Job interview after years of sahm, bitten off more than I can chew.

[CletusVanDamme]

Have an interview for a cafe management position within a charity shop. They are expecting new ideas for generating income and want a first 90 day presentation as well as a role playing thing.
I have seen the cafe, it has a domestic toaster/ kettle , a table too 2 ring job and a table top single oven. 10 tables?
It appears to be higher management level interview style for a somewhat primitive operation.
I am flummoxed, I have worked pt in cafes and bars and operate largely on smiles and offering great customer service.
I no nothing of corporate speak and other such stuff, where the feck do I start?

Staff training , sign up to online level one food hygiene courses. Get validation and scores on the doors from local council, make it look and sound professional.

Source good quality cakes/scones. Toasted tea cakes because they smell enticing. Maybe from local bakers to support local business ditto flowers on tables from local florist , etc.

Community notice board .

Themed mornings a couple of mornings a week knitting and wool exchange, gardening plant swap, pet friendly day.

Communal table for “sit and chat”

I would steer well clear of the yummy mummy crowd, they take over, sit for hours and leave a mess, go for the older demographic. Emphasise developing as a local hub for community involvement. U3A etc.

Yes indeed, second interview.
I got an email inviting me for it yesterday and the follow up with the 90 day plan thing today.
The delusions of grandeur thing is right.
The staff were made redundant because of covid.

Please do not consider this role for full-time minimum wage. Disgusting example of exploitation.

If part of the job is reopening the cafe mention the covid risk assessment, food hygiene cert, food hygiene training and induction for volunteers, advertising the reopening, reviewing the supplier arrangements and social media
Anyone who thinks you can't expect this sort of thing for a minimum wage job hasn't been* jobhunting recently.

I cannot believe people think this is ok? It's not even properly equipped, it's a makeshift kitchen!

I have seen the cafe, it has a domestic toaster/ kettle, a table top 2 ring job and a table top single oven.

Crepes are good to make on a hotplate. Make the batter in advance and keep in fridge. Offer three basic toppings eg Nutella/honey/lemon and sugar. Crazy margins on the mix as it's basically eggs flour and milk. And an oil spray for the pan. And quick to make when you have the hang of them.

Gosh sod that.
Explain that you'd like to find out more first but would be excited about supporting them with ideas through discussion regarding the current position first
Cheeky buggers.

Having done this ( albeit not for min wage ) there will be huge amounts of admin to do. Makes no difference what size the kitchen or cafe is. EH will spotcheck to ensure this is all being done properly. There is so much H&S legislation surrounding food and food premises.
Have you any experience of pricing items for profit? How to minimise wastage? Managing staff ? Marketing ? COSHH?
If so you are def worth more than min wage!

Honestly, not cool. Essentially they want you to act as a marketing consultant not a coffee shop manager. All for minimum wage! SMH 🤦‍♀️

I’d be worried they were just going to steal all the ideas you and the other candidates give in your presentations and then not hire any of you...

Are you ok? It all got a bit much didn't it!! People are just looking out for you, but it can feel overwhelming.

What have you decided to do?💐

@Chilver

Sounds like they are trawling for ideas rather than staff......

My immediate thought.

Sounds like they are looking for a magician.

What is the budget for this magic they want you to perform.

And all for minimum wage🙄

@travailtotravel

Honestly, I'd turn up and I'd tell them all this. Your 90-day plan is to sort out: * resources - without knowing staff and budgets you cannot create a credible and cohesive plan * competition and gaps in the market * identifying your niche (love the soup and bun at 1 idea!) * getting the equipment and suppliers sorted out to meet the new menu and niche you have identified *looking at promotion/social/PR etc * hiring staff and volunteers and getting processes in place and people trained

I'd be really clear that I'd be expecting to do all that on the clock because you are a professional who wants the space to succeed and raise funds for the charity, and you don't want to make half-cocked suggestions today without all the information available.

That will take 5 minutes. If you say that and everyone else has gone in with a bunch of ideas, they should bite your hand off because you clearly know your game.

At that point, you can decide if you want to walk out and leave them with it or not! But I'd not do a fancy arse presentation, I'd just tell them straight and see if they want to take it seriously. I'd also tell them expecting all that for NMW is off too, because these people need telling directly and not letters withdrawing because of it.

This OP if you do decide to do the interview.

Gosh, if all the interviewees supply them with ideas, then they're pretty much sorted!
Good luck, OP. I agree that they sound overambitious given the set-up they've got. Maybe your idea could be that they invest in better equipment

I don't think you need to use corporate speak personally. I work in a typically corporate environment and everyone thinks it's wanky and shit.

Just be yourself.

90 day plan - as a manager they want someone who isn't just going to do the bare minimum I guess.

