Last Call!
JOWITA BYDLOWSKA, Staff Writer
Summer is here and you can't fully enjoy it because ... because you still don't have a job. You've had some brilliant ideas that didn't pan out and now you're ready to look beyond your usual choices and try the service industry. Why? Restaurants and bars are almost always hiring. Let us tell you how to prepare food, greet guests, mix drinks and charm the patio for money.
Kitchen's Big Helper
According to CareerPlanner.com, kitchen helpers can do any of the following:
- Sweep and mop the floors
- Wash food prep areas
- Clean out garbage, sort bottles
- Wash dishes
- Set up tables
- Wash and prep vegetables
The Alberta Occupational Profiles site notes that kitchen helpers may work in all kinds of different capacities. For example, they may be tasked as sandwich, salad and dessert makers in commercial eating establishments. In the role of a food prep/kitchen helper, you might also be asked to serve customers, so you'll need a pleasant manner and good memory to be able to get the orders right.
Your work environment will be a busy one, no doubt about it. Customers are often not only extremely picky about their preferences but also expect fast and efficient service. You will be working on your feet and should be prepared for shift and weekend work. You may also have to be on call.
Work safety is another thing you need to be aware of as you will be working near hot stoves, boiling water, sharp knives and garbage. The pay is low but you still make money from tips as most places have a tipping pool that they share at the end of the day.
The Busiest Person
A position that sometimes overlaps with kitchen helper is that of a busser (busboy). According to About.com (scroll down), a busser is the first promotion that a kitchen helper, like a dishwasher, gets. A busser is essentially a go-to-do-all employee -- he or she will be responsible for cleaning tables, helping waiters, fetching ingredients or helping in the kitchen. A bartender may require the busser to help with his or her job as well. Be prepared to lift heavy glass trays, cases of booze, carts of dishes, etc. It's a physically demanding job. This is a great position for someone who has no experience but wants to learn more about working in the business.
And, hey, if Alec Baldwin and Robert Downey Jr. could do it, who says you couldn't?
What Can I Get You Today?
Working in a restaurant or a bar is not for everyone. Waitressing is a job that is challenging, one that demands you to be organized, positive and a master at multi-tasking. You also need to have a great memory and to be physically fit as well.
Naomi Galloway, who had been working at a popular Toronto restaurant for years, says that for those with no previous experience, it's best to "start either in a hostess or cocktailing [position] where you can learn how a restaurant runs first. You have to learn to keep the pace -- which is really quick -- if you want to make tips and make a happy customer." She says that it's better to work less demanding jobs first in a busier restaurant so that you have a chance to train. You can also work lunches, which are slower, in order to learn on the job. If you're in a busy restaurant and "you're not making a hundred a day, it's not worth it," says Galloway, who adds that, of course, you're not going to make that right away.
In this industry you will make a lot of contacts and, as Galloway says, "even if you're not the best at what you do, if your attitude is friendly and positive and if you're fun to work with and are willing to take high stress and not turn into a monster, you will get hired. It's a service position but if you let it get to you, it will eat you inside and you'll become a resentful and unhappy person." For the most part, she says, waitressing is a great job.
The catch? There are three. Number one is that you will need to get Smart Serve training. Smart Serve delivers "a responsible service training program to all individuals who serve alcohol beverages or work where alcoholic beverages are served in the Province of Ontario." Without Smart Serve, you have very little chance of getting hired in a place that serves alcohol.
The second catch is that work hours can be crazy. Galloway says that you often start at 4 p.m. and are done between 11 p.m. and 2 to 3 a.m. "The next day is ruined."
Third is that, as Galloway says, it may not be mentally stimulating and eventually you do "peak" in this job (there's nothing more left to learn). However, the people you work with are usually great and the money can be really good. Galloway says that you can make $600 to $800 cash working four days a week in a popular restaurant in Toronto.
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Let Me Make You Something Special!
Michael De Corte, Toronto-based jack-of-all-trades (personal trainer, yoga teacher, bartender) says that when he started working as a bartender, "as long as you had some customer service experience, you might have a chance at the job." He says it may be a bit harder to get into bartending right now. "A lot of people are also taking bartending courses that help them find work. Having Smart Serve is also a prerequisite now."
CareerPlanner.com lists the following as some of a bartender's duties:
- Taking beverage orders from staff or customers
- Mixing liquor, soft drinks, water and other ingredients to prepare cocktails and other drinks
- Checking IDs and collecting payment for beverages and record sales
- Maintaining inventory and controlling bar stock and order supplies
- Keeping the bar area clean
But you not only have to know all those things mentioned above. You need to be aware of the huge amount of responsibility that a bartender has. In lots of places it's up to the bartender to decide whether or not a customer's had too much to drink. Additionally, as a bartender, you may be held responsible if a customer who’s had too much to drink drives off in his or her car and has an accident. Also, your job environment will be noisy and you can count on some major cleaning up once in a while.
However, there are many pluses to bartending. De Corte lists flexible hours, high income and the ability to save up to pursue such things as school (he's got a certificate in public relations as well). He says, "I definitely think that working in this industry for the summer is a great way to make money as long as you don't party it away with your co-workers and as long as you find a job where you'll be working on a patio. The money comes in daily, sometimes lots of it, and if you can sock it away, you're set." (Remember: you'll have to declare some of the tips in your income tax!)
De Corte lists being a people person and having thick skin as two of the qualities one needs to do well in this job. He says that you have to be positive to make it in this industry, even if you're having a bad day.
De Corte says, "My advice to wanna-be waiters and bartenders: Get a little experience working for smaller places, first as a hostess, somewhere a little easier going like East Side Marios. Look for a job with a patio or outside bar, and use your best people skills in the interview. Be serious, but light and friendly."
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Hosting
According to the Food and Beverage Underground site, a host or hostess' task is to supervise and coordinate the activities of the dining room in a restaurant. Some restaurants require their hosts/hostesses to wear uniforms; all of them will require you to look sharp -- a host or hostess is the first impression that a customer gets of a restaurant.
The most important skill for a host or hostess is to be organized as it is his or her responsibility to keep the whole restaurant running smoothly. You have to check reservations and talk to the manager to see if there are any special parties you will need to seat. In some places you will be given a seating chart that will let you plan how to seat guests. You will also need to check with other staff to make sure that everything is going according to plan. Your other responsibilities involve keeping the place clean -- wiping menus and entrance doors. You get paid by the hour but you should also get a percentage of the tip from the wait staff.
The Method
As with most places, it may be tough to try to find work this late in the game but the service industry is generally open to hiring people on a regular basis and the turnover is greater than anywhere else. Other than sending out your resumé the traditional way (via mail or email), the best idea is to visit all the places where you hope to find work and leave your resumé and a great impression behind. Check Craigslist and Kijiji -- the two sites often have fresh hospitality postings coming up on a regular basis.
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