<p>For once in my life I’m at a loss what to tell my kiddo. He will be graduating in May with a degree and a double major in business/English. He’s been interested in restaurant operations for a couple years…not culinary, but operations and is totally into a business class he’s taking this semester that focuses on restaurant operations. He’s worked in restaurants for 6 years both front of house and back. I think he’s at a loss what the best path would be going forward post graduation and I’m not sure whether to tell him to look for a management trainee program with a resort (do they even HAVE management trainee programs anymore?) or simply to look for any restaurant and work his way through the system slowly but surely, or to find a certificate program to add to his BA…not sure if there is any value to that outside of maybe an easier networking path. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>Would looking at the websites of any restaurant chain provide insight? (careers, mgt training)</p>
<p>Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration publishes yearly reports about the postgraduate employment of their students, complete with a list of the companies and positions. Maybe you’ll find some ideas there.</p>
<p>[Post-Graduate</a> Employment Statistics](<a href=“http://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/students/careers/postgrad.html]Post-Graduate”>Career Management | Cornell Nolan)</p>
<p>^^^I was just going to suggest that. I believe a lot of large hotel chains (Marriott, Four Seasons) offer good training programs.No, don’t have him work through a restaurant slowly, it would be very hard for him to get into the right track. We know of few people who went through hotel/restaurant management, very hard work, had opportunities to travel around the world, and have done very well.</p>
<p>Cornell Hotel also has a Masters program.</p>
<p>If he can’t get into the training program right away, he might consider getting a job with one of the big chains and use that as a foothold into the training program.</p>
<p>I had not even thought about Cornell! And a one year program is even more interesting. I’m sure he’s abit burned out by college but he’s too late for this May anyway, so could take a year off and apply for next May. His college GPA is fine, but he hasn’t taken the GMATs yet. I just sent him the links and asked him to consider this.</p>
<p>I wasn’t sure if the hotel chains still had trainee programs, but H and I have a friend who did that back in the 80s and has had a very successful career so I’ll help him do alittle research on that. Oldfort I tend to agree with you and I suspect if I don’t offer “advice” my son might just fall into that simply because it’s so easy for him to get simple restaurant jobs but I know with certainty that the management/operations is much more interesting to him than the culinary. His roommate is heading for culinary after graduation. He did work for a chain restaurant for awhile in front operations and stuck it, but he wasn’t particularly fond of that chain so I hope it didn’t sour him on that concept. I’m betting he’d be more interested in resort of hotel operations (with multiple restaurants, etc.). </p>
<p>I’m just secretly so thrilled he’s found his calling of the moment, that’s an exciting revelation for a parent. I always saw him as a laywer (as did a couple of his profs) but my H always thought he’d end up in the food and beverage business. He was always the kid in high school that gave up prom and homecoming to work (at the restaurant) and in general was always happy to do it, he also seemed unfazed by bad managers, surley customers, drunks that wouldn’t leave at closing time and the whole bit. In college he and a couple college friends kept a small family restaurant afloat for a year when the owner had a nervous breakdown and basically deserted the business and disappeared while simultaneously going to college…something I know I could never have done as a 19 year old.</p>
<p>I think hotel/restaurant management is a great career. The skills are very transferable. To manage a restaurant’s operations is no different than running any company. D1 has always secretly wanted to go into hotel management, or maybe an event planner. Who knows, she may do that yet.</p>
<p>Cornell Hotel management is world renowned. A lot of top hotels recruit there. Good restaurant operations manager could mean whether a restaurant is profitable or not. To be able to run multiple restaurants in a hotel, or a chain, is a very good career opportunity. </p>
<p>It’s great when your kid finds his calling.</p>
<p>Cornell Hotel used to have an extensive summer program that was taught in two or three-week modules. That might work for him if he’s not up to a full graduate program just yet.</p>
<p>My first thought was also Cornell, but this sounds like someone who might be better off breaking in with some hands-on management training experience. Restaurants are a tough, competitive business, and turnover is high. That means there are opportunities for people with the savvy and work ethic to make a go of it. I’d suggest he look at some operators of mid- to higher-end chains. One is a company called Lettuce Entertain You, based in Chicago, that operates a number of regional “concept” brands and seems to be on the lookout for entrepreneurial restaurant talent:</p>
<p>[Working</a> at Lettuce - Work Life in the Food Service Industry | Lettuce Entertain You](<a href=“http://www.leye.com/employment/working-at-lettuce]Working”>http://www.leye.com/employment/working-at-lettuce)</p>