Wow...I found a job in two days

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Ok, so a few years ago I realized that I have no interest in filling out generic applications. I have a lot of experience in my field and can afford to be picky, I guess. But when I'm writing my resume, I tend to put way too much information in there. After learning that I'm aspie though, I decided I should leave it all in. Gives them a heads up about how completely "weird" I am, so it automatically weeds out intolerant employers.

I'm moving to Columbus OH, checked out their craigslist, sent off a single resume, and 2 days later: I have a job waiting for me when I get there. Crazy.

I just can't resist sharing the ridiculous resume though. I seriously doulbt that I would hire myself after reading this.

I enjoyed reading that, thanks for posting.

Bridge, this post made my day. Your resume is ridiculous, sure. I adore it. The About Me section is an outline of how to tell an employer what to expect without saying; I have Aspergers Syndrome. It works because you have the chops to back it up.

The REAL clue to the aspergers:
I read books. In the last 2 months, I read 12,000 pages.

I absolutely ADORE your resume. It is so personal and full of energy! I have hired people before, and I would have called you... Good luck with our new job!

By the way, I am not a chef, but I also enjoy cooking. Very much. Like in growing my own spices and making my own broth much.

You have a wonderful writing style, direct, breezy, no nonsense, this is me and this is how I operate at work. You got your points across in a conversational style and you hit all the salient points. You are a hard worker, you don't like apathy, dishonesty and you are passionate about food and cooking. And you will even do extra work that might not be 'your job', radical. Same kind of work ethic I adhere to. Drives me crazy to see work not done because, oh well that is not in my job description....

You also explain how you present to the world, so you are nipping in the bud, before you even get there, any NT blow back on how you work in the kitchen.

You understand waste, loss and theft in the restaurant business and you won't tolerate it, any restaurant would be lucky to have you working for them.

Thanks for posting! Do an update sometime to let us know how your new job goes. I sent a copy of your resume to my son, as in take a look at this, isn't it great?

Maybe you should write a book about your adventures in cooking someday? Can you post your favorite biscuit recipe? I bake biscuits, eating most restaurant biscuits is a disappointment to me always. Same for pecan pie for that matter, but I digress. Great job!

thx for the feedback!

Diva, I am writing two books about the restaurant biz right now, albeit very slowly. I spend so much time on my feet that I rarely have the inclination to sit and write.

The first book consists of what should be taught in cooking school, but isn't. Cooking school is insanely expensive, because you have to pay for all the truffles and other "fancy" ingredients, but then you only spend a week or two on each discipline. 2 weeks baking cakes really doesn't teach you anything. Cooking school also tells you nothing if you want to be a waiter, or about how the delicate dynamics between manager/waiter/cook/dish/baker/prep function.

the second book will be called "A stage" (pr. ah-stazghe), which is french for "training" or "apprenticeship." It's a fine dining phenomenon that is very confusing for those who have never experiences it. A strange process where you go work a day at a restaurant for free. You give them 8 hours of work, they give you a meal or two. Sort of a temporary apprenticeship.

Most nice restaurants require a stage as an interview. Most cooks are liars (85% of ex-cons become cooks), and you have to demonstrate your abilities before they hire you. The stage also determines your starting wage. The thing about it that most people forget is that it also lets the prospective employee to decide whether they want to work for that Chef.

Which is what I want to write about. Most Chefs are pure, unadulterated evil. I travel a lot, and I want to start doing more stages at renowned restaurants...just so I can decline the job and chew out the chef. Even if the chef is great and doesn't get chewed out - hey, well it's kind of like washing dishes for a meal (which I've also done, it's much fun.) Then write a humorous book about it, including restaurant reviews from inside the kitchen.

Biscuit recipe is forthcoming. Will deserve it's own thread, as most of what happens in a biscuit typically cannot be written in a recipe. That's why most restaurant biscuits are not so great, at best.

Congrats! You'll be right around my area.....

Dude, you should also consider a second career helping the unemployed learn how to write kick-ass resumes!

I think he might be hoping to make some money on his writings, and nothing wrong with that!

Burnbridge, you write very well. But please keep in mind that any artistic pursuit has elements of being a long shot, with a lot of luck factors and external factors.

Congrats on your new job and new move. And good luck with art and everything else.

A wonderful example of "right place, right time."

I got an part-time job in graduate school because I e-mailed many firms over Christmas break (looking for a summer job). The recipient was impressed with my "initiative" (which I thought was odd because if you don't start looking around December, nothing will be open by the time April rolls around.

Someone looking for a dedicated chef found your ad and opened a door.

Congrats.

If you wait for someone to advertise that they need someone, you don't always find the best selection of options. Most upper-tier employers don't advertise...they already have resumes on their desk from people who want to work there before the opening even comes up.

Anthony Bourdain can be really funny, even if he does romanticize the gruesomeness of kitckens quite a lot. Kitchen Confidential is fun though.

Ilka: it will probably be a few years, I hope you can wait for it!

Aardvark: I'm not actually planning on making money off the books at all. I follow Scott McCloud's definition of art: "anything that is not done for food, shelter or procreation."

I just like to teach, and get frustrated when I get started and exceed someone's attention span. The only real way to get it all across is to do it in writing (& pictures). So for me, it's more of something I need to do for myself than it is a scheme to profit from.

zer0netgain & ichinin: I actually think I'm a lousy resume writer. most employers don't like "too much information." In the past, I've almost always been able to find a new job in about a week ... and the last couple years shattered that streak. It's nice to get my groove back on though.

Oh, during the phone interview, I spontaneously came up with a good answer for a question that has always stymied me:

boss: "i don't know, you are really overqualified for this job"
me (laughing): "yeah! I'm overqualified for every job!"

Wow, I knew a guy that worked at North Shore a few years ago. Small world!

Please note, this may not work near as well in a corporate workplace.

Burnbridge is appealing to an owner who is interested in the operational side, for example, not wasting food, and wanting someone who is going to be honest and candid.

In many corporate work places, what they really want you to do is to paper over unpalatable reality with official, neutral-sounding language. Yeah, really.

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PS I like your definition of art.