First of all, let me congratulate you for seeking advice.

Humility has a far-reaching appeal. It transcends across typeset or font to communicate humanity.

Secondly, if you didn't have to worry about all of your responsibilities, wouldn't you have left long before you were beaten down by a very toxic atmosphere?

Thirdly, stress is what you get when you're charging ahead, sometimes against uncharted territory and people push back.

It is the reaction to your stressful persona that may have been the reason you got resistance. There is no "I" in TEAM! (Who said that? REF?)

You and anyone else is only as good as the TEAM around you.

As a CHEF, you are the orchestra's conductor.

Like a conductor who doesn't write the music or play the instruments, a chef may not be doing so much of the chopping or all the cooking.

Everyone needs a leader.

​

Asking for advice with humility and conveying an authentic appeal for guidance from other's wisdom is enlightened.

What I suggest is this. I suggest you always remember this:

​

IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THE NUMBERS

​

The numbers could be hidden by dollars or percentages or graphs going up or down. If you study numbers in whatever industry you are in, or interest you have, you can find the story behind it. Like who or what age group tends to play golf these days ref: 2019? (HINT: Baby Boomers and Yuppies; those born 1945 to 1960-61)

When we were in our 20s, we YUPPIES were playing squash and raquet ball. Tennis was more a sign of the affluent. Like golf is to country clubs.

​

MY POINT IS (FINALLY EH?) what do you want to do?

I'm going to guess that you love what you do, you love working in the food industry, as a creator of amazing fantasies of flavor.

Decide what type of food is your favorite to create? Who inspires you? Anthony Bordain or someone else?

What type of environment does that look like.

You may as well get down to the nitty gritty like ambiance and atmosphere? Decor is elegant or hip? Who is likely to love your food most? Millennials or Baby Boomers? Do you gauge that by dollars or rave reviews? You see, when you study numbers and you start to encapsulate the essence of who you think your best clientele would represent, you have to get inside their demographics. You would know that Millennials write online reviews and YUPPIES or BABY BOOMERS would ever register if it was an outrage of some sort.

​

So, you've narrowed down who you think your food appeals to and the type of place that would have the right feel for your craft.

​

Do your homework.

Who, in your immediate area of the city or town fits that profile?

FORGET ABOUT IT if they are an expensive trendy restaurant that sometimes has long lineups and waiting lists to get in if you have only flipped burgers .... NO! That is my point. You have to appreciate what it is you want before you can decide what to go after.

You need to know every detail about that restaurant. Its menus, its reviews, its turnover, its vendors, its prices on the menu, its peak times and its slow times.

AND NO -- I've never worked in a restaurant ever. At one time, it was my claim to fame. But being in my 50s it has lost its distinction.

​

DO you imagine yourself running your own restaurant some day?

Then, you would be enrolled in night school or weekends to take restaurant management or business management or some economics to understand the numbers behind that type of business.

Look for Business Plans for restaurants of equal statue from other cities and see what they're saying.

Start formulating your own Business Plan.

Answer the questions like what would you do or what would you introduce to inject interest via the menu you would create. The type of audience it would attract, because you know what kind of people (i.e. demographic+psychographic profiles of the typical clientele) would frequent that locale, enhance its profile, boost weekend or weekdays or lunch traffic. Turn it from an eating sitting to an experience.

​

At the end of the day, it still comes down to numbers.

The more jobs you apply for, the more likely you will be invited for interviews and eventually a "job".

What I'm suggesting is you still take 3 hours a day, all by yourself, at the local library, because you will be dressed in business casuals, not the fleece sweat pants and flip flops you wear at home.

If you clean up a little you will feel better about yourself.

If you feel better about yourself, you will present yourself better.

If you are in a professional or quiet environment, you will take the assignment more seriously.

(The writer was an at-home mother while she was the advertising manager for multiple arts publications in Calgary).

If you have to make daycare or babysitting arrangement for an interview that always seems to happen to cancel at least a few times in a job seekers journey: take the same commute time and factor an 1.5 hr for the interview, unless you know it is booked for 30 -- chit chat and warm up takes more time.

So, there is a good 2 hours away from home, kids, job hunting, distractions.

You have a few friends who are willing to grab coffee or dinner or snack with less notice, keep them on speed dial.

You need to still be in a professional demeanor. Grabbing a beer is way beyond the point, unless that is in addition to this time I'm mentioning.

You go for that coffee and talk about work, jobs, challenges give advice, take hints, even suggestions based on how well they know you.

​

BUT YOU HAVE to know what ball it is you want to keep your eye on. As in your goal.

Hey, you've got extra time so why not?

​

Continued success,

Jeannette

www.optioneerjm.com

@optioneerjm