How serving prepared me for a corporate job

Since the age of 13, I have been part of the workplace. My occupations have varied from newspaper delivery girl, to restaurant hostess, to memberships sales at the Y.

Three weeks ago, I began my first “real” job in public relations as a communications officer for the municipal government. I was immediately thrown into a frenzy of tight deadlines, needy clients, angry graphic designers, and 15 brand new projects, all for me. I now understand why adults have told me in the past, “Nikki, stay in school as long as you can.”

It was not until I was ranting to a friend/fellow waitress the other night that it hit me – I know this feeling… why don’t I feel more overwhelmed? Ah yes, because I’ve been a waitress at the Metropolitain Brasserie.

Think about it – your clients are the restaurant patrons; the graphic designers, web specialists, and other people on your team that help you get what the client wants are your chefs, busboys, and hostesses; the product the clients needs is the food and drinks your customers order; and of course, your communications expertise is your table service.

Getting thrown into all these projects is just like patio service on a beautiful summer day. My customers would sit at a table and order something. My communications service would be akin to recommending which wine would go best with the coq au vin. They would order complex dinner items that are not listed on the menu and in return I would go to the kitchen and try not to piss off the chef while asking if it was possible – this is just like the 823,562,982,118 changes a client wants made after every new draft a patient graphic designer makes for them. That table of 10 on a Friday night needs to be out in one hour – that’s the impossible printing deadline for the 30,000 brochures your client needs.

Most of all, trying to manage 15 different projects all at once is like serving 15 tables all at once. You work your ass off while getting the client what they want while helping them make better decisions. You try not to piss your team mates off by constant modifications. You need to constantly be maintaining your priorities and meeting deadlines.

From the day I started serving, I have stuck by the fact that the experience of serving in a restaurant teaches you all sorts of life skills – patience, time management, communication, organization, detail orientation, and even persuasion. This just proves my point even more.

Some people choose serving as a career, and it is very well a great choice for many. I can easily say that after working part-time in a busy downtown restaurant for four years, I am more than ready to take on this so-called “real” job. So for all you corporate managers out there, next time you’re looking at a résumé for a communications position on your team, consider the applicant with a few years of restaurant experience. They won’t let you down. If they were a good server, they wouldn’t know how to.