My 90 day plan having never worked in a cafe would include -

Work out who does what in the job eg what will you do, what will the volunteers do, when you'll take breaks etc
Train up all staff to a high standard
By end 90 days have a training document of everything people need to know for new staff
Work out what is working well and what needs to change
Work out what sells well and what makes the most profit and how can we do more of that
More ways to get customers in - local social media and deals

This is a lot to ask for min wage I agree

I would be worried that the lovely vibe was created by the people who no longer work there and hasn't survived.

Unfortunately this is now expected from applicants, even for min wage jobs. You can't just turn up and make a good impression any more, you have to do role play and group exercises and talk about bobbins like your favourite foreign cuisine and what you would do in a terrorist attack.

Asda made us do a Dragons Den type presentation for an imaginary board game, which was excruciating. Then they wanted me to work a four hour shift, for free to see if I liked it - with no guarantee of a job. I declined.

If you like the cafe and you fancy a challenge then go to the interview. Just remember to ask lots of questions and get the facts. I got caught out like that once and ended up running a small shop, completely alone, every day being paid as a sales assistant when obviously, I was the manager.

Employers hold all the cards, unfortunately.

Hi OP
My oldest is vegetarian (not vegan) and basically in a veggie cafe she'd suggest simple and cheap rather than artisan, so...

all day:
Juices, smoothies, shakes

breakfast time offer:
yoghurt, granola
eggs on toast or beans on toast

lunch time offer:
cheese and onion or cheese and mushroom toastie
yoghurt, coulis

afternoon offer:
coffee and brownie

so if you didn't use your yoghurt and bread up at breakfast time, you might at lunch. Toast to order easy enough, toasties easy enough, brownies baked on premises will make it smell nice.

Oh and separated tables = only 5/10 in use unless you can set a couple up on the pavement with the correct council license. I am not sure how 25-50 quid an hour will generate much profit once your wage, ingredients and bills taken out but hopefully you wouldn't be running at a loss?

Good luck

oh and you could use the yoghurt and fruit coulis in the shakes, basically putting on special what you had most of and seeing what sells. Once confident with basic menu, you could add pesto to a toastie for example but many charity shop trawlers probably just want a decent brew

I've managed several charity shops (yes, I know this is a cafe within one...) I was always a manager on minimum wage. The pressure was way bigger than any other job I've had. It was all about KPI's and targets and YTD... just be aware of this as they may not take Covid into consideration and start comparing to past figures.. have they said you'll be performance monitored? Scope managed me like that and it was hell... most of us managers ended up having breakdowns..we were all on min wage too..

Sounds like they want champagne level staff on a lemonade budget. Cheeky fuckers!

I've had a couple of jobs like this before, where the management/owner wants me to provide the moon on a stick for them yet there's been the most stingey budget ever or no budget.

Not worth your time, IMO.

Having worked for a charity recently, I can only say I'm not surprised by any of this! Expectation is that you will work harder than you've ever done in your life, with extra in your free time, with no support, no resources and a tiny budget and you'll be rewarded with minimum wage, performance reviews and scapegoating when the impossible-to-achieve targets aren't met.
There's also a lot of micky-taking regarding legislation - you may find that they think a lot of legalities (food safety, insurance, local permissions etc) don't apply to them because "we're a charity"...

Thought I'd better update as so many of you were kind enough to help.
I didn't go to the interview, it was last Friday. I don't know if it was a combination of me thinking it was a bit ott, or the fact that I had 2 days notice to prep something which sounded a bit high level? Anyway the long and the short of it was I had some kind of anxiety/panic thing on the morning, had a complete confidence crisis, woke up with monster period having leaked on bed, was in tears so cancelled.
I am so ashamed and have let myself down so much I had no idea my confidence was so low.
But there you go, I do thank everyone who was so helpful.

OP,
You have not let yourself down.

I used to have occasional monster periods and I remember being wiped emotionally beforehand and wouldn't understand why until it arrived.

Go easy on yourself.
It was only an interview.
No one died.

Mind yourself.
You are doing yourself absolutely NO favours being so hard on yourself.

I could barely get the children to school on a really bad period day, not to mind do an intense interview.😁

Like the previous poster said, you’ve not let yourself down. You did what was right for you. Something did seem off about that place and I think you knew it. It just wasn’t meant to be OP. Fwiw even without the period and the anxiety I wouldn’t have gone to the interview. You’ll find somewhere that suits you better soon enough, don’t stress about it :)

@CletusVanDamme You have not let anyone down. I get mps, and for the first 24hrs can’t really leave the house/bathroom, so I know what it’s like
Sounded like a mad job anyway.
I hope you can find something much much better x

OP the thought of getting out there again is really scary but the thought is worse than the reality - take baby steps, you'll get there.