5 Handy Tips to get a cafe job in London
by Liila
We have already written about 5 easy-to-get jobs in London, and now we will focus on how to find a cafe job. This is an old story. Every young man or woman who moved to London in order to study or to find a better life had to start from somewhere. And the easiest thing to do, especially for those who do not speak fluent English, is to find a coffee job. This will allow you to get fast cash to pay your first few expensive months in the capital and to practice your English. Besides, cafe jobs are not only a starting point, or a flexible part-time job while studying, but they can also become a full-time permanent position.
Coffee places are everywhere in London, you just need to target the ones that you like most: the cute and cozy 4 square meters in Peckham, the fancy French patisserie in Chelsea, the one run by Italians in Pimlico, or even one of the ten thousand branches of Pret A Manger or Costa Coffee, and so on… However, luck is not always on your side. It is better to find a concrete strategy, before waiting for your favourite coffee place to put up a sign the window. And that’s where we come in!! We summarised the essential steps that you need to complete in order to find a cafe job in London.
#1 Prepare a short and straightforward CV and cover letter
You can’t escape this stage. CV and cover letters are nowadays required for applying to every job! Make sure you include some basic experience in catering and your language skills. Do not write unnecessary information, remember you are not applying for NASA! If you need some tips how to prepare your CV and cover letter, have a look at our CV and Cover Letter Tips.
#2 Distribute your CV and cover letter to all the cafes in the area where you live
The best scenario is indeed to have your workplace at your doorstep. If not so close, still walking distance would be ideal. Imagine how much money can you save in transportation!!
HURWUNDEKI cafe on Cambridge Heath Road
#3 Deliver your CV in the centre of London:
If your area is not rich in coffee places then you’ll need to target central areas like for example Covent Garden. Here, due to the massive flow of tourists, you’ll find coffee shops at every corner. Besides, in most of these places, there is a continuous exchange of personnel. Therefore, it might be easier for you to find vacancies.
#4 Apply online to Chain-Stores
You can find several cafe job openings in coffee chains but also independent cafes via Monster. Moreover, all these big coffee chains such as Café Nero, Costa Coffee, Pret recruit also online so have a look at the following hyperlinks to see if there are job openings.
- Jobs at Caffè Nero
- Jobs at Costa Coffee
- Jobs at Pret A Manger
- Jobs at Starbucks
#5 Search according to your nationality
A clever way is to search online for cafes according to your nationality such as Italian, Spanish, Greek or Polish coffee places. So you can type above the job type and area to find cafe jobs in your area.
If following the previous steps did not help to find you a job, then perhaps your homeland will do it! Being able to speak your mother tongue will help you to communicate better to your potential boss.
If these 5 tips weren’t enough you find 5 more for getting a coffee job in London by an expert in this field like James behind the job board London Coffee Jobs. Finally you can find more catering job boards through our Catering Job category.
The Counter Café in Hackney Wick
Cool Twitter Users who you should definitely follow:
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You may also want to check how to find a Front of House Assistant Job in London.
