Job Responsibilities
Responsibilities can vary from day-to-day as well as hour-to-
hour in this industry. You may work on paperwork one minute and
move to cooking the next, then on to bussing tables. A typical
day would include helping to either set up the restaurant or
clean up and put things away at the end of the day. All
employees are supervised to ensure proper execution of recipes
and adherence to proper portioning as well as keeping them busy
during down time by assigning extra duties such as organizing or
cleaning. A manager will prepare cash drawers and deposits,
balancing the safe three times daily. Talking to the restaurant
patrons every day is a must, it's the only truthful feedback
you'll get. Multi-tasking is also a constant requirement. On a
weekly basis, staff schedules must be written. Twice weekly
supply truck orders must be made based on amounts on-hand and
unit usages. Fresh produce is ordered almost daily and is also
based on amounts on-hand and usages. Most companies will
require a minimum of 50 hours a week, some can be more. A
scheduled day will likely never be less than 8 hours and can be
up to 12 scheduled hours as well.
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Job Requirements
This can vary depending on the company as well as location.
Many restaurants do not require a degree for any type of entry-
level management positions. However, for General Manager and
up, companies do tend to look towards those with a Bachelor's
degree. All companies will require several weeks of training
specific to that company, typically anywhere from 6 weeks or
more. More than likely a newly hired manager will be sent to a
particular unit that is considered a "training store" for their
training and will stay in a hotel for the duration. In my
particular case, I have an Associate's degree and began my
restauant career as a Waitress. I worked on beoming cross-
trained and eventually was able to be promoted into management
(with a previous employer). Once you have become a manager for
one company, it is relatively easy to land a management position
elsewhere.
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Uppers
If you don't like sitting at a desk or being bored doing the same thing
everyday, restaurant management is for you. You're frequently doing something
different from one minute to the next and you very rarely sit down. Every day is
different and typically very fast-paced. If you don't have a Bachelor's degree,
the pay can be pretty good. There is typically an over-abundance of
opportunities in this field, you just have to know where to look and what
resources to tap into.
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Downers
Hard, hard work. The job can be very physically demanding. You
could close down the restaurant one day and the next be coming
in to open the restaurant as well. It takes a toll on your
sleeping and eating habits, as you never have any type of set
schedule. You're on your feet for most of a typical 10 hour day
and the stress level can be relatively high. Unhappy patrons
can certainly cause headaches from time to time. Turnover is
relatively high due to the low required education level for the
staff as well as an abundance of other opportunities for them.
Additionally, there is a much lower sense of responsibility for
the staff, if they don't show up for a shift and get fired,
they'll just move on to another restaurant.
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Lifestyle
All companies will have some sort of dress code, most "sit-down" type
restaurants (i.e. Chili's Applebee's) and nicer will have uniforms that will be
slacks and a button-down shirt of your choice. Some companies provide shirts
while others do not. Other types of restaurants (fast-food; i.e. Burger King,
McDonald's, quick-service sit-down; i.e. Fazoli's, Chipotle) will typically
provide a set amount of shirts for you, while you provide bottoms within their
code. I have found that uniforms are often-changing in this industry. Hours can
be long and vary from week-to-week. A time-out on a schedule (if there even is
one) is only hypothetical and you may only leave when business has declined
enough for you to do so, therefore a busy week can extend your hours quite a bit.
Travel for a typical manager is usually very little to none. I have held
positions travelling to assist other stores when they were short handed as well
as assisting in the set-up and opening of new stores. That is dependant on the
particular company, it's needs and your skills and desires. Social events are
usually very few to none, due to the fact that a restuarnt will typically only
close for Christmas and a few for Thanksgiving. Overall it's a great start for
someone without many obligations or a family of their own yet.
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Compensation
Once again, this can vary greatly from one company to the next
as well as the type of restaurant (fast-food, quick-service, sit-
down, finer). I am personally familiar with quick-service and
sit-down "casual", as that is where my experience is. In my
particular area, most restaurants are in the 27k-30k range for
quick-service and 30k-33k for sit-down "casual" type
restaurants. Depending on experience you can also demand more.
Most restaurant companies offer some type of bonus incentives to
their managers. These are typically based on a wide variety of
requirements such as sales, controllables, profit margins,
etc... Some company bonuses are much easier to acquire, be sure
to ask about all the details regarding what that potential bonus
will be based upon. Health insurance is typically offered, but
the portion that the employer pays can differ greatly.
Additional insurances such as Dental, Eyecare, STD, LTD, etc...
also vary greatly from company to company, some offer them and
some don't and some offer just a few. Stock options, again, are
dependant on the company, with some not offering that option and
others offering after the first year of employment only.
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Advice to Jobseekers
Be prepared for hard but rewarding work. If you do have other
obligations in your life such as a family, be prepared that this
will take time away from your family, know how to budget your
time wisely. Be prepared that this will not be your last career
stop. A body can only take so much of the hours and the
standing. My suggestion would be, if you are truly interested,
be sure to have your Bachelor's degree before you start. That
way, when you've decided that you (or your feet!) have had
enough, you'll have that degree to fall back on. Getting out
can be difficult if you don't have a degree. You will typically
grow accustomed to the income, but if you leave you'll likely
have to take a decent pay cut without that degree.
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