Finding A Resource For Hotel And Catering Jobs
However, there are plenty of options available to the not-so-experienced chef. You just need to know where to look.
If you are serious about looking for hotel catering jobs, you should begin online. There are many large websites that have job listings, but you will be better off going with a smaller, more focused job listing where you are able to search jobs that are just for chefs. This will save you a lot of time, which would be spent sifting through irrelevant jobs on a larger website. Doing your job search online opens up the market. You can search not just in your area, which would usually be covered by your local newspaper, but anywhere within the UK. Narrow that down to hotel jobs and you will find that the best options will be online. The number of hotel catering jobs that are available in print are limited. Most employers find it far easier (and cheaper) to list their catering jobs on the internet these days, so that is where you should begin looking. However, websites are not the only way to find catering jobs. If you have a specific hotel in mind, why not contact their personnel office and speak to someone in Human Resources? They should be able to tell you when they will be looking to hire next and you can call them back at that time, or stop by the hotel and leave an updated CV for them to keep on file for a future date. Or, you might even be lucky enough to find that they are looking right now, in which case, you can apply immediately.
It never hurts to look through the classifieds, either, although the number of catering jobs you find there will be few and far between. If you prefer something local, you may find it in the local newspaper. You can also check most newspapers online, as they usually upload the entire edition to their website for Chef Jobs Employment as a chef can take many forms, as there are many different types of opportunities within the industry. Chef employment can be found within restaurants, hotels, cruise ships and resorts. You can also find catering jobs at banquet and party centers. Some highly skilled chefs become business owners, caterers, private chefs and educators. There is an excellent outlook in chef employment, especially if you are highly trained and skilled. The demand in this field continues to grow for many reasons including the higher number of meals eaten outside of the home and better resources to afford vacations and restaurant meals. Chef employment can be affected by economic concerns and some positions are highly affected by the seasons as well. This is particularly true for those working in vacation and resort areas.
Chefs generally do not have a set schedule and must be flexible to work the hours needed in a given week or time period. They often have to work nights, weekends and holidays because of the nature of the industry. There is also a much higher than average amount of part-time positions compared to the average in all industries combined. As much as 40-45 % of chef employment opportunities are part-time positions. The salary outlook for chef employment can vary greatly. This depends on the size of the facility you are working for as well as the type of employment. The median income for chefs in 2002 was between an average of ?5.00 an hour to ?10.00 an hour. Pay can be as low as ?3.50 an hour and as high as around ?14.00 an hour. Higher end chefs, business owners, and chefs in executive and management positions have an even much higher income potential than this. The more education and training you have as a chef, the higher your income potential. This will also allow you to advance to higher-level positions more quickly in catering jobs.
It is best to have formal education if you’d like to have a higher-level career within the food services industry. Some vocational programs are as short as six months, though formal culinary schools are generally from two to four years in duration. There are also graduate level chef programs available. Much of the training needed for chef employment is found on the job. Even with a formal education, most still work as interns or with a head chef as an apprentice before having the full training and skills needed to become a chef. In some restaurants or industries you may even need to apply for and obtain a license.
There are plenty of chef employment opportunities are out there if you have the passion and drive to advance your skills to the level needed for a successful career. Research the types of opportunities available and choose the area that best suits your particular personality and needs. You will then best know how to proceed as far as education and training to become as successful in your area of interest as possible.
