WARNING: PLEASE READ BEFORE APPLYING TO WORK IN A RESTAURANT!!!

Hear me now, hear me clear, the restaurant industry is no joke and should not be taken lightly. For some of you young hopefuls out there you may simply see it as a temporary thing while in pursuit of something else, but, in fact, it’s like the mafia, and just when you think you’re out, they pull you back in. So, before going down that road think long and hard about whether or not this is something you can see yourself doing for years to come, because once you’re in it’s extremely hard to break out.

I’m in a position right now where I’m feeling done with the restaurant industry. Of course having worked at my last job for the past 5 years has done nothing for my resume. Never mind my loyalty and commitment to the company. Never mind that I started as a host and worked my way up to event manager. Never mind that working in restaurants isn’t all about standing there and looking pretty. Maybe that’s the problem? Maybe too many people have misconceptions about what it really takes to work in a restaurant? If one more person tells me that I don’t have any office experience I’m going to scream. Are you freaking kidding me?! Drawing up contracts, creating menu templates, responding to emails, faxing forms, answering multiple phone lines, ordering office supplies and maintaining a website doesn’t count as OFFICE EXPERIENCE? It’s not all about greeting and seating you know.

And let’s say that my job did simply consist of greeting and seating. Do you know how hard that is? I mean, sure we’re not saving lives, but to plot out multiple seatings while taking into consideration personal requests and special occasions, and then having to stand there and smile as some of the nastiest, rudest, cheapest “foodies” come and go with absolutely no appreciation for you or the effort it took to keep their evening running smoothly can be truly draining. It takes a great amount of self control and inner peace to smile and remain graceful when you have people demanding things from you left and right and there’s really nothing else you can do but stand there and take it. I realize that many of us experience this in our jobs, but then does that not qualify me for work outside the restaurant industry? At the end of the day aren’t all jobs about being polite and professional? So what difference does it make if I’m putting my best foot forward in a restaurant or elsewhere?