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rockzilla · 07-26-2005, 08:51 AM

I've been working in the kitchen of a homeless shelter for the last 2 1/2 years. All in all, it's been a great place to work. The pay is above-average, they've supported me as I went back to school, even helped me with the cost of tuition. I've been given opportunities to take on more responsibilities.... but that's part of the problem.

While the Head Chef and I get along great, the Sous Chef (Assistant Manager) is a close, personal friend of his and is less than capable of doing her job. The only thing she seems to be good at is dodging the blame for things that fall under her list of responsibilities, leaving the blame to fall squarely on my shoulders. When it comes to her word against mine, I always lose. Even on occasions where I've proven that the assistant manager was at fault, she never faces any disciplinary actions and continues to get away with leaving early and leaving her jobs for me to finish or to re-do properly.

I'd bring this up with Human Resources, but despite the HR department's claims of confidentiality, these things always have a way being made public, and I'm sure there would be hell to pay if the Chef found out that I had gone behind his back to voice my concerns about his best friend's lack of competence despite numerous times where we've discussed her shortcomings as a manager and what my duties and responsibilities are.

I feel like I've hit a dead end. I don't think I'll rise above the rank of pseudo-manager, I'm told to take more initiative, but when I do, I'm chastized for overstepping my bounds. When I refuse responsibility for something that should really be handled by a manager, I'm told the exact opposite. When I couple this with the fact that I feel like I've learned all that I can at this job and that I won't grow as a Chef until I start cooking in a more upscale environment, the only conclusion I can come to is that it's time to move on.

There just one small problem. I'm currently registered as an apprentice chef, I need to log 6000 hours of work with signatures from my Chef to prove that I've spent x amount of hours making soup, working with poultry and so on. I've got about 5000 of those hours, but no signatures. I can transfer those hours to another employer, but it would be a waste of the last 2 1/2 years of my life to leave without those signatures, and I'm worried that asking for them now would raise some red flags with my boss about how much longer I'd be staying. I'd also like to get a reference letter, but that would be an even bigger indicator of my desire to leave.

I know it won't be too hard for me to find something that pays as much, if not more working at a large hotel, and that's the kind of environment that would best benefit my carreer, but how can I either explain to a prospective employer that I don't want my current employers knowing that I'm looking elsewhere or obtain a reference letter without my employer suspecting that I may defect?

07-26-2005, 08:51 AM	#1 (permalink)
rockzilla Junkie Location: The Kitchen	Job Advice - When is it Time to Move On? I've been working in the kitchen of a homeless shelter for the last 2 1/2 years. All in all, it's been a great place to work. The pay is above-average, they've supported me as I went back to school, even helped me with the cost of tuition. I've been given opportunities to take on more responsibilities.... but that's part of the problem. While the Head Chef and I get along great, the Sous Chef (Assistant Manager) is a close, personal friend of his and is less than capable of doing her job. The only thing she seems to be good at is dodging the blame for things that fall under her list of responsibilities, leaving the blame to fall squarely on my shoulders. When it comes to her word against mine, I always lose. Even on occasions where I've proven that the assistant manager was at fault, she never faces any disciplinary actions and continues to get away with leaving early and leaving her jobs for me to finish or to re-do properly. I'd bring this up with Human Resources, but despite the HR department's claims of confidentiality, these things always have a way being made public, and I'm sure there would be hell to pay if the Chef found out that I had gone behind his back to voice my concerns about his best friend's lack of competence despite numerous times where we've discussed her shortcomings as a manager and what my duties and responsibilities are. I feel like I've hit a dead end. I don't think I'll rise above the rank of pseudo-manager, I'm told to take more initiative, but when I do, I'm chastized for overstepping my bounds. When I refuse responsibility for something that should really be handled by a manager, I'm told the exact opposite. When I couple this with the fact that I feel like I've learned all that I can at this job and that I won't grow as a Chef until I start cooking in a more upscale environment, the only conclusion I can come to is that it's time to move on. There just one small problem. I'm currently registered as an apprentice chef, I need to log 6000 hours of work with signatures from my Chef to prove that I've spent x amount of hours making soup, working with poultry and so on. I've got about 5000 of those hours, but no signatures. I can transfer those hours to another employer, but it would be a waste of the last 2 1/2 years of my life to leave without those signatures, and I'm worried that asking for them now would raise some red flags with my boss about how much longer I'd be staying. I'd also like to get a reference letter, but that would be an even bigger indicator of my desire to leave. I know it won't be too hard for me to find something that pays as much, if not more working at a large hotel, and that's the kind of environment that would best benefit my carreer, but how can I either explain to a prospective employer that I don't want my current employers knowing that I'm looking elsewhere or obtain a reference letter without my employer suspecting that I may defect?