A Successful Restaurant Job Search

Waiting tables is one of the most popular jobs for people who are just entering the workforce. With relatively little training, you can start making serious cash right away. However, you might start to feel like you need an MBA in Strategy to land the most lucrative restaurant jobs. If you just jump in to a restaurant job search, you meet a lot of frustrating dead ends. Here's how to get results.

Here Are Some Useful Tips for Your Restaurant Job Search

Research the salary ranges for restaurant jobs in your particular area. The U. S. Department of Labor has a wealth of information on hospitality jobs, and your state's department of commerce will also have some useful data.
Make an up-to-date resume complete with all of your contact information (phone number, mailing address, and e-mail address). Make it as easy as possible for potential employers to contact you.
Talk to various waiters every time you go out to eat. Ask them questions about how they serve food, how they got involved in waiting, what kind of tips and tricks have they learned along the way... etc. You'd be surprised what kind of information you can dig up.
During your restaurant job search, wear presentable clothes whenever you drop off your resume. For places that serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, the least busy time is usually in the early afternoon right after lunch. That is the best time to approach the floor manager.
When searching for restaurant jobs, if a place promises to call you back, wait for five days and call them back. Do this every so often until you get a yes or no answer.

If you stick with it long enough, your restaurant job search will finally yield something fruitful. And don't be discouraged by occasional "no's" every now and then. People get turned down for restaurant jobs all the time. However, given the high turnover rate, you will find something if you stick to your guns and really pound the pavement.

About the Author

A freelance writer and researcher, Austin Brentley is an English teacher currently living and working in Yamaguchi, Japan. His previous experience includes working for a lobbying firm in his native Washington, DC and working for various record and television studios in New York. Austin holds a B.A. in history

Chef School Features

California Culinary Academy

Get your Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts or Hospitality & Restaurant Management degree at the acclaimed California Culinary Academy in beautiful San Francisco, CA.

The Art Institutes

Turn your passion into a four-star career. At The Art Institutes, you'll explore traditional, fundamental cooking skills and get hands on training in our student-run restaurants.

Western Culinary Institute

Western Culinary Institute (WCI) offers world-renowned Le Cordon Bleu Programs in the heart of one of the nation's most beautiful and culturally-thriving cities — Portland, OR.