The world of recruitment is changing. Nowhere is that more obvious than on social media. More and more employers and recruitment agencies are using these platforms as a way to discover new talent and advertise jobs, and that includes those in the restaurant industry.
What this means for you is that you can harness the power of social media – and in particular the image-focused Instagram – to land your dream job as a chef. Here’s how.
Ensure your entire profile looks professional
Using Instagram for job hunting means that every aspect of your profile must come across as professional. So firstly, delete any images of drunken nights out! Choose a high-quality and professional image for your main profile picture, ideally one of you in your best chef coat and custom fitted chef pants for women so that you look the part.
You’ll also want to write a succinct and interesting bio that highlights your expertise. You then want to audit your entire grid of photographs, making sure that each one is high resolution, relevant, and not overly filtered. To truly stand out, consider having a unifying color scheme or composition to tie them all together.
Showcase your skills
The main benefit of using Instagram to help you land your dream chef job is that you can showcase your culinary skills to the world. Some top tips include:
- Focusing on your unique selling points rather than just copying what others are doing
- Using relevant hashtags to help recruiters and employers find your images
- Demonstrating a wide variety of different culinary skills (that are relevant to the type of job you want)
- Mixing it up by also posting video content and different kinds of images, such as inspirational quotes or photos from industry events you’ve attended
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Engage with potential employers
The whole point of social media is that it’s, well, social. This means that in addition to building up your brand and posting images of your most delicious and photogenic dishes, you ought to try and engage with other Instagram users.
Make sure that you follow lots of different chefs who inspire you and restaurants you’d love to work at and don’t be afraid to start a conversation by commenting on their photos and videos. You never know where it might lead!
Search for jobs
These days it’s common for companies and agencies to directly advertise jobs on platforms like Instagram, so get in the habit of browsing for any that you like the look of. You could do this by searching for hashtags but be aware that this might bring up too much content for you to go through. Another option is to follow relevant recruiters so that chef job postings come up on your feed.
Be authentic
Social media is often criticized for being unrealistic, so make sure that you’re being authentic on Instagram and not pretending to be someone you’re not. Feel free to showcase your individual personality alongside your chef skills, for example by talking about your hobbies or causes that you’re passionate about.
People want to see the person behind the food, so don’t be afraid to be yourself! Lean into your quirks, no matter whether that’s being edgy or geeky!