Meet our Industry Engagement Officers, Jeff Kim (Sydney) and Michaela Marcus (Adelaide). Jeff and Michaela are our "go-to" staff members for when our students need help finding a venue to complete their placements or if they are seeking advice on employment. Supporting our students doesn't just go as far as organising a once-off meeting, Jeff and Michaela actively seek employment opportunities for our students and engage with their contacts in the hospitality industry. They actively seek out job openings and recommend suitable positions to current students & alumni, while assisting them with the tools and confidence to apply.
COVID-19 has thrown a curveball at the hospitality industry, however, our staff and students continue to remain positive as we still hear from current students successfully landing employment, and success stories from alumni who are opening venues that they have put hard work and planning into.
We asked our Industry Engagement Officers to give our students and those in "hospo", some advice on how to apply for jobs in the industry during the unprecedented times of COVID-19.
Jeff's 11 tips on applying for a job
Don’t go looking for job for the sake of a pay check. You’ve got to have a meaningful purpose.
Do your homework and study their menu.
Ask yourself, why should you be there? And why should it be you who gets the job and not the other applicants?
Get in there, meet the head chef and ask for a trial.
If no position is vacant, ask for a stage (working voluntarily or unpaid so that you can gain experience and acquire skills).
When you get in, go hard and absorb like a sponge, aim to dominate the tasks in the section you are given.
Be useful from the first minute and aim to get it right the first time.
Go hard and be proactive. ASK QUESTIONS.
Take quick notes of recipes and instructions on your notepad as you go.
Stay until the last job is complete, this will earn you respect and then you can ask for feedback later.
Get a timer and time yourself, measure your performance in your task. PUSH.
You will get there. Make sure you taste, taste, taste. - Jeff Kim
Michaela's advice for applying for a job in the hospitality industry
"If I was to give any of our students a piece of advice regarding looking for employment opportunities, it would be the importance of doing or being open to completing some unpaid work experience first. The kitchen is a dynamic work environment; it is hot, fast paced, and loud, it places intense pressure on individuals and is often incredibly culturally diverse, with many languages being spoken in a venue at any one time. It can be extremely difficult to walk into this complex working environment if you have no experience. The opportunity to build confidence and practice your skills in the kitchen, by participating in unpaid work experience before having a paid job, is invaluable."
Unpaid work experience gives students time to learn, without having the pressure of having to know. - Michaela Marcus
Michaela and Jeff strive to assist our students in finding placement and employment opportunities in the hospitality industry. They visit students at the venues they are completing placement at and regularly "touch base" on how their employment/placement is going. During their visits, they take a photo of the student and the Owner/Head Chef/Manager of the venue, and send their happy faces through to head office. We cannot wait to see more of these photos flooding through when restrictions ease further and the hospitality industry rebuilds and reopens to full capacity.
If you want to become a Chef or pursue a career in the hospitality industry - please contact us!
Email admin@qthc.edu.au or call us on 1300 511 888 today!
Scroll down to see the happy faces of our students during their placements!
Michaela visiting SA students on placement
Jeff visiting NSW students on placement
If you want to become a Chef or pursue a career in the hospitality industry - please contact us!
Email admin@qthc.edu.au or call us on 1300 511 888 today!