I'm so excited and so scared! (as the title says) I found a cake decorating job that's about an hour away from me. I sent them my "online portfolio" of cakes (wish I had the one I just did in there - haven't even had time to upload it but it was cute). ANyway, they want to schedule an interview with me!!!! It is a bakery that is NOT in a grocery store or chain - I've been told by someone who lived in that city that it was THE bakery..... now the pictures on their website haven't impressed me much but maybe they don't have to do a lot of online advertising if they are very well known. Anyway - I need some help!!! What should I do to get the job? And then what should I do if I DO get the job?? I think I'd have to move! But I might be willing to do that - it's only an hour away after all! But I'm committed to something in December at my church on teh weekends.... I'd hate to have this great opportunity and then lose it b/c I won't be available on weekends in December.... I actually have TWO prior commitments - one at a part time job and one at church.....AUGH!

Oh and the other thing - what do you think the bakery will be looking for? Will they just want to see how fast I can ice a cake? I went to a grocery store "interview" once and they just handed me a slab of cake and said "decorate"...... no theme, no occassion, just some nasty icky SOFT icing and a couple of tips..... and i had NO idea what they were looking for - now I know they just want me to do it FAST. But what should I be trying to do for this job? What do you think they'll be looking for in me? The job pays pretty well too - at least I think so - about $14 an hour is what they advertised.... much better than my job now! The only thing is early mornings - I'm not so great at mornings! LOL. But I guess I'd get used to them if I got to decorate.

So what do you all think? If I'm not impressed by the pics on their website, would it still be a good experience? WHat will they be looking for? And is it worth it to move or should I try and see if there are any jobs around here in a local bakery? I don't think they'd pay as much..... oh and hmm what should I wear??? If I"m going to be icing a cake I don't want to wear a suit! Oh last question - do you think they'd hire me if I couldn't work weekends in December?? I could work during the week if I quit my job now (which I would in a heartbeat!) Thanks to any and all of you that can offer advice!!

wow well first of all take a deep breath lol and relax. First I would see if I liked the job before the big decision of moving. Also as for what they expect fromyou well I would wait and see what they say and what their store looks like and what type of cakes they turn out. As for weekends well I would think with it being the holiday season they would be really busy. As for what you should wear I would think anything that looks nice would be fine just put a long apron over it if they expect you to demonstrate your skills. Since their web site didnt impress you much maybe this would be a good time to wow them with your stuff and see if perhaps they are looking to get some new talent to bring in more business. Whatever you decide I wish you all the best of luck.

I once worked in a bakery and loved it even though it was a pie shop. If you work the front of the bakery at any time they will want to see your people skills and know it is very hard work physically. I did a little of everything from making pies to front counter to cleaning the bakery. Go in with a very positive attitude willing to do whatever is needed. Show them what you are capable of doing and that you are willing to learn new things. Smile, smile, smile and you'll get the job. If this is your passion and I'm sure it is they will pick up on that and will be eager to hire you. Good luck and know if it is meant to be you'll be hired. I'm happy for you. I just loved the bakery but it wasn't exactly what I was looking for - now I've found it with cake decorating but I have to keep my "day" job to keep the lights on!!!

Whew, your thread took my breath away with it's rush.

First off, I would try to be myself, bring your portfolio, copy of your resume and relax!

The one thing I have learned in life is - - - if I let them do most of the talking many times I find out things I would not have known.

And it just might be they were hoping for someone just like you!

Good luck

i've worked in several...and even a pretty fancy one here.

let me tell you that there are so few decorators left...they're prolly more thrilled than you.

the higher class one i worked at...the decorators just decorated...they didn't even talk to the public.

they will want a certain amount of cakes out of you each day....but they'll let you build up speed....it's much different than working from home ...BUT YOU WILL LEARN SOOOO MUCH!

i was about as excited as you when i went in for my interview too.....

good luck!

I think you should proceed with caution. It sounds like something you want to do but you must also be careful. Sometimes we let our hearts rule our heads. I would say don't move until you feel really confident it is what you want to do. Keep us posted & good luck.
June

I used to do the hiring for a school district, I know they will just want you to be relaxed, (Smile!) comfortable with yourself, and speak confidently regarding your abilities without boasting, (Smile!) all while relaying your strong desire for the position. And, in a Bakery, you need to be willing to do everything, and very enthusiastic about the product to customers!
Good luck! Oh, and a good rule of thumb is to always dress one step up from what you would wear in that particular position, for the interview. (You might have to do a bit of detective research to find out what that attire is....) If its jeans, then wear khakis, If its slacks, then wear a skirt.
I hope this helps!

I only have one thing to say and that is CONGRATS! Oh no I'm sorry 2 things lol.. My two cents....

If they want you to show them how FAST you can be so be it but also show them that you can make it beautiful as well as being fast at it. Don't rush it to impress them with your speediness and risk making it look like crapola Good luck and best wishes!

congrats on the great oportunity!

Der - sorry for not replying sooner - I forgot that I have to go back now and choose "view" and then "watch" b/c none of my posts are ever automatically watched anymore - I ALWAYS have to do that manually!

Okay so I've calmed down some. Although I went on thier website and for some reason they had a few "videos" of a walk through of the bakery and also a small part of them decorating some cakes..... and wow the girls were writing soooo fast! And beautifully...... not sure I can do that so well.... I like fondant letters! LOL! Any tips on writing straight and fast?

I'm praying about the situation too - some things are telling me it's not meant to be (like I might have just found a small group bible study to join at my church) but other things are telling me it would be something I really enjoyed......so for any of you that pray, your prayers would be welcome! I know I need to sit back and let God lead.... I just wish he would do it a little more directly sometimes! I'm not a very good "listener" yet.....

Anyway, thanks for your help everyone! I appreciate it!

Don't make any life altering plans for a cake decorating job.

Well I thought I should update you all on the interview.

I was a little disappointed. I loved the owner/manager - she seemed really cool. But it was basically very much like a grocery store - just pump out 25 cakes a day. No fondant, no wedding cakes..... no roses even (well she'd prob. let me do them but they haven't done them in the past). She seemed open to some ideas or some experimentation, but only if we could market it right.

She also said the market is really funny there - the people real close by have million dollar homes but go nuts over a $50 cake price......whatever.

I wouldn't be baking cakes or making icing - I would simply be decorating. It doens't seem like I would learn a whole lot except how to ice a cake very quickly. But there wasn't really anyone to learn a great deal from there.....

She won't be making up her mind for awhile so I don't even know if they'll offer it to me. But I don't know that I'd take it. Yeah, it pays better - but if I'd have to move.... it just may not be worth it. You know we'd all love to work with Colette or Mike or people like that and there just doesn't seem to be any people like that around here. Oh well - I'll just check out the other bakeries closer by and see what I can find out about what types of cakes they do and what they may pay

Thanks to all for your advice, well wishes, prayers, and help!

It sounds like you already made your decission...I would not settle if I were you..you'll regret it in the long run. Keep looking around and see if you can find a place better suited to your style and willing to let you do your thing

good luck

Thank you so much Beth. I have an interview today for an Internet Marketing job - basically Search Engine Optimization (Like if you're searching cake stuff and cake central wants to come up first in a search engine, I would help them do that ) It's a big company that also does graphic design and webpages - which I've been interested in for awhile and can't seem to fully grasp trying to learn just on my own. So it would be a foot in the door to that kind of company. I just think it pays less than what I'm making now as an administrative assistant. But I'm going to try very hard to listen for what God wants.

Thanks so much for everyone's help.