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Not sure what to do..

Raichų

hi folks,

Before I start i understand that fundamentally this decision will be my own but I’m just looking for some opinions or insight on what to do.

So long story short I’ve been a chef for 3-4 years now and up until fairly recently I really enjoyed it. Okay, it’s not fair to say, fairly recently, I would say in the last 12-14 months I stopped enjoying work. Look I get no job is going to be perfect and you’ll love it (they’re all a bit shite that’s why you get paid!); but I guess I’ve also began to realise that as hard as you work in this industry you sort of don’t get anything back for it.

I have applied and interviewed for Field Sales for two companies, I don’t know if I want to mention what two, but either way I think they went very well. From reading into both companies and the offerings I mean it’s hard to even believe for me!

company car (have my own anyway but still cool!)
Phone & tablet
Pension scheme (paid into by company also)
Free health insurance
20+ days annual leave + company day (what is that by the way?)

just unreal benefits to what I get at the min! I’m not worried about its being a tough job because look being a chef is no walk in the park either! I just wonder is all this too good to be true and am I missing a vital detail? Am I insane to even think about this?

I’m just really fed up I guess that we effectively are taken for granted in the industry. I think it says a lot that chefs en masse left hospitality during covid, redeployed in different sectors and industries and very few (if any!) came back to hospitality afterwards.

In the span of my career I’ve known several chefs who did exactly the same thing left to be a builder, or work for Microsoft, or even the co council!

So what do ye old boards think anyway. Should I sit pretty with my experience and skills at the min (which effectively guarantee me work wherever I apply) or make the jump, relearn a new trade and try and climb the ropes again?

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mrslancaster

Field sales, ie B2C door-to-door cold calling versus a creative, highly skilled and technical job like a chef would be no contest imo, but that's probably because i'm not a great cook and I think it's amazing that someone can turn a few ingredients into something delicious to eat. And it's not just one dish, they can cook all-sorts! It's a fantastic skill, can take a person all over the world and into so many different settings, can teach others, can set up their own retail food business (although that has it's own stresses too), can find a niche and produce a consumer food product. People always have to eat.

Why did you train as a chef initially? Is it the actual work or the conditions that you want to change? Maybe another employer would suit you better, working for a new company can make a huge difference eg if the hours are different or higher pay. Pros and cons in all jobs tbf, best of luck.

Ted222

Sales jobs are fairly plentiful and the perks you’ve described are fairly standard.

It’s easy for employers to take a punt on someone with no obvious experience because they can ditch them fairly quickly if it doesn’t work out.

You could always give it a go in the knowledge that your chef skills will always be in demand.

LambshankRedemption

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122655470#Comment_122655470

Barring the company car I was getting all those benefits in a junior position aged 24. I realise this is new to you coming from hospitality, but don't be too distracted by the new benefits over what the job entails. What will you be selling? Is it something you can sell? Is it an easy or difficult thing to sell. The phrase "he can sell ice to eskimos" describes someone who can sell anything. If you find yourself in the position of having to sell ice, and your target market are eskimos you could find the job has a hell of a lot more stress than you are used to. I know you are going to turn around and say there is nothing more stressful than working in a kitchen, but this is a very different kind of stress. Ive had colleagues burnout which led to months on leave, and some never returned to the job.

In a kitchen, if you have 30 chicken breasts and 60 people order chicken, its a stressful situation, but there are things you can do. If you have been given the job of selling something no-one wants to buy, there is not a lot you can do about it, which can lead to depression, anxiety and a world of pain.

Please go into this with your eyes open.

Ted222

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122655470#Comment_122655470

If the place is quiet you only get half pay?????

You do realise an employer can’t do this, right?

Raichų

thanks for the replies folks.

I should say while I’m aware a lot of this sounds commonplace or just the norm for most people these are things no job in hospitality would give you end of.

For example, I am aware the phone and car are almost mandatory to do the job, that said, knives, chef jackets and aprons are mandatory to do my job at the moment- yet I had to buy them all myself! The lump sum cost of getting myself ready for a days work back when I started was nearly €2k.

The car is for work and personal use if I so desire also, so it’s really just a new car for me which I kinda need anyway!🤣 I get that 20 days annual leave is fairly normal also however getting time off in hospitality is another nightmare. But as well as that I work all holidays. Mother’s Day, Easter, paddy’s day, new year etc. bank holiday? Doesn’t matter, I have work anyway.

So I guess these things just feel way more important than they are because as it stands at the moment I just get paid my wages based on hours I work and if the place is quiet I’m making half my usual wage. If I get sick it’s my problem. So if my hours are down and I get sick.. well you can understand the situation I’d be in then. 😅

Also I should say the “free phone” is not just a work phone and tablet, they also give you an employee discount on a sim only plan for your own personal phone (and the discount is 100% incidentally). But you do get a work phone and tablet of course, but both of which can be used for personal reasons on my off time they do not mind. Though I’m sure they’re watching!!

irelandrover

I wouldn't call getting a phone and tablet for work a benefit. It is necessary to do your job. Similarly a company car if i was a travelling salesperson.

20+ days holidays? How many holiday do i actually get, the legal minimum is not a benefit.

The only actual benefit there are the pension and health insurance but you would need to actually have details of what they pay before calling them benefits.

Penn

"20+ days annual leave + company day (what is that by the way?)"

At a guess I'd say it's probably either Good Friday (which isn't a mandatory public holiday but a lot of places might make it a company-wide day off), or it may be some day where the company has their own conference or something which isn't really work, but would also probably be mandatory to attend.

L1011

Those benefits are the absolute minimum any job like that can have, and are not great at all.

youtheman

Just bear in mind that you will pay BIK (i.e. tax) on the Company Car and the Health Insurance.

smalltalker

The benefits you've listed seem decent and pretty standard for a sales job, so I doubt there's any hidden catch - just that you will have targets to meet and stay focused on. Sales is a job that takes fairly particular skills and not everybody is suited to it, yet it's vital to businesses, so attracting and retaining staff usually means putting up a good package. If only there was the same attitude in the restaurant trade! I say go for it.

[Deleted User]

Just remember that you will only be as good as your last sale. Sales companies rely on sales and if you miss targets it's not good.

The other side is , you can always go back to cheffing if it doesn't work out or you don't like it.