Desperately Seeking Culinary Externship Advice
Maybe it's the economy, but I need advice about breaking into the food industry - whatever I'm doing isn't working. I'm about to finish culinary school but am having no luck getting a 204 hour grunt work externship. Please help! It's so chicken and egg (need experience but nobody gives it to you), aka: so frustrating! HELP?
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27 Comments:
have you tried contacting any of the previous grads of your culinary school to see if there are any opportunities at their current workplaces? they were once in your position, so they probably understand what you're going through, and know what kind of training you have, and therefore might be more willing to help.
andshewas at 9:31PM on 06/16/09
Let me start with some hard news, kwhit. Life ain't fair. Got that? Good.
Now, go downtown during work hours and look around. Can you easily disappear into the crowd? If not, you need to change your appearance. You do not have to dress expensively, but you do need to look as conventional as possible. Once you have made your name as a chef, you can start thinking about the orange clogs. Right now, you need to finish your education.
Once you're certain of your appearance, take your paperwork with you and go beat on doors until someone gives you a job.
Grumpy Old Man at 9:43PM on 06/16/09
grumpy old man's idea is good too. just wanted to add... do NOT go beat on any doors during the lunch or dinner hours. 3-4pm is best if you're going to get anybody to talk to you without pissing them off.
i also just remembered this post from eggbeater, which is chock full of good info.
andshewas at 9:50PM on 06/16/09
Are you willing to travel *anywhere*?
Hope this isn't discouraging, but a friend's brother graduated from a culinary school in Pittsburgh - no recollection of the name, but I remember that he said it was a good school so I don't know if that affects the market experience.
On the job boards at his school, they had externship listings. He took an externship in Atlanta at a Marriott Hotel restaurant which encompassed the Olympics. Poor guy had to work a 2nd full time job just to be able to pay rent while he was there. He hightailed it out of there and moved back up north as soon as it was over.
Anyway, he was willing to travel, got a lot of experience, and before he left Atlanta already had a job lined up. Lost touch with him 10 years ago, so I have no idea if that experience truly paid off in the long run.
Cassaendra at 10:07PM on 06/16/09
don't expect to be paid anything. especially in this economy. ask your school for help placing you. any decent school helps their students find externships, especially if they're required to graduate.
and don't just email restaurants expecting them to email you back. go to the door and give them your resume. as the PP's said, just not during service!
dmarina at 10:16PM on 06/16/09
don't expect to be paid anything. especially in this economy. ask your school for help placing you. any decent school helps their students find externships, especially if they're required to graduate.
and don't just email restaurants expecting them to email you back. go to the door and give them your resume. as the PP's said, just not during service!
dmarina at 10:17PM on 06/16/09
@GrumpyOldMan -- I don't agree with trying to blend in. I've gotten call backs for interviews because they remember me as the girl with the blue hair. If you're really damn good at what you do (which I am) you can dress how you want.
gingercookiewithlime at 10:42PM on 06/16/09
Okay, call me sexist. That doesn't make me wrong on this one. This is kwhit's first time out. HE needs to blend in. If he's got blue hair, he needs to go have it dyed black before job hunting. Blending in will greatly improve HIS chances. Life ain't fair. I suspect that it never has been.
Grumpy Old Man at 1:18AM on 06/17/09
Depending on your area, you may need to be willing to move just for the summer. I went to school in Florida, and the panhandle (Panama City area) is mostly tourists in the summer. St. Joe Company, who owns Water Color Resorts, provides reasonably-priced housing for their employees, since it's out in the middle of nowhere. They also pay well. They expect a professional appearance and good skills. They accept externs from all over. Maybe this would be an option. Not to mention, the beach is incredible during your time off.
beth1 at 10:08AM on 06/17/09
It's not just you, trust me. It took me forever to find my externship, and I know from most of the other grads recently had the same issue. (I have two weeks left of the one I did find. I can't wait to be done!) Anyway, I hit the pavement harder looking for an externship than I did ever looking for a regular job. The best advice I can give:
- ask other classmates. I had a few friends that ended up at the same places, because one found a good spot and helped another student get a position as well
- research alumni. A lot of the externships available from my school are in kitchens run by former students
- ask to trail for a day first and then see what happens. If they like your work for one day, they may be more willing to accept you for an externship.
- don't give up! I found mine at the very last second
GOOD LUCK!
meem21 at 10:17AM on 06/17/09
We have a restaurant that opened up a few months ago in a this very poor economy. To make a long story semi short, the owner ran out of cash. He put an add in the paper asking for volunteers to help him see his dreams come true. He took on out of work carpenters, cooks and wait staff on a will work for food basis. The response was overwhelming. If your willing to go that route that might be something to look into. He kept the good ones and now they make a decent salary and have a nice little place to show for it.
chardonnay at 11:16AM on 06/17/09
Have you tried craigslist? There's lots of spam and crap on there, but (at least in my area) there are lots of local restaurants/coffee shops looking for employees.
