| Finding work in the catering trade often starts | | | | the beverage choices. All of these options give |
| with your first job in a restaurant environment. | | | | restaurants a valuable element of flexibility. |
| Before you stat, however, you have to think | | | | If you choose to start work in restaurants your |
| about several issues, including the area you want | | | | target is probably to end up in one of the |
| to specialise in, any talents you may have, the | | | | restaurant management jobs you may see |
| economic state of the marketplace, and of | | | | advertised on job boards and in the classifieds. To |
| course where you should be looking to find your | | | | land one of these coveted restaurant manager |
| best working opportunity. | | | | jobs, you will have to "earn your stripes", and that |
| One overriding consideration is that the restaurant | | | | often means starting out as a waitress or kitchen |
| sector, as opposed to the catering industry as a | | | | porter, which are the first rungs of the ladder in |
| whole, is a little better protected in tougher | | | | back of house and font of house, respectively. |
| economic conditions. Restaurants themselves may | | | | So which would you prefer, and which matches |
| open and close a little faster than in the boom | | | | your natural skills? Are you good mixing with |
| times, but you'll find that on the whole the | | | | people, and generally enthusiastic? Then a waiting |
| average level of eateries, including independents | | | | job is probably the nest place to start. If on the |
| as well as the branded chain operations, tend to | | | | other hand you have as passion for food, enjoy |
| remain fairly stable, irregardless of the amount of | | | | ingredients, and the whole cooking process, then, |
| money in the consumers' pockets. | | | | maybe a back-room position may be a better |
| This is because restaurants have a lot of margins | | | | bet. Whichever route you choose to work your |
| to play with - they can run promotional offers, | | | | way top a restaurant manager job, you will find |
| alter their opening hours and staffing levels and | | | | the best place to look is one of the specialist |
| rotas, trim back on the menu options, and tweak | | | | catering job boards. |