How to get a job.

With the opening of Comme Ca Las Vegas getting closer (49 days away), I am relieved to have the majority of my kitchen staff already committed for our grand opening. I've gone through almost one thousand resumes and inquiries for BOH staff, only to hire less than 30 people. By doing this, I've walked away with some things on my mind. I was less than impressed with 90% of the people who applied.

Here are 3 tips for the 90% who want to get a job...and with unemployment nearing 15% in the city I was hiring in, I just can't understand why more people didn't do the following:

1. If I specifically ask for your resume in a word doc., DO NOT send it in any other format. If you can't follow simple directions, you probrably won't be hired.

2. If you send your resume to me, make sure you know something about the restaurant. When I asked this question 10 times, 9 answers will come back, "I don't know too much about the restaurant. I couldn't find anything online." BULLSHIT. If you google the name of the restaurant, hundreds of articles will pop up, maybe even thousands...so don't tell me you don't know anything about the place you are hoping to work at.

3. You must be able to express why you want this job to the hiring manager. It has to be more than, "I need a job". Tell me why I need you on the team. Tell me why I should invest my time in you, because my worst feeling is wasting time on a person and never being able to get that time back.


Here is the way I see it. There are 3 different types of cooks.

Cook A: A young person who is passionate about this craft, eager to learn and grow as a culinary professional. This person wants to become a sous chef, and then an executive chef one day.

Cook B: A cook who is gifted, fast, and precise. This person has been honing his craft for over 10 years now. He hasn't been in a management position. Not that he can't, he just doesn't want to. He may have a family, or he doesn't want the hours or responsibility. He is a work horse in the kitchen, does his job and does it very well, but leaves when his hours are up.

Cook C: A cook who is kind of lost in his career. He has no reason to cook. He just does it because it pays the bills for now. He has no passion for cooking. He cooks at work, and then gets wasted afterwards.

If you're Cook A or Cook B, I can work with that. If you're not, then don't waste my time.