I am the head chef at a small seasonal restaurant on a remote island in the southeastern part of the state of Alaska. The business I work for caters to high-end sports fishing vacations. I have done this work for six years and normally work for about five months out of the year. Our season runs from May until the end of September. It would be difficult to attempt to describe what I do in a succinct manner. Every day is completely different. Food and supplies arrive by float plane, and even during the summer, weather conditions can be bad enough so that the planes don't fly. When this happens, we often have to improvise meals and make do with what we've got on hand. At my job, I normally am the dinner chef but I need to be ready to jump in elsewhere at a moment's notice. At this time I would rate my job satisfaction at an eight on a scale from one to ten. The only thing that holds it back from me giving it a rating of ten is that sometimes I feel that I'm missing out on having a real summer. This past year was especially rainy and stormy. We had wind gusts up to sixty miles an hour on the fourth of July, and on another day in August it rained over eight inches in ten hours. This job moves my heart because I get to live and work in one of the most beautiful places on the planet. Alaska is pristine; the air is always pure and fresh, and it's fun to see the reactions of the people who are lucky enough to be visiting it for the first time. One thing that a lot of people don't know about my job is that those of us who work in these seasonal lodges almost always work every single day of the season. There are no forty-hour work weeks or days off. I got started in this line of work when I was hired as an assistant cook in a logging camp in the same area of Alaska that the lodge is located. I learned a lot there and was hired at the lodge a year later. It seems that everything on this job is learned the hard way. I didn't go to culinary school even though that seems to be a requirement these days for most chef jobs. There was a great deal of trial and error involved when I was new to the field. The strangest thing that ever happened on this job was being stormed in for two solid weeks early one May before we had actually opened the lodge. It's easy to get up and go to work every day when you face a spectacular view the moment you walk out your front door. I think that one of my favorite moments there was when I was finally able to provide all of the produce that we needed for our dinner salads from a greenhouse we had built in the spring. The most challenging part of the job is that we all live and work together in an isolated area for several months. Some of the new employees can't handle it. Either the work schedule is too much for them or they hadn't realized just how remote the lodge is. Some have trouble with company rules. When someone leaves, it puts a huge hole in our staff and everyone ends up working extra hours which can become very tiring. I make a base wage of twelve dollars per hour. With overtime, that adds up. The lodge also has a tip pool for the staff which is divided and distributed on a monthly basis. Our guests are generous people so we do quite well. Last season I brought in over sixty-thousand dollars. Since it gives me so free time during the rest of the year, the salary is reasonable to me. I suppose you could say that I take a seven month vacation every year. But I've also earned it by working twelve hour days straight for five months. Most jobs of this nature require graduation from culinary school these days, so I would advise anyone wanting to pursue this line of work to find a good one and to excel in their studies. Sometimes it's possible for people to be in the right place at the right time the way that I was, but it just doesn't seem to happen that way that often anymore. In five years I would like to be doing something very similar to what I am doing now, but at my own establishment. I'd prefer a smaller place than the lodge, such as a four or five room inn with a small restaurant. This is a true story as told to DiversityJobs.com where you can find helpful career interviews and job search advice in your desired industry. Visit to find a career interview in your field today. JustJobs.com is ajob search engine that finds job listings from company career pages, other job boards, newspapers and associations. With one search, they help you find the job with your name on it.Restaurant chef job image from Shutterstock
The leaves are changing, the kids are back in school, and that familiar chill is in the air. You think it's the perfect time to look for a job, and it is! But are your job search fears preventing you from making that leap?
It's not uncommon to feel lost when embarking on your job search journey. After all, school teaches us everything except how to get a job. What should you put on your resume? What questions should you ask in an interview? How can you stand out in the hiring process when there's so much competition?
Are you feeling spooked yet?
Believe it or not, there's no need to be afraid of the job search process! You can land your dream job with the right tools and strategy. You can find a job that won't give you nightmares. Here are three spooky secrets every job seeker should know as they look for a job this fall.
1. An Effective Job Search Starts With An Interview Bucket List
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Despite your fears, you've decided to take the plunge and look for a new job. You might be asking yourself, "Where do I start?" The answer is simple: start by creating an interview bucket list.
An interview bucket list is a list of 10-20 companies you'd love to work for. Are you passionate about a company's products or services? Do you feel connected to its mission? Can you relate to its values and beliefs as an organization? If you answer "yes" to any of these questions, that company probably belongs on your interview bucket list.
Once you create an interview bucket list, you'll be able to conduct a targeted job search, one with direction and a foundation upon which everything else will be built. An interview bucket list helps you focus your job search and networking strategies on the right opportunities, making it easier to get your foot in the door at one of your dream companies.
2. Your Job Application Needs To Disrupt Hiring Managers
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In order to stand out in the hiring process, you need to disrupt recruiters and hiring managers. You accomplish this by doing two things: optimizing your resume and writing a disruptive cover letter.
A well-optimized resume includes keywords from the job description. This ensures your resume gets past the ATS and into the hands of the hiring manager. Once it's in front of the hiring manager, it needs to grab and keep their attention. Quantifying your work experience—adding numbers to your bullet points—will make you stand out from other applicants. Hiring managers will want to know more about you and your accomplishments, and that's how you land a phone interview.
Before that, though, a hiring manager will read your cover letter. To disrupt them, you need to write a disruptive cover letter (obviously!). A disruptive cover letter gives you the opportunity to tell a story about why you feel connected to the company you're applying for. It's that storytelling aspect that will stand out to hiring managers and compel them to pick up the phone and give you a call.
3. Employers Hire You Based On 3 Things
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You can't get hired unless you know what employers are assessing you on in the interview process. While your skills and expertise matter, companies actually hire for three things: personality, aptitude, and experience (in that order).
Most job seekers don't realize how important it is to demonstrate their personality, aptitude, and experience in an interview. You could have the right experience for a job, but if the hiring manager doesn't think your personality is a good fit for the company culture, you probably won't get a job offer.
Make sure you demonstrate your soft skills and learn how to answer behavioral interview questions to prove you're the best candidate for the job you're applying for, not just the most qualified.
Want To Learn More Job Search Secrets?
As you look for a job this fall, it might be helpful to know some more spooky secrets so you can get over your job search fears and finally take control of your career.
We know the job search process can be scary. However, it's important to get clear on what you want to do next and focus on conducting a strategic job search, or what we refer to at Work It DAILY as job shopping. This is the only way to effectively market yourself to employers. If they can't see exactly where and how you add value, then that's going to decrease your chances of landing the job.
The competition is fierce, and there are a lot of factors that are out of your control. But the one factor you can control is your job search strategy, the tools and tactics you use to land a job.
If you want to learn the secrets to conducting a strategic job search, sign up for our Job Search Bootcamp, a two-hour, on-demand video workshop that comes with a free workbook.
In this video workshop, you'll learn:
- How to use backchanneling to get directly to hiring managers.
- The secret to using a connection story to stand out against the competition.
- How social media can be your secret weapon to get job interviews.
- The resume format that is getting job seekers more job interviews.
- And, a lot more hacks for job search success!
Let us show you the secrets to getting a new, better-paying job you actually love. Sign up for our Job Search Bootcamp today.
Are you ready to land the job of your dreams (and leave the job of your nightmares)?