YOU MAY
BE A GOOD FINE DINING CHEF BUT YOUR CV NEEDS TO BE JUST AS FINE
You know
that face to face, especially if a trial is concerned, that you will be at the
top of the shortlist but what if you never actually get to the interview stage?
It is no good being one of the best, if you do not create opportunities for
others to know about you.
Yes, social
media is blinding and will get you openings but you will still need to send
that CV first and that is what you will be initially judged on. If it is a
mess, you will be sending a mental impression of a dirty kitchen, whereas what
you really need and want to do is display your very best plated work and before
I help you to understand what we and our clients are looking for on a CV, do
not be shy about sending a few pictures of some of your best work. I would also
suggest that you consider using a picture of yourself on the actual CV itself.
It may sound
crazy but the best chef jobs really do often go to the chefs with the best
CV’s.
We have already spoken about perceptions of your kitchen because of bad CV’s.
It is just as bad as going along to an interview with dirty jeans and worn out
trainers. If you really want those important chef jobs then work smart and
ensure that your CV and you both look the part.
CV
TEMPLATES
You may wish
to use a CV template but if you do be very careful as to what you choose. Euro
Pass is one such template. Looks fine, looks neat but it is usually very
difficult to extrapolate information from.
The rule is
a simple one, make it as easy as possible for your agency or prospective employer
to know all about you and leave a smart impression. If you have a template that
can do that fine but if not do not be lazy, construct your own and we would be
more than happy to help once you have applied the rules below to your CV.
We will now
go through what you need to include on your Chefs’ CV. Before we do, remember,you can always send us your CV for
comments, even if you are applying for a job that is not with our agency.
HOW TO
BUILD AN EFFECTIVE CV
Everyone
knows that they need to start with their personal details followed by your
education. A recruitment agency will
need to send your CV without your contact details on so, if possible try and
present it in Word rather than as a PDF. There are programmes that can convert
PDF’s to word but it better by far to present your CV in a programme that can
be readily altered from the start.
OK, as I
have just done above, use Bold or capitalise to highlight the important bits.
Mostly the establishment, your position and the dates that you were there. At
the end of this I will show you an extract of how we get a lot of CV’s and how
to do it the proper way.
ALWAYS start
with your most recent position last and work backwards
At the top
of each chef position that you have had put the establishment and any accolades
that it had. If it is a hotel try and say how many stars the hotel had. Try and
put the geographic location too as there are a lot of Manor House hotels, or
Red Lion gastro pubs in the UK.
Then put how
long you stayed there and ensure that you put the month as well as the year, as
most employers are looking for people that stay at least a year in each
position try and explain the reason for any short tenures of less than one year.
Put your
position for all of the chef jobs that you have had, both when you started and
when you left.
It is extremely important to say how
many covers the establishment had and the size of the brigade. If they did
functions as well as fine dining say if there were separate brigades or
separate kitchens. This is very important as it rarely works if somebody from a
5 Star background with 30 chefs goes into a small 40 cover restaurant and vice
versa, so this will help us or any other agency, if they are doing their job
properly,to find the RIGHT chef job for you, not just a chef job.
For all
position under Sous Chef, so that is from Commis Chef, through Chef de Partie
to Junior Sous Chef, state which sections you worked on. Some sections, such as
sauce, will carry a lot more weight that doing the Mis en Place for instance but
it gives your prospective employer an idea of your strength. Some places will
need, say an average Chef de Partie, another will want a Chef de Partie who is
very strong, especially in smaller establishments where they may even be called
upon to run the pass. One is arguably no better than the other, it is a matter
of horses for courses and it is because we understand that point that Gladstone
Park Chefs has such a powerful reputation in the industry from Clients and
Candidates alike.
SPECIAL NOTE
TO PASTRY CHEFS
If you are a
pastry chef, because many pastry chefs just put Pastry Chef, it is important
that the client understands your position and its duties. There is a huge
difference between a pastry chef who is basically a Chef de Partie, working
under the instruction of the Head Chef and one that is running a brigade of 6
Pastry Chefs, in a 5 Star Hotel with banqueting to 300!
Lastly, try and give people an idea
of the style of food and do not be scared to include a menu it van speak a
thousand words that you cannot.
SAMPLE
EXTRACTS OF BAD AND GOOD CV’S
Believe it
or not we get a lot of CV’s like the first example!! These are not actual
establishments and are only shown to illustrate good and bad CV’s
2012 BLACK LION SOUS CHEF
2010-2011 THE GROVE SENIOR CHEF DE PARTIE
2007-2009 RIVERSIDE CHEF DE PARTIE
January 2012 to present THE BLACK LION, Banbury, Oxfordshire
SOUS CHEF
Gastropub 1AAR, Les Routier
50 cover
restaurant plus ‘gourmet’ bar meals to 30 and a further 20 covers outside in
the summer.
Brigade of 6
chefs, plus one extra relief chef during the summer.
Modern
British cuisine with slight Asian influences
Reason for leaving, the pub has gone
into liquidation and I have been made redundant
January 2011 to December 2011 THE GROVE Thurrock, Essex
CDP TO SENIOR CHEF DE PARTIE
4 Star Hotel 2AAR
40 cover
restaurant plus two function rooms of 80 and 120 respectively
Brigade of 8
chefs
Mediterranean
Style
Reason for
leaving, wanted to experience more function work. It proved not to be what I
wanted but as I promised at my interview I still stayed for one year.
January 2007 to
December 2009 RIVERSIDE HOTEL Sonning,
Berkshire
COMMIS CHEF TO CHEF DE PARTIE 3 STAR, Bib Gourmand
80 cover
restaurant Brigade of 6 chefs, plus one extra relief chef during the summer.
Classical
French Cuisine
Reason for leaving, to experience
working on functions
Which one
would you employ? They are the same person. To be brutally Frank the first one
is so lazy, so missing any real information I would most likely discard it in
the exactly the same way that I would reject a plate of sloppily presented half
cold food or something badly overseasoned!
Please feel
free to contact me 24/7 on either 01295 265 366
or 077 233 07214
John
Bowman-Baker
Managing Director
Gladstone Park Chefs