It’s Not Just Job Tenure, But Progress
Let’s jump right away to the tough question: Can you explain to the Restaurant Hiring Manager how it was that you worked at the same place for more than eight years, and yet, you never received a promotion or further training to advance during that time period? If you’re tongue-tied, then keep reading! Being unprepared with your explanation probably won’t turn out well for you. To help you think this through, we’ll talk about why it matters to hiring managers in the first place. After all, shouldn’t good job tenure speak for itself? Isn’t that the big goal anyway – to stay at one job for a very long time because it shows steadiness? That sounds reasonable; but the issue of stagnation arises, and you must explain it during the job interview.
Because there is a big difference between management responsibilities and those that are performed by basic staff, we want to focus on the management 
side of things in this particular article. We want to bring home the point that if you want a management-type position, you have to show that you have grown and can continue to grow in your skill sets and knowledge.
Some simple math can shed some light on how important professional and personal growth is when observed from the 10,000-foot level: Each day has 24 hours. We usually divide the average day into three eight-hour segments, such as 1) working hours, 2) sleeping hours, and 3) everything-else hours. This means that we spend around one-third of our healthy adult lives on the job, one-third is for sleeping, and one-third is spent cramming in everything outside of the first two-thirds. Shocking, isn’t it? We know that this is a general assumption, and sometimes the 3-way split isn’t always so nice and tidy. But on the whole, we can agree that, yes, one-third of our life is spent doing something to provide for ourselves and our families.
Even when you have had great tenure at a job (or several jobs), but there is very little evidence that you grew professionally or personally, there will probably be fewer checkmarks for you in the “yes” column than your job competitors who can show that they are capable of such growth. For example, someone could have an employment history of working each job on-average for around five years; what may first appear as job hopping, a second look could reveal that each new job opportunity was a “step-up” in experience, responsibilities, or job title. When the long-tenure-no-growth applicant is placed alongside the short-tenure-plus-growth applicant, who do you think generally gets selected? The answer is the short-tenure-plus-growth job candidate. This strategy makes sense because management positions require leadership, and a leader thrives on continual growth experiences. It’s a character trait that can withstand stressful demands of push-pull stretches that is a part of every business and industry. From big business to small business, a history of professional and personal growth always shines brighter like a well-polished coin. Polishing only happens with effort, and that’s why it makes a measurable difference.
When hiring managers want management-ready people for the positions, they need to be convinced that the abilities and experiences are already present. A manager-in-training position is very different. However, management-ready means that hitting the ground running is expected. Those who give the impression that they will only hit the ground with a thud and break some bones in the process will not be seriously considered. Especially in the restaurant industry where customers and agency standards must be satisfied, you better not even go into the kitchen if you can’t stand the heat (famous saying said slightly different)!
It’s interesting when you think about heat and how it has the power to change everything. It changes a glob of flour, water, yeast, and salt into bread. It can bend an iron rod. It separates gold from solid rock. It even changes ordinary people into extraordinary leaders! Restaurant Managers need to have had a little heat applied in their life as evidence that they can take the heat in the kitchen!
What can be done if the organization you are with doesn’t provide some “heat” for hot opportunities for growth? The solution is for you to find ways to grow yourself. It’s really up to you anyway. You are the real master of your life’s path. You know yourself best; so once you identify the direction you want to go, then go grow! Many people find a way to get education (degree or certificate), and some even find ways to volunteer to gain the experiences they want. For ideas on how to gain some volunteer experiences that will enhance your career, you can read this article from Forbes. For those who specifically want to gain certification for their restaurant management career, we’ve included this link to some information that should be helpful. Once you decide what to do, just begin to do it. The ways will open for you after those first few steps. Avoid becoming stagnant unless you want to attract mosquitoes. Move to make progress.
We think Socrates said something pretty profound centuries ago that still has great significance today. He said, “Let him who would move the world first move himself.”
Want to read more career advice? We’ve written other articles like this one regarding finding your “happy” elsewhere. If you know others who would find these readings helpful, please share it with them. We are happy to help!
