I've found myself in a position where I need to find a job kind of quickly. With an A.A in music and a B.A in history, jobs in my fields of study are a little scarce, so I've been trying to broaden my search a little. I noticed that a ShopRite near me had a posting for a cake decorator listed on Indeed, so I drove there and checked out their bakery. It looked like most of what they do is basic borders and some roses here and there. Even though I'm not the best decorator, I figure at least that much is within my capabilities and I could gain some bakery experience and learn a few things while I'm there, so I filled out an application on Thursday. Yesterday the hiring manager called and I have an interview on Tuesday.

Have any of you wonderful people applied for grocery store decorating jobs? If so, do you have any advice or tips for a successful interview?

If you have pictures take them with you   You might not get a chance to show them   When I interviewed I found the store was union & I would have to start at minimum wage & work something like 3yrs before any chance of a raise:(   Just letting you know that’s a possiblity   Be prepared to be asked to decorate a cake   That’s all I can think of now 

Thanks for the advice. I'll bring pictures of some of the cakes in my gallery. And thanks for the heads up about the potential to be stuck at minimum wage--that's also good to know going in.

you need to be ready to learn to do things their way — although at the same time they want you to know what to do — let that one sink in  every place is different — they’ll need to show you the ropes but you gotta run with it of course —

speed is the name of the game in most places like this — if you are not fast you will need to get fast quickly — being able to fully ice and decorate a cake with borders, flowers and inscription in around 5 minutes is common — and they will usually be patient while you catch on if you show steady improvement —

go easy with your pictures — the ones that look like their type of work sometimes are best — you don’t want to try & impress w/skills they’re not in the market for — like if you’re going for a sign painter job and show them your impressionistic painting masterpieces — you want to let them feel you will fill their need — not that you expect them to support your passion for decorating or that you expect them to change their modus operandi — not that You would but that’s often their complaint about home decorators —

i hope it goes great!!!

I knew K8 would come in w/more knowledge/advice than I could.  My grocery store experience was very limited and a long time ago.  

Thanks for the advice! I'm not fast enough to do a 5-minute cake yet, but I think I can get there. I'll also be careful to pick pictures that are closer to what they do if they ask to see anything. I also got an e-mail about potentially interviewing to be a cake decorator at an ice cream shop. That one's probably more whipped cream than buttercream, so not something I'm super familiar with, but their cakes look simple enough that I don't expect that will be much of an issue. I'm really hoping one of these jobs works out!

 the ice cream shop is cool but you have no choice but to work fast there  but I mean you can keep sliding cakes back in the freezer too  but if you can’t take the cold well that’s a factor too and usually those are part time — the grocery store hopefully will be full time with benefits — and room to advance

Well, I interviewed at the grocery store today. Turns out the job ad was a lie. I submitted an application for a full time decorator position, but it turns out what they were actually looking for was a part time bakery clerk who could sometimes fill in for their cake decorator if she took time off. They offered me the job, but I said I would need to think about it instead of committing because I wouldn't get benefits. So fingers crossed the ice cream shop works out!

foot in the door of grocery store trumps ice cream store because you have a ladder to climb -- ice cream store is likely part time

The ice cream store told me that if I get the job I could expect an average of 30-35 hours a week there which, if I'm not mistaken, means I would count as full time and qualify for benefits under the ACA. They also mentioned eventual eligibility for a 401k, and $11 per hour as opposed to the $10 ShopRite offered. A dollar isn't much, but combined with more hours, probable benefits, and a 401k, if the interview were to go well and I got an offer, I'm not sure if I could turn it down.

I don't know. Maybe it's stupid to even try to compare since at this point one is an actual offer and I still have to interview at the other. But I'm really nervous about having to let my health insurance lapse.

wow that's a really nice ice cream shop! never heard of one offering a 401k -- hope it all works out -- don't be scared of no insurance -- if you are relatively healthy -- even with ra we always came out better with self-pay, that is after the kids were grown -- but yeah it's not easy -- but on self-pay you get discounts on lots of stuff too  

So, I interviewed at the ice cream shop. They offered slightly higher pay and 35-40 hours per week on average as opposed to the 25-29 at the Shop Rite. They're also offering me some basic health benefits and I'm not sure if I plan to stay there that long, but after a year I become eligible for a 401k. Plus, the ice cream shop also actually offered me a position as a cake decorator. Most of the designs seem pretty basic, but I've never used an airbrush because I haven't been able to justify the expense of buying one, and the owner told me they do use an airbrush for some of their cake designs and they'll teach me how to do that, so I'll at least be able to pick up a few new skills working there. So I took the job.

I figure this way I at least have a full time job for now, so I have a steady income, some health insurance. And in a year I can either go back to school and cut down to part time hours if I like it there, or if not I'll be able to add some actual cake decorating experience to my resume when I'm applying for other jobs rather than trying to convince people to take a risk on a self-taught hobbyist, so maybe I'll be a more competitive applicant.

Thanks for your advice!

Sounds good.  Good luck.  It should be easy work.........well except for the cold element :)

Good luck in your new job!

congratulations! sounds very good for you