Studying at university is a great time for many people, for a number of reasons. Often, it’s the first time moving away from home and gaining a bit of adult independence. It’s the chance to meet like-minded people and start engaging in relationships. It’s also the time to gain valuable work skills to prepare oneself for when they finish their studies and enter the worldwide workforce. Restaurant work is a great way to gain these skills and here are a few reasons why.
Make Great Money
No one ever said working in a restaurant is a cake walk. But, when you start seeing the dollars pile up, you won’t mind going in for shift. You won’t mind at all! Servers might be the face of the restaurant, but they’re definitely not the only ones who will get tips. Most restaurants have a tip share policy that spreads gratuities out to bartenders, hosts, bussers, cooks, and even dishwashers. Tips are great to use for spending money, allowing you to bank your pay cheques so you can focus on paying tuition.
Meet New People
After spending the winter inside studying, isn’t it time to get out and meet people? Restaurants are an excellent place to meet young, vibrant, like-minded people who have more than just a few things in common. Often restaurants arrange company outings or events where their staff can get together, mingle, and blow off a little steam. Sometimes the best relationships are made when you have to work together to achieve a common goal.
Gain Valuable Skills
Restaurants are notorious for being loud, noisy, and chaotic. If you can learn to adapt to an environment like this, you’ll be setting yourself up for success later in life. Hiring managers at any kind of position want to know that you can work well under pressure and can maneuver well through stressful situations. After spending the summer working in a busy location, you’ll be well-versed in teamwork, problem solving, and communication. And these are skills that everyone should have.
Build Your Resume
Often, hiring managers want to see that you’ve had work experience and you have the references to show it. Restaurants are a great resume booster because they are always hiring for entry-level positions like hosts and dishwashers. This is a chance for you to build your resume, connect with industry professionals, and collect references without having much experience in the first place. We all have to start somewhere, right?
Flexible Work Schedule
One of the best things about working in a busy restaurant is that it offers a lot of flexibility when it comes to scheduling. Getting a variety of shifts (morning, night, weekend) and booking time off is rarely an issue. A bonus is that the restaurant will usually employ many different people at a time, meaning if an event pops up with little notice, you’ll be able to trade shifts with another team member. Even better, because of the extra income tips provided, you’ll never have to work a 9-5, 40-hour work week. So, you’re free to hit the beach as often as you can before it’s back at school, come September.
Restaurant work is some of the most valuable work experience anyone can put on their resume. It shows that you’re organized, reliable, friendly, motivated, and hard-working. These are some wonderful attributes to emphasize in future job interviews. And, who knows? You might even get a few life-time friends out of the deal. So, what are you waiting for? It’s time to start applying!