Switching to catering management

02 September 2003 by
Switching to catering management

Question

I have been a head chef for five years, but now I want to move into catering management. The problem is that the wages are lower than mine by quite a lot. How can I get a job that pays at least the same money as I am on now?

What the expert says

David Goldfarb, director, MaydayExec

!
I would suggest that you talk to the company you work for to find out what you need to do to make the move from chef to manager. Your observation about wages has some truth in it, so it may be easier to move internally without having to drop your salary. If you want to look for a job externally you will need to demonstrate your management skills gained in previous chef roles. Many of the skills you currently use - man management, finance, planning and organisation skills - are all equally vital when moving to a purely management role. Alternatively, a role such as chef-manager for a contract caterer maybe a good interim step to take. Finally, while money is important, it may be worth considering taking a step back financially in order to go forwards. Recently I worked with a candidate who took a moderate pay cut in order to move out of the kitchen to a junior manager role, and within a year his wages had grown to more than those he earned in his chef job.
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