Want a job in F&B?

Most importantly, ask yourself WHY. Out of soooo many jobs....WHY??

Alright, it's not all that bad! Let me list stuff for you. (PS: This is the operational side of FnB. Not marketing or accounting, etc)

PROS:

1. No experience/qualifications needed to join.
2. If you really love food, F&B will be very interesting for you. You'll learn SO MUCH about food and drinks, learn the associated food skills and really know what you're getting whenever you go out to eat! (Not to mention the free food)
3. Flexible schedules. So you can plan your work schedule according to your life schedule. (Part time ONLY!)
4. Fast paced environment. If you can't sit for too long and you work better while standing, this will be perfect. Can probably lose weight!
5. Lots of social interactions. Depending on where you work, you get to talk and make lots of friends. That's how we, the founders of The Talking Menu, met. Customers can be a joy to talk to too! I have made lots of friends here and there, one customer liked me so much she gave me her FoodRepublic discount card. :D
6. Tips! We love tips. REALLY. 
   
7. If you've worked more than a year in the industry and made lots of friends(we're like a huge family), you'll never be out of a job. Especially if you're Singaporean with F&B experience, people will POACH YOU. The both of us have been.
8. If you're a major fangirl/boy, you'll get to serve and be near celebrities without anyone calling security. It also depends where you work. Recently, I got to serve Earth, Wind and Fire! I had no idea who they really were, but it's an experience! I even got to watch them perform a song! 

CONS: 

1. TIRING! It's oh-so-tiring! You can be standing for 9-12hrs a day and walking 5km per shift. And this is just the physical part.
2. Low pay. If you want to earn big bucks, you don't join F&B.
3. Screwed up meal time. You don't eat lunch at 1/2pm anymore(cause you have to work during lunch hour!), you eat at 3/4pm. Or skip it altogether and have dinner at 10pm.
4. Mentally and emotionally stressful. It's a fast paced environment, tensions will be high. You better have a will of steel and skin thicker than a rhino's to get through without breaking down. Customers can be serious assholes, but your own colleagues can be tough to handle too. Not to mention your own manager/boss! There's just too many factors that can cause you to just break down, and we've seen too many people crying.
5. Dangerous. You have to be near fire, sharp knives, boiling water and stressed out colleagues. You'll definitely get injured if you work long enough. We have so many battle scars.
6. The first month can be a bitch. You'll get scolded and nagged at A LOT. And usually you'll be left out from your other senior colleagues who are already friendly with each other, unless you have friends working. The senior staff can be really bitchy and mean.
7. Girls, you can't polish your nails, always short. After a long shift, you'll usually look like shit. Or might even smell like one.

Still want that job?

If so, here's some survival tips!

1. Be open and friendly. Talk to your colleagues! It's tough enough, so make friends to make life easier! In FnB, if you hate your colleagues, you should just quit. You really cannot work if you can't get along with your colleagues.
2. Stay calm and be clear. Focus on your task at hand, know what you're doing!
3. Bring a notebook. The first day is always a major information overload day and you have to learn while doing things.
4. Smile. People tend to be less uptight if you smile around them.
5. Don't be discouraged. When we scold, 90% of the time it's not personal. It doesn't feel good, I know. But if you strive to work harder, I promise, you'll see your fruits of success. That is if your colleagues/boss are not real assholes. True story: I got scolded by Evelyn on my first day of work with her, look where we are at now. If you told us back then we were going to be good friends, we would have rebuked you. 
6. Be willing to learn. If you don't want to learn, don't blame us for disliking you. And if you've worked half a year and still don't know things, you better be able to handle what's coming your way. Maybe F&B isn't the place for you.
7. Majority of the chefs aren't friendly and smiley like all the eye-candy celebrity chefs you see on TV. If you are new, they tend to be a lot stricter towards you. Again, it's not personal. It's just how we work.

So we're gonna leave you with this:

But hey, if you still wanna brave the industry, SEE YOU AROUND AND GOOD LUCK!