Balancing work and family life

25 November 2002 by
Balancing work and family life

Question

I'm a 37-year-old male living in Cape Town, South Africa. I have a diploma in marketing and sales management (South Africa), a hotel management diploma (Israel), qualifications from the Cordon Bleu school (South Africa) and I'm in the process of completing my MBA (business school, Netherlands).

At present I am the general manager of a 250-seat beach restaurant. My experience varies from hotel management, executive cheffing, restaurant consulting and lecturing at hotel school (Hawaii) to sales in the finance industry. I would describe myself as highly motivated and multi-skilled with a passion for working with people.

My pregnant German wife would like to return to Europe in March. I have a EEC passport, but I don't speak German.

I see myself being involved in a dynamic organisation, where I would be involved in decision-making for a group of restaurants, for example. I'm also thinking about working on a cruise liner, so that I could live in Germany without working in Germany.

From my brief description of myself, is there a particular type of position that I would be most suited to? How do you suggest I go about finding that position? Is it usual to find an agent in the UK to market me? My salary expectations are about £40,000.

What the expert says

Lesley Reynolds, managing director, Portfolio International

! -
There are a lot of issues raised within your brief e-mail. You have some good diplomas and good grounding in the industry, coupled with the general management of a beach restaurant. However, you do not mention any groups or chains that you have worked for. As far as asking what you would be suited to, I would turn the question around and say you should try to do what you really want to do. If that is realistic, go for it. If people have a passion to achieve something they will. You will need this passion because there are obstacles for you to overcome. As your wife is German, maybe Germany is where you should head. Have you thought of learning German with her help? You say your wife is pregnant, so I can't quite follow the logic of working on a cruise liner when you have a new baby at home. I have spoken to a few of our food and beverage consultants, and they don't feel they can advise you without a clearer indication of your experiences and skills. They also feel your salary expectations may be a little on the high side. There are lots of opportunities out there, but you need to begin by looking carefully at what drives and motivates you and the work experience you have, in comparison with the future needs of your family. Then, armed with more information, you can seek the help of some recruitment experts.
The Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email

Start the working day with The Caterer’s free breakfast briefing email

Sign Up and manage your preferences below

Check mark icon
Thank you

You have successfully signed up for the Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email and will hear from us soon!

Jacobs Media is honoured to be the recipient of the 2020 Queen's Award for Enterprise.

The highest official awards for UK businesses since being established by royal warrant in 1965. Read more.

close

Ad Blocker detected

We have noticed you are using an adblocker and – although we support freedom of choice – we would like to ask you to enable ads on our site. They are an important revenue source which supports free access of our website's content, especially during the COVID-19 crisis.

trade tracker pixel tracking