How To Become A Restaurant Manager

Are you interested in the food industry? Are you considering a career in restaurant management? Becoming a restaurant manager is a fast paced career that requires most of your time. A restaurant manager works well over 40 hours per week and they do not have the normal 9 to 5 job.

 

You must decide if you want to be the general manager or one of many different managers. There are endless possibilities when researching the field of restaurant management in the food and beverage hospitality industry.

Restaurant Manager Job Description

A restaurant manager has many different tasks to manage on a daily basis. A restaurant manager duties and responsibilities are endless.

Such duties include:

• Book work, the corporate side of management, payroll, making sure all forms are completed and filed, inventory sheets are done, safety sheets are filled out, keeping track of each employee’s individual personal information, and more.

• Properly maintain the staff. This includes the front of the house (waiter, waitresses, bartenders, host, and hostess) and the back of the house (cooks, chefs, bakers, pastry chefs, dishwashers, prep cooks, etc.).

• Keeping track of inventory. A restaurant manager must keep necessary tabs on the inventory, making sure the restaurant has all needed items at any given time.

• Must know how to advertise, especially online. Technology has come a long way. Make sure you can manage a website for your company online.

• Making the schedule. Having the schedule ready a week or two in advance with every employee, both front of the house and back of the house positions, meeting every individual’s needs. Such as needed time off, hours available, and so forth.

• Be sure the guests are content. A manager must make sure the guests are completely and totally satisfied with every aspect of their dining experience.

• Know ALL restaurant positions. Most importantly, the manager must know how to execute every employee’s position in the restaurant. If extremely busy, it is time for the restaurant manager to get his hands dirty and work also.

• Food and Beverage Marketing. The restaurant manager can also be a food and beverage marketing manager, a manager must be able to sell his products outside of the restaurant and even upsell his food and beverages inside the restaurant.

• Hiring and Firing. Let’s not forget it is up to you to hire and fire employees, conduct interviews, and to make sure each individual has the required training to perform their job to the best of their ability.

Different Restaurant Management Careers

Let’s say you have decided for sure that a restaurant manager is the career choice for you. Now before you begin the process of becoming a good restaurant manager. You must decide what type of business you would like to run.

1. A Restaurant Chain. A common way to becoming a manager is to work your way up. Start as a cook or waitress, even a dishwasher and work you way up through the business. The goal is to ultimately be promoted to manager. This is easiest done when working in a restaurant that has many different stores. A good example is anything from McDonalds to Red Lobster. Possibilities are endless.
   Relocation is a high possibility when pursuing your management goal in this fashion. A good example would be if a new store was built and they promote you to manage that particular restaurant. You will be required to relocate to claim your new and desired position.
2. Be Your Own Boss. Another option would be to open up your own restaurant, It is your restaurant, you manage the entire store. It is your restaurant to run in any way you see fit.
3. A Franchise. An easier way to manage a restaurant is to buy into or work at an already established chain of restaurants. Therefore the menus, the food itself, the policies, dress code, style, everything is already established. You just need to step in as manager and do your part.

There are other important aspects to consider when figuring out your different options for becoming a restaurant manager.

• What size restaurant? There is a huge different between managing a small family dining business and being a manager of a fine dining restaurant that seats hundreds of people. The dinner rush alone is a few hundred. There are different restaurant management opportunities in different types of restaurants. The qualifications and requirements will be different for each individual place.

• Do you have a family? Are you willing able to work long hours well into the night or wee hours of the morning? You will be obligated to work weekends and holidays. This career path requires the majority of your time. If for any reason you are not able to meet these work requirements, this is not the career path for you.

• Finally, you have to decide the actual type of restaurant you would like to work at. Do you want to work in a fast food restaurant, or a casual family restaurant, maybe it is your dream to manage a high end, fine dining establishment?

If you have carefully looked at all of the skills and requirements necessary to become a restaurant manager and you have made the final decision that this is the right career path for you. Then, it is time to move on.

Now let us go through the process of all the steps you will have to take to reach your final destination, being a well profound manager of a restaurant of your choice.

Let’s begin.

The 8 Steps To Becoming An Official Restaurant Manager

Step 1: Enter The Food Industry
Your best bet is to start working in the food industry at an entry level position. Get a feel for the food and beverage business if you have never worked in this environment before. Once, you get your foot in the door or even at your interview.

Let your boss know that you are looking for advancement opportunities. After seeing how this business runs and if you still believe this is the career path for you. Let it be known that you want that golden opportunity.

If you start as an employee in the back of the house such as a dishwasher or cook, broaden your horizons. Train on multiple positions, then part of your restaurant experience is the fact that you have worked every position in a restaurant in the front and the back of the house. You know how a restaurant runs inside and out and are very capable of moving up in the food and beverage industry.

Step 2: Work Your Way Up
Easier said than done. Start at the bottom and go to the top. Do not let yourself get comfortable in any one position. Yes, the tips from waitressing are exceptionally wonderful but, don’t let that make you remain in that position. Always seek for higher opportunities.

Find out if the restaurant you work for offers advancement training. Some bigger restaurant chains will help fund schooling for you to advance in their restaurants. Maybe they are opening up a new chain. Let them know you would be a great candidate for a higher position.

If it is a restaurant chain, you may not be qualified for the general manager position yet but, you could be the day shift manager or the night shift manager at one of their many locations.