@GOM -- There's no need to be mean. I don't see what gender has to do with wanting to stand out. I have lots more to say on the matter, but this is not the place for it.
gingercookiewithlime at 12:29PM on 06/17/09
I ain't bein' mean! I am being truthful. The world is not anything like what we want it to be. People behave the way they behave. kwhit is looking for work. I gave the most efficient means of achieving that end. None of us are required to like it. It's like gravity. You either learn to work with it, or it will kill you.
Grumpy Old Man at 12:34PM on 06/17/09
kwhit, send me your resume: es2240@gmail.com
letseattogether at 9:16PM on 06/17/09
times are tough out there, from what i hear and see biz is down....
pooch at 10:25PM on 06/17/09
@grumpy, I hear what you mean...tough love for tough times in the job market.
dhorst at 11:36PM on 06/17/09
@GOM - But my point is that your view isn't entirely correct. The world isn't as cut and dry as you think it is. There are lots of employers out there that respect and encourage individuality. The original poster's question never said he looked different or solicited advice on appearance. Your response was just a random imposition that isn't exactly relevant to the real world.
gingercookiewithlime at 12:06AM on 06/18/09
gingercookie, i agree...coming from a SHE with black and platinum (formerly black and fire engine red) hair and 2 arms full of tattoos that has successfully held chef positions in some of the best restaurants in seattle...and also worked in amazing restaurants in new york.
dmarina at 2:53AM on 06/18/09
@ Ginger Cookie - totally agree!
Job seeker is a CHEF, not an accountant. Also - and with all due respect to The Grumpy One - this is not 1955. It's not a big deal for applicants - especially in edgier artistic fields like cooking, art, design, etc. - to have moderate piercings and tats, much less some cool clothes.
If your clothes are boring, it says your cooking is boring, and no one has ever hired a boring chef (unless you want to cook breakfast at Cocos).
Finally, also agree about the travel. Friend was willing to relocate anywhere, and it paid off very nicely. He started at a country club in the midwest, then on to Vegas. Relocation will also give you an opportunity to see regional cuisines, farmers markets, local farms, etc.
Don't worry, don't despair and don't give up. You will be on this journey whether you think positively or negatively, so might as well give yourself every opportunity by thinking positively and keeping a great attitude.
Keep up updated!
Your Serious Eats Foodie Family
serious1 at 8:34AM on 06/18/09
kwhit is a beginner in dire need of work. I gave him the most responsible advice I could give him. I stand by what I said. The world is not what you seem to want it to be and, like it or no, things are bit different for men.
kwhit is at liberty follow my advice or ignore it. It is HIS decision. I am, however, quite certain that he will find work sooner and with less effort if takes what I told him to heart. Yes, there are exceptions to every rule. There always have been and there always will be, but that does not make me wrong or mean or any of the rest of it.
Grumpy Old Man at 3:04PM on 06/18/09
GOM- Let the youngsters revel in their youthful idealism. Blind passion is a symptom of youth. It'll burn off soon enough :)
Kerosena at 4:02PM on 06/18/09
@kerosena, nice try, but i've been a cook and a chef for over twelve years.
dmarina at 5:00PM on 06/18/09
@Kerosena -- I'm glad that in my 40's I'm still youthful.
gingercookiewithlime at 7:32PM on 06/18/09
Oh, and please, folks, don't talk to me about this not being "the fifties" while Brylcreem is making a come back, okay? We improve our technology, we have new ideas, styles come and go, but we remain the same. Human behavior is what it is.
Grumpy Old Man at 1:17AM on 06/19/09
I'd hire someone, male or female, with blue hair before I hired someone with naturally-colored but dirty hair.
Oh, and when did we do an age or gender-check on the OP? A person could graduate from culinary school at any age.
dbcurrie at 2:37AM on 06/19/09
What about working in a hotel or resort or ranch that is somewhat isolated? My husband works as a plumber for a Fairmont Hotel in the Canadian Rockies that has a tough time keeping employees because of the isolation and dorm style employee accommodations. But if you could tough it out for the required time, that might work.....
Maureen at 7:25AM on 06/19/09
1. So far as I know, the original poster never said that s/he had blue hair, multiple tattoos, body piercing, or preferred wearing wifebeaters to chef's whites. All of this talk about image is irrelevant to his/her question.
2. Is this externship supposed to be unpaid? I'm surprised in this economy, it has been so hard--I would think they would prefer an unpaid extern versus a paid person!
3. Almost every job I have gotten has been because they needed--someone, anyone--to fulfill a position they needed filled ASAP. One different tack is to look for some place in trouble that is DESPERATE for live bodies, rather than a place that is doing well. Not ideal perhaps, but I'm sure you'd learn a great deal. An undesirable location, as others have said, is another possibility.
HeartofGlass at 9:02AM on 06/19/09