Job Hopping

[Stranger]

How long do you guys stay before it's time to move on? What determines when you go?

[powers]

after you've done it 1,000 times more than you need to. Or when you have dated all of the hostesess, whichever comes first. I usually stay a year, depending on the food and atmosphere. There's a lot more to be learned as a sous though, if you get under the right chef ou'll wanna stay until he thinks you are ready to leave. Never stop learning, if you feel you have, you should change something.

[even stephen]

Hopping from job to job can be a great experience, but, when you
do decide to settle, how do get your potential employer to know you
are going to stay for any length of time? I came up in a large restaurant
group and stayed for over 11 years the first time around. It's rare that
you can find a group that offers a broad enough experience though. Perhaps
an upscale hotel group. 2 years is a minimum for me when hiring. Anything
else shows a lack of devotion and commitment.

[phatch]

How many restaurants last two years? Huge turnover in the industry. While I'm not a cook, I've worked mostly high-tech companies which are also short lived. My resume is full of defunct companies and short job terms because of it.

Phil

[s398994]

Someone told me that if you're just starting out it's expected that you "hop" for a while - 6 mos here, 6 mos there. That way you experience many different styles of restaurants and cuisines, eventually settling into the style you like.

Is this true? Would it be better to stay at your first job for a year or more and then move on?

I suppose the answer is that it's different for everybody and depends on your situation.

[even stephen]

Phil,
have never worked in a restaurant that went out of business.


Yes, I think more than 6 months is necessary in the beginning.
Later on, take leaves of absence and work for others, or better
yet, have your employer pay to send you to other places for further
exposure and experience.

[phatch]

I suppose the members here offer a somewhat skewed version of the total restaurant workplace. Here there's more focus on high quality food--which is certainly at the upper end of the price spectrum. I don't see the turnover in that area of restaurants that i see and read about in the rest of the business.

The axiom I based my comment on was that most non-chain restaurant startups close before 6 months of business. But if they can last 2 years, they'll last a long time. I see that kind of turnover in a number of restaurant locations.

[even stephen]

Phatch,
they say 1 in 10 make it a year and 1 in 10 of the remaining at the
end of 5 years. Pretty depressing numbers, but, only the strong survive.

[KYHeirloomer]

I don't think you can put a hard and fast figure on it.

I always figured when I reached the point where I had stopped learning, it was time to move on.

[Salliem]

The first cooking job I had I stayed for 11 months...went to work for a corporation and stayed for 9 1/2 years...have been at my current job for 11 years.. I like the people I work with and most times it is a fun enviroment.

[the_seraphim]

place i work in has been the same for so many years now probably close to 10... you know the kitchen im in hasnt been re-done in around 15 years... can you believe that, i cant wait for them to tear it all out in the next 2 or 3 months... turns into a "pub carvery" unless that is i move on already as im planning to...

business is crap at the minute, stupid sales based shifts.... always understaffed, and theres too many staff so theres hardly any actuall work other than for the exec and the sous.

[kuan]

Originally Posted by the_seraphim

business is crap at the minute, stupid sales based shifts.... always understaffed, and theres too many staff so theres hardly any actuall work other than for the exec and the sous.

Actually it's a good idea but problem is, management has no clue about when or where the actual work takes place in a kitchen. I had a boss once who used to come into the kitchen and asked why there were two dishwashers when there were 80 guests in the hotel. Clueless.

[kakibush@chef]

In a short time I jumped from job to job. I'm on par with my last longest time spent in one place, but my decision is to stay longer where I'm now. Because of staff jumping jobs, alot of places in sa does not give refrences, just a letter of "... worked here from... to ....". Thus it is better to stay. I wont hire anyone that shows signs of jumping too quickly. I had thought about it quite alot lately as I recieved job offers out the blue which offered more than twice I earn now. (I do think I'm a bit stupid sometimes). But as time progress, my CV will be so much stronger to show commitment..

I also see mostly people leaving places quickly, cause they always believe the grass is greener on the other side.IT NEVER IS

[KYHeirloomer]

>I also see mostly people leaving places quickly, cause they always believe the grass is greener on the other side.IT NEVER IS<

Most emphatically not true. The grass very often is greener on the other side. If not, there would be no point in ever changing jobs.

Cooks and writers share several things in common. One of which is that professional advancement, most often, comes as the result of changing jobs, not from being promoted within.

[kakibush@chef]

Sorry, I was refering to Job Hoppers (as I understand it, i'ts the 3 to 6 monthers). I do realize advancing comes from changing jobs. I've done it.