Today I agreed to take a waitressing position in a local restaurant. Having worked within the hospitality industry for many years before university, I had been keen to avoid such work on my return home as I believed it was a step backwards and unproductive for my job search. Initially I felt nothing new could be gained by working within the hospitality industry, as all prospective employers demanded "industry relevant work experience". How could I possibly gain this necessary (and hard to come by) experience, if I was ploughing all my time into serving coffee???
However having spent the past couple of weeks dedicating my time solely to applying for jobs and finding work experience with little success, I began to feel frustrated in my search and my positive outlook began to break down.
It was at this point that I reassessed what a part-time restaurant job could offer me...
However having spent the past couple of weeks dedicating my time solely to applying for jobs and finding work experience with little success, I began to feel frustrated in my search and my positive outlook began to break down.
It was at this point that I reassessed what a part-time restaurant job could offer me...
- Skills- Although often not recognised, by working (temporarily) in a hospitality based role, skills often deemed as essential by employers can be developed! Communication, working under pressure, team work, people skills and confidence are all skills I refined within hospitality based roles, that I can easily go on to transfer to future office based positions.
- CASH- Some would say the root of all evil...however having run down my finances rather impressively over the summer, I was in need of some sort of income to give me back some independence from my parents. Aside from this, by earning money I will then be able to invest in gaining important skills such as learning to drive, that will massively boost my employability in the long term.
- Positive mindset- By giving myself a task outside of job hunting, I hope to begin to feel much more productive. A part-time job will hopefully give me the boost of interacting with people during the day and a feeling of productivity, whilst still allowing me to hunt for my future career as I transfer my job search to evenings and days off. My next step...find that much needed work experience!!!!