN lucky to see 12. Many resteraunts have a tip pool, which roughly works out to an extra dollar per hour, handed out bi-weekly.
[quote]4) Any recommendations re: which specific restaurants to target? I am planning on visiting the 'nicer' establishments, e.g. the Keg, Moxy's, etc. |
If I know resteraunts, I know that they are ALWAYS hiring staff in an attempt to find competent, dependable individuals. Understand that 75% of the kitchen is filled with lazy pot-head dropouts, and also that 95% of that 75% are horrible cooks that tend to be too lazy to do something as simple as cutting green peppers for 20 minutes to prep for the day. Italian resteraunts are easy to cook for, Pasta, salad, garlic bread and some pizza are the typical dishes that are ordered, and all are easy breezy to make.
| quote: | | 5) I live in Mississauga--anybody here work at a restaurant that is currently hiring? |
Can't help you there, if you're looking for 10+ per hour, you can't go any lower than a keg or moxy's, or other, comparable restaurant (Jack Astor's might be aight too). Boston Pizza, Kelsey's, Casey's, Applebees, etc. are all going to offer you 8.75-9.50 an hour starting wage.
| quote: | | I believe that working in a restaurant may be an appropriate job for me because I enjoy interacting with others and people seem to perceive me as a friendly guy (usually haha). |
If you're good, you'll have fun talking shit all day with lots of cool people, if you're bad, you won't have fun having an entire kitchen talk shit to you all day. When you're new, you better prove you learn fast, or get used to being talked shit to all day.
Successful kitchen workers can keep track of many, many things at one time, are fast with their hands, talk mad shit (or, if they can't back it up, put up with being talked mad shit to), and work with a cool head under pressure (and trust me, if you've never worked kitchen before, you've never experienced ANYTHING like a Friday dinner rush).
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Captain Planet is gey.
Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, Heart???
These forces are supposed to combine to create Captain Planet?
Bullshit.
Those forces combine to create a soaking, boiling mudstorm on Valentine's Day.
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