Step 3: Restaurant Management Education
If this is the career path for you then you need to have the proper restaurant management skills, training, and education. For starters, you should have your high school diploma or GED. A high school diploma or GED is becoming a necessary requirement no matter what type of career path you decide to follow.

Say you work in a casual dining environment, you are working at an entry level position knowing that there are opportunities for advancement at work. Places like this will not require any formal education to start out. You will be required to take different classes and so forth as you work your way up through the company.

If your career goal is to work in a huge establishment or fine dining restaurant then you should pursue further restaurant management education. Many restaurant management schools offer courses to obtain a degree specifically in restaurant management. Here are more specific details.

• Get your bachelor’s degree in restaurant and hospitality management. It will give you an edge over your competition. There are thousands of colleges that offer bachelor degrees in restaurant and hospitality management.

• Technical institutes offer programs to become certified in restaurant management leading to an associate’s degree.

• High-end restaurant management opportunities will require you to have completed classes such as business, accounting, social sciences, and so on.

• You can have internships both paid and unpaid depending on the company you are doing the internship for.

Step 4: Other Restaurant Management Skills
Other than the direct education and degrees you must secure. There are other skills that you should have. There are numerous restaurant management skills that make you look better and will look great on your resume.

• When working in a restaurant that serves alcohol, many states require you take a program to earn an alcohol servers card. It is good to take this program even if it is not required.

• It is always in your best interest to take safety classes. As a manager, from conducting fire drills to knowing how to handle dangerous kitchen equipment.

• Know proper food handling procedures. What temperatures food should be at, cold and hot? Know what to use different knives for, different pans, allergies, etc.

• Take a class to know the OSHA requirements for a clean and safe facility. This is mandatory.

Learn the Art of the Restaurateur.

Step 5: Begin Job Search
Start at the beginning, at an entry level position. If you already have started working at the bottom, then you know how the industry works.

• Start filling out applications. Apply at places where you know you can reach your final goal.

• If you have not yet completed restaurant management schooling or training, do so now. Work as a waitress or cook while in school. If your company knows you are in school to earn a degree in restaurant management while working in a restaurant, this will give you a head start on other candidates.

• Get your foot in the door. Start trying to meet as many restaurant owners and workers that you can. It is always beneficial to have an inside source at the place you want to work at.

Step 6: Interview
You have filled out numerous applications and have got that call. Now, it is time to be interviewed. This could be the only interview or they might conduct a few interviews by different staff. Be prepared for anything.

• Have a resume. Create a cover page, list all education, training, skills, experience, etc. Make sure all information is correct and accurate. Proofread it before hand.

• Tell the individual conducting the interview why you are the perfect fit for the job. Let him know why it would benefit the company to hire you.

• Dress the part. Dress professionally. Look like someone who is in charge and capable of being a leader.

Step 7: Get Hired.
Plain and simple, you were successful at the interview and you have been hired. You got the job, now it is time to show what you can do. Don’t be nervous, you got this.

Step 8: Work Hard.
Now that you are hired, perform the job to the best of your ability. Do your best and nothing less. If this isn’t the exact job you are dreaming of, keep working. Work to achieve your goals.

• Always be professional and execute top quality work. If you move on to another job, you want this restaurant to give you a superb and credible recommendation.

• Pay attention to all details, small and large. This is a fast paced environment, be aware of all that is going on at all times.

• Handle situations with authority, control, and respect.

• Know all you can, such as the menu, how to make all food, restaurant policies, and procedures, how to execute every position in the restaurant, etc.

• Bring new ideas to the table. Advertising and up selling. Enhance the restaurant.

• Always have a positive attitude and never show signs of stress or anger.

Food and Beverage Marketing

Marketing plays an extremely important role in the food industry. Did you know the United State’s food industry brings in over $1 trillion annually? Simply, to have the option of becoming a food and beverage marketing manager is a golden opportunity.

Food and beverages are consumables, a marketing manager doesn’t need to convince the consumer that they should purchase food, people need food. Food and beverages are essential items. A marketing manager’s role is to convince the consumer to buy their food instead of eating at another establishment.

In the current restaurant industry, restaurant managers do not only work on everything that goes on inside of the restaurant. The managers must be able to think outside the box and literally work outside the restaurant such as advertising on television, online, etc. F&B Marketing is essential to being a productive restaurant manager.

F&B marketing is one more skill a manager must develop. They must be able to sell food and beverages both inside and outside of the restaurant. F&B Marketing is a crucial requirement for a restaurant manager to fulfill in order to make his store a top quality, leading establishment in the restaurant business.

Salary

The average salary for all restaurant managers is around $50,000 per year. Managers of high-class restaurants that have expert experience can earn up to $80,000 per year. You will make good money when you choose restaurant management as your career. Although keep in mind, you work hard and you work a lot. The restaurant where you are employed will be your second home, that restaurant will be your life.

Put the Information to Use

A career in restaurant management is exciting, fast paced, and you can make tons of money. This career choice is very demanding and requires an extremely responsible individual. There are many skills and requirements needed in order to begin this career.

If you have thoroughly read the above information and you still feel that this is the chosen path for you, then do it. Follow your dream, take the necessary steps to have an entertaining, hard working, and social career as a restaurant manager.