Rob Gasperetti ⋅ Locust Valley, NY Piping Rock Club ⋅ 24 years experience

I work in a Country Club and I know they are ALWAYS looking for pastry chefs. Anything culinary is easy to get after doing it in the military because you know about volume. message or email me if you want to chat about it.
Thanks for your service,
Rob

Neil Serafin ⋅ Easthampton, MA Telecommunications ⋅ 40 years experience

Wow! A MOS that not is involved in blowing things up. If your good at pastry...the world will beat a path to your door. Suggest you look at an urban metro.... Portland, OR....Denver, CO,....Boston, MA for a job in a walkable neighborhood pastry shop. Some place the current generation have the dollars to pay for good food. Take jobs that pay enough for you to live nearby...have health benefits.....paid vacations. If you can make what the clients want, employers look at you as a profit center. Be demanding with the employer if you have the talent. Use your GI benefits for schooling to get better in pastry. Good luck.

Ingrid Crawford ⋅ Decatur, GA Levi Strauss & CO. ⋅ 10 years experience

Hi Crystal! If you're still looking let me know, my brother is a pastry chef and would love to help. If yes- I'll send you his email address.

Best,
Ingrid

John Green ⋅ Cary, NC Information Technology ⋅ 40 years experience

A close friend of mine did exactly what you propose.

Check her website, she is very successful.

http://www.jodycakes.com

If you happen to contact her, please tell her I said "Hello."

Samanaz Kapadia ⋅ Hawthorne, CA 4058 ⋅ 10 years experience

hi Crystal,

I would definitely recommend tailoring your resume to play up your pastry experience. Civilians may not understand exactly what you did but they understand numbers so always mention numbers. I would also encourage you to look at non-traditional places of employment. I work at a TV Network and our lot has 4 restaurants with full time chefs. There are many companies out there who have a culinary staff but you may not think of those right away. I would also encourage you to make sure your Linked In is updated with all the relevant information since corporate recruiters use that site. You could also start a blog with pictures of your creations. Feel free to reach out with any questions.

Kimberly Smith ⋅ Chicago, IL AT&T ⋅ 30 years experience

Hello Crystal, thank you for your service. I have a friend who does personal catering and specializes in pastries who passed along some advice. Something key you want to do to market yourself is show up to meet people whenever possible so you can make a live impression and bring a little sample of your best work. In a position dealing with clients it is important to be personable and approachable, friendly, smiling. After selling yourself, Taste and presentation are key! Have a little portfolio of your work ready to go even if it is a album on your phone to scroll through or a couple pages printed nicely in color to display your work. Also, woman to woman, I would suggest reading the book "Lean In" by Sheryl Sandberg. Great info for women entering a male dominated environment. Very important to update your profile picture to something professional, no bathroom selfies EVER. Given that you are leaning to a culinary field vs corporate, be creative like wearing a chef coat or holding one of your creations in your profile pic. Wear your military pins if you have them like badges of honor also! You always have to present yourself in a professional environment, even here, in the way you want people to see and respect you. A picture tells 1000 words. Good luck!

Kathleen Dunn-Knudsen ⋅ Brooklyn, NY ioby ⋅ 8 years experience

Hi Crystal,

Thank you very much for your service and for using ACP AdvisorNet! Have you taken a look at our Community page? On that section of the site you can search for Advisors in the service industry and reach out to them through a private message for guidance. It's a great feature of the site and I'd recommend you take a look at it.

If you'd like a tour of the site, please let me know and I'd be happy to schedule one for you.

Best,
Kathleen
ACP AdvisorNet Staff