Whether looking for a fast pace exciting career choice, or just something too supplement your income, a career in restaurants is a good choice for you. Most restaurants offer competitive pay with ongoing room for advancement. At the same time lends itself to those needy schedules that are only able to work part time.

Any restaurant owner will tell you, “Proper grooming is a must.” Depending on the theme and décor of the restaurant will determine your dress code. Keep in mind however general hygiene can be the difference between a good and bad tip. For the ladies keep your hair back in a pony tail while serving, customers want a salad with ranch, not a salad with your hair. Wash and press your clothes, looking professional says a lot about you and your establishment, if you find yourself in a predicament that you don’t have a clean outfit, keep a default outfit ready. A safe bet would be that any restaurant will be OK with you showing up in an oxford white button down shirt and black dress pants. Remember your appearance is the first impression, and you only get one chance to make a first impression.

While serving food or drinks it’s important that you are democratic. Keep in mind that not everybody will be pleasant and no two people tip the same. Staying positive under any circumstance is any good server’s secret weapon to making good money in a restaurant job. Every successful server will tell you the best fix for a kitchen error or a drink mistake is a timely resolution with true concern while maintaining a positive attitude. Always remember rule 2 of thermodynamics “from chaos comes order.” Some of the best regulars and best tips come from bad situations that you are able to salvage. Keeping your cool in these high stress situations will separate you from the other servers, this will quickly become noticed by your management, co workers, kitchen staff and most importantly your customers.

Serving tables or bartending can be therapeutic. Escape into the establishment you work for. Leaving all your problems at the door can make coming to work fun and exciting. Set goals for yourself when you come in, financial goals always help in focusing on what you need to do from minute to minute. For example pre-bussing or sticking to the rule “hands in, hands out.” Which means always carry things back to kitchen when headed that way, also carry things from the kitchen back out.

No matter what you do starting off your career with a restaurant, just have fun. When you find the right restaurant or bar for you, it won’t even feel like work. Check out happyhouralert.com/article/ for more useful tips on working in restaurants.