Some of our currently open positions:
Changing and Chosing a Job
A little help in making the decision.
Nobody can tell you whether you should leave your current position or accept another. Perhaps, however, these questions and considerations will help you make your decision
Are you satisfied with your current position?
- Is the position offering you opportunities to learn?
- Do you have satisfactory or pleasant working conditions and colleagues?
- Is your compensation within the standard salary or wage for the area?
Why did you accept your current position?
- Will you be missing some of the advantages of this job if you leave it?
- Are there positive aspects of your current position to which you have become accustomed?
Have you been at the current position long enough to build a stable career history?
Most employers look for stays of at least one year for line and learning positions and histories of two or more years for management and supervisory staff. If you have a choppy job history it may be better to stay where you are. If you take the wrong job it is better to leave very soon than to leave after several months.
Why are you dissatisfied with your current job?
- Was the postion misrepresented to you?
- Have you outgrown the challenges of the position?
- If you having problems with colleagues or supervisors, are you sure that you cannot correct the misunderstandings with good communication?
- Have your financial and practical needs changed? For instance, do you need a different schedule or insurance plan due to changed family status?
- Is your dissatisfaction due to new management? Is this really a territorial issue?
- Are the facilities at your location unsafe or uhealthy?
- Is your dissatisfaction based on real prospects or emotional reactions?
- Have you reached a ceiling with no chances of advancement? Are you certain that no plans exist to promote you?
- Have you become stale at your current position or are you concerned about lack of inspiration and momentum?
- Do you feel that staying at your current position will stop you from advancing later?
If you are dissatisfied, have you communicated this in a civilized and mature manner to your supervisors or employer? Are you sure that there is no plan in place to correct the problems?
What do you know about and expect from the new position?
- Do you have all the details you need to make a decision?
- Has the potential employer answered your questions about hours, compensation and benefits clearly.
- If you are considering a restaurant or club with a desire to change or upgrade their product, will the clientele or membership accept the changes?
- Have you carefully compared the advantages and disadvantages of the new position?
- Will the new positions offer you opportunities for growth and exposure to new information?
- If you are looking at a management position, do you have a satisfactory explanation for the departure of the previous employee?
- Does the business have a history of high turnover? This is not always a bad sign, but it is a good idea to find out why.
- Do you have a written offer or contract?
- Are you ready to be the "new kid on the block"?
- Are you comfortable with your ability to carry out the duties in the new position?
Is your motiviation moving on and up or just a change of wallpaper?
- Are you clear on your reasons for wanting to leave your current location?
- Have you carefully considered the details of relocating to another area?
- Is your career h3 enough to support possible setbacks in new surroundings?
- If you relocate, will you lose the value of having worked for a recognized quality restaurant which is not known at the new location?
- Have you thoroughly researched the career possibilities and living conditions of the area where you want to work?
- Will relocaton advance your career by giving you an opportunity to work with and learn from highly qualified professionals?
- If you already have fully developed your style, will it be well received in the new location?
- Will you be able to step back and accept a lesser position while you learn the "culture" of another city or region?
- Is it possible that you are receiving better compensation because you are working in an area where it is difficult to find qualified professionals?
Is your desire or decision to effect change really an expression for some other personal dissatisfaction?
- Are you going through a divorce or other relational crisis?
- Are you dealing with a substance problem?
- Are you suffering any other personal crisis?
- You may find it a good idea to take on one demon at a time. Experience shows us that people who change jobs while they are navigating rough waters in other areas often do very poorly. Employers familiar with your current situation will be more likely to "cut some slack" during hard times than people who have just hired you.
What about compensation?
- Is the compensation adequate for the position?
- If compensation is based in part on performance or volume bonus, is there sufficient history of performance?
- What control will you have over the factors that determine your performance bonus, such as food cost, pricing, labor cost and marketing?
- If comepnsation is unduly high, is there a hidden problem with the property?
- Have you compared higher or lower compensation in another region with the actual cost and quality of living?
Will the new position advance your career?
- Can you expect training, mentoring or a chance to learn?
- Is the position one that will lead to your career goal or is it a detour?
- Does the company have a good reputation for product and professionalism?
- Are there growth possibilities within the company?
- Would the culture of the company make it worth your while to take a step backwards for a later promotion?
- Is the business well known? Will future potential employers recognize and respect it?
Other considerations:
- Are there advantages or disadvantages to your current or prospective position like proximity to your home or a long commute?
- Will you be leaving or be able to work with a good staff?
- Will you come into a position requiring you to change bad habits ingrained in long term employees?
- While most new jobs require more longer hours, what time expenditure will be required of you once you have settled in?
- What facilities, equipment and services are or will be available for you.
These are questions. It is up to you to decide if your answers warrant your changing positions, or if you need to remain in your present position.
When you decide to leave your position or to seek or accept another, you might want to consider the following points.
- It is almost always better to be employed while you seek a new position. Even if you are dissatisfied with your job, leaving it to seek new employment is more often than not a bad idea. Potential employers frequently view unemployed candidates skeptically.
- No matter how exasperating events at your job are, you should never just walk away. Take ten minutes of time out, if you need to, but do everything in your power to stay through the situation. Walking off a job can cloud your career for several years.
- Once you have decided to leave a position, you need to act as professionally as if you were making your first impression. The last impression you leave will follow you through your professional life,
- If you are good terms with your employer or supervisor and have come to the conclusion that it is time for you to seek new employment, consider discussing it with them. If you are not yet a chef, it is very possible that they will be able to assist you. Sometimes this is not an option. In that case two weeks is the standard notice for non management positions, while management positions frequently give three weeks or more notice.
- If you cannot come to a civilized parting with your current position, you still need to deal with it in a professional manner as your progress. They will be staying where they are, while you are moving on.
- Part of your job as manager has been to train your replacement, so that you can move to the next level. Taking that replacement with you to your next position is not very good form. You will be paid to train new people at your new location. Unless you will never expect to be in a position to need a reference from your employer, you probably shouldn't take the whole staff with you at once.
These are questions. It is up to you to decide if your answers warrant your changing positions, or if you need to remain in your present position.
Why did you accept your current position?
- Will you be missing some of the advantages of this job if you leave it?
- Are there positive aspects of your current position to which you have become accustomed?
Have you been at the current position long enough to build a stable career history?
- Most employers look for stays of at least one year for line and learning positions and histories of two or more years for management and supervisory staff. If you have a choppy job history it may be better to stay where you are.
- If you take the wrong job it is better to leave very soon than to leave after several monthsul