So you ready to take your cake decorating skills to the next level and start seeking employment as a cake decorator. This is awesome! The big question though, is How to Land a Cake Decorators Job?
This is something close to my heart and I come to you all that are looking for Cake Decorator Jobs with knowledge from my many years in the industry.
I have personally been a cake decorator for both retail grocery chains and independent bakeries as well as owned my own bakery in the past. I have also hired and yes even (unfortunately) fired a few cake decorators through my journey in the food industry.
What I am going to share with you I hope will be of the highest value in your search for answers on getting and keeping your cake decorators job. I will also in the future write about bakery management. For now though, let’s get you prepped on what bakery managers and/or Human Resource managers will look for in the right candidate for the position.
Grocery In Store Bakery Cake Decorators:
Grocery chains are quite a bit different to work for in the bakery as a cake decorator than your stand alone, mom and pop shop or industrial bakery. In the following paragraph, we will go over what the grocery chain and big box stores look for in a cake decorator and what gets them to want to hire you.
Landing the Grocery Store Cake Decorator Job:
Skill level: Your skill level for a cake decorators job in the grocery chain in store bakery department does not have to be as high as in the independent bakeries. However, you must know the basics in cake decorating. For instance:
How to ice a cake smoothly:
How to create borders and string work:
How to make roses:
How to use an airbrush:
How to figure pipe simple characters: Usually the minimal figure piping skill is accepted for apprentices: Clown bodies, Animals and Tree trunks.. That type of thing.
How to write:
That’s pretty much it for the skill level in grocery chain and big box store bakeries…
Organizational and Time Management Skills: This one is really important in any bakery setting. in the grocery chains you are expected to produce decently high volumes of decorated cakes, cupcakes, pastries and pies.
Your set up is much like an assembly line. Usually you will produce on your cake decorating table, 6-12 cakes at a time. Bakery racks are filled with (6) 8″ cakes ready to be decorated. in most cases the baked off cakes are brought in frozen from larger manufacturing facilities. You will be expected to take the cakes out of boxes and then place them on cake boards again in an assembly line type of manner. You will also need to keep track of your inventory daily so you know how much you created. Special orders always need to be prepared ahead of time so your customers never have to wait.
Getting an Interview for a Cake Decorators Position:
Looking at the job postings on the internet is just your first step. You must go that extra mile and physically walk in to the location you are going after and talk to the Bakery Manager.
Get that bakery manager on your side fast. If think the corporate offices are not talking to the store and bakery manager to see if anyone actually came in to talk about the position, think again… Let the bakery manager know you are looking for an application or have already sent it in via the internet.
Give the bakery manager your name and phone number. Also, bring pictures of your work so they can get an idea how talented you are. Stop in every day if you have to until you get the call for the interview. If you do this, your chances of getting that phone call will be much higher than the other guy or gal that did not walk in.
Landing The Job During The Interview:
So you got the interview. Now what? What is the hiring manager looking for?
- Be on Time even early is even better.
- Be dressed neatly and with clean manicured nails.
- Do not where nail polish if possible.
- If you have acrylic nails, keep them shorter than usual.
- Do not wear large ear rings.
- If possible wear a white button down shirt.
- Have your hair pulled back and neatly styled.
- Do not wear an excessive amount of make up. ( you are going for a day job here, not a night job.)
- Have your portfolio ready to show your work.
- Make sure you know simple math as well as how to measure food ingredients. You will be required to put a certain amount of ounces of frosting on a cake.
- You will be asked a series of customer service related questions. Remember the customer comes first.
- Let the hiring manager know how much you want this job and that you are always on time.
- Let them know that you are a team player and that you work well with others.
- Let them know that you are always staying up to date with the latest trends in the bakery industry.
- Let them know that you love their store and how you can help contribute to the sales of the bakery department by keeping product full and neatly displayed.
- Let them know that you are there to give the best in customer service and will do everything in your power to increase sales by suggesting extra items for the customers to purchase.
Independent Bakery Cake Decorator Jobs:
All of the same suggestions apply for the mom and pop retail bakery. The only difference is that your skill level will need to be higher unless you are going for an apprentice position.
When I say skill level, I am not talking about Wilton cake classes. This is where you start becoming a master at your craft. Many classes and your own designs are important here. You should be able to work well with fondant, gumpaste, airbrushing skills, royal icing, figure piping, modeling chocolate etc.
Please leave a comment and let me know if you have any specific questions or if you found value in this article. Also please share this with someone you know if you think it will help them as well.
Now GO Get That Cake Decorators Job!
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