Have Skills Will Travel

I have noticed, over the many years I have toiled in the food service industry, that some workers have either a larger than average ego or not enough. This phenomenon displays itself perfectly when there is a need to renew contracts or when there is a union vote pending.

There was a time in which I worked for a large grocery store chain as a bakery department manager. There came a time when contracts were nearing the end and negotiating began. Of course, this period of time was stressful of all concerned as it was literally was going to direct both the company and it's employees economic future. As things progressed, talk had an increasingly nervous tone. When talking to co-workers a negative sentiment was repeated with some members that was in direct opposition to my feelings about the matter. I don't expect the world to agree with me always, however it took some review for me to understand their point.

I have always said that my skills and knowledge travel with me and rather than bow to the demands of the corporate overlord I am committed to being justly compensated for leasing my time, skills, and knowledge. A few of my co-workers at that time, and a few others mimic the sentiment, were literally scared witless that the negotiations would result in them being jobless if they didn't cave into the demands of management. I am not afraid to value my time and put a price on it taking into account my costs of living, my three kids, the average wage for my work in the marketplace, and my education. All of these things can be valued and the fair exchange of my time for a wage is important. I have had offers from companies that were well below my average asking wage, and while it did make me a bit nervous to say no and wait for the next offer hoping that it would come quickly enough to not put my economy in jeopardy, I did so in effort to not misstep into a situation that would be inadequate.  By accepting too low of a wage, you are lessening the option to have adequate time to find the right job.

Too many workers are too afraid to find out if the rest of the marketplace needs their skills, if there are jobs available elsewhere for similar jobs, how much other's pay for the same work, and they are afraid to value themselves adequately.  I was taught the following sentence "I was looking for a job when I found this one." This sums up my stance to workplace evaluations. Any worker can transfer their skills to another job, if in fact the skill and training has been well earned. I find it hard, too hard on oneself, to not understand who you really are in life. A bad situation, no matter where it is, bad relationship with a spouse, or a friend or relative, or job, can be very costly. You put your physical and mental health in harms way.

In this economy, hell in almost any economy, valuing your contributions to the workplace is important. Just like you asked for, interviewed for, and was offered your current position, you can do so again, no matter how long you have been at the current job. As a chef, perhaps unlike some other industries, a long tenure is not common place. There are few gold watch retirement parties given to staff who have been with the organization for 20 years or more. It's just not how things work anymore. I did work for some highly talented chefs who had long terms with one company but they were older workers and nowadays it isn't common. Most chefs who are not partners or owners, typically work for 5 or 6 years at a spot, then move on, out of need to grow and/or company's wish to keep costs low. An experienced chef can be costly, but well worth it, and some organizations would rather take on two young chefs with limited experience and train them instead of paying one prized chef well.

Do some research! This age of Internet quickly offers up information about average wages in any industry, you can even get a better idea of wages by reading the want ads. Do some soul searching. Too many people undervalue themselves both in the workplace and in their social life. This is killing you slowly like a small dose of poison not able to kill right off but building up in your flesh over time. It drains your life blood and weakens your spirit.

Equally damaging is over evaluation. Do not fluff yourself up without cause or reality. This seems to be the realm of the young more so than the old. Older folks have been knocked around by reality and have had to plainly see themselves in a good mirror, just don't focus solely upon the flaws. Youthful workers often take things off their resumes to heart and make more of them than they really are worth.

When you dream, dream big! Shooting for the moon and missing, still leaves you in the realm of the stars. Personally, my big dream of owning my own bakery has been held in my heart for many many years, and while it is not yet a reality, I have been trained by some of the best, had experiences singularly superior to most, and have learned skills I did not anticipate. Lovely.