Local Bakery Is Considering Hiring Me!
Business By cakex3artist Updated 20 Aug 2013 , 5:33am by jason_kraft
Hello All!
I just joined Cakecentral, but have been using the site as a reference for quite some time now. I started cake decorating by making my daughter's first birthday cake. Ever since then I fell in love and had an epiphany that THAT was what I wanted to turn into my career. My dreams are on the verge of coming true. I responded to a craigslist.org ad in which a local bakery was interested in hiring a cake decorator who was experienced with buttercream and fondant. I submitted a few pictures of my daughters cake and that got me my 1st interview. I worked constantly for 4 to 5 days trying to master anything I could because I wanted and needed this job so badly. By the end of those 5 days, I had made a 2nd cake with fondant, sugar art, tempered chocolate designs, and even made a sugar sculpture (glad I saved that one for last). I was very pleased with all the hard work I had done and took a CD of my work to my interview. I assume they were impressed, because I just received an email this evening requesting a SECOND MEETING! 
I know I am capable of doing this job, but I am unsure as to what I should ask for compensation. Everything I have done so far has been from my own home and has been for personal use. I have not sold anything. Any advice anyone would like to send my way, would be greatly respected and appreciated. I know this is my calling, and will do anything I can to make this dream a reality. Thank you all so much for your help. I have included attachments below, to give insight to my skill level and my work.
Linds.
I know I am capable of doing this job, but I am unsure as to what I should ask for compensation. Everything I have done so far has been from my own home and has been for personal use. I have not sold anything. Any advice anyone would like to send my way, would be greatly respected and appreciated.
Usually you don't get to ask for how much compensation you want. Typically small businesses have x amount of money they can afford for any employee or job position. The more you can do in the whole bakery, the more your possibly worth to them. The more speed you have also makes you more valuable to them, because you can get more work done it makes them more income.
Having never worked as a cake decorator your pretty much an apprentice. You probably aren't going to be an independent worker for several months. Some employers almost feel that they should be paid to teach you, and they're not wrong. Your not valuable until your done learning and can work independently on your own.
So then it's all about what the industry in your area is paying for a job. It does vary from state to state!! In Chicago $9.00 per hour would be the best pay you could expect given your experience.
You can talk to the owner/manager when negotiating your pay rate and ask if they would evaluate you in less than 1 year for a possible pay increase if your an adult changing careers and you have a lot to bring to the job with your life experiences. It would be unusual for them to say 'no'. When they say 'yes' than negotiate with them some goals you should achieve and master and if so get them to agree to x amount more money. Set a deadline/date for when you will sit down and re-evaluate your skills.
Towards the end of the 1st interview, one of the owners brought up compensation, and I was honest and told her I wouldn't even know where to begin. They are well aware that everything I have done, thus far, has been out of my home. I know that if I am hired for the position I'm pretty sure I would be the only one working on the custom cakes, so it wouldn't be much of an apprenticeship. But, the other owner did mention to me that since we live in a college town, that it would be possible that I would not just be doing custom cakes, but also things their other employees do, because they sometimes have a high turn over rate of employees. He explained it would help them out if they had a solid employee that was flexible around the store as opposed to just doing custom cakes.
Also, this particular bakery is just getting back into the business of custom cakes. They did them a while back, but the employee they had working on them left, and now they've noticed in the recent months how much money they're losing sending the custom cake business elsewhere. So, the owners are uncertain how much business they will get right off the bat. But, in my second interview I'm going to suggest options of giving their cupcakes and other pastries personal touches which would, hopefully, solidify my position, and allow them to see that I could be a great asset as an everyday employee.
Thanks so much for your advice stitches, I truly appreciate it.
THANK YOU SO MUCH! I honestly couldn't believe it myself. It took me a week (while also being a stay-at-home mom of a 1yr old) but it was well worth it for my baby girl. I was so pleased with myself on how it turned out I just knew this was meant to be my occupation.
Many interviewers ask what you expect for compensation not because they are willing to negotiate, but because if you come with unrealistic expectations they can eliminate you. And on the other side if you ask less than what they are willing to pay they will jump at it. I'm not sure how many cakes you have made since your daughters birthday. You will be pressured to work at a much faster pace..saying it took 5 days to do what you did. At a bakery you will not have that luxury. That being said it would be a wonderful opportunity for you to gain experience...with someone else footing the bill.
AYes stitches I did get offered a position. It wasn't exactly THE position, but I will be working 3-4 days a week as a part-time employee. They had another candidate that had more experience and are hiring them on a cake-by-cake basis for the custom work, but I will be assisting the other decorator they hired as the orders come in :) it's a great opportunity & I am thrilled. Thanks everyone for the well wishes and advice it's greatly appreciated
So then it's all about what the industry in your area is paying for a job. It does vary from state to state!! In Chicago $9.00 per hour would be the best pay you could expect given your experience
My background is in I.T., and I've been out of work since last year. I've been wondering if I should make a living as a decorator. I inquired at one shop where there was a help wanted sign. I was discouraged to learn that I make more on EI doing nothing, than if I worked as an "assistant pastry chef" at the cupcake store. :(
While I don't expect to make I.T. wages doing cakes, is it normal for salaries to be this low??
ARwarren: I'm not sure what area your in, but my position is only part-time & I was offered $8.50/hr. lt's not much and I completely understand your frustration, I have 1 yr. old and a husband in school. Once I am there a week or so I am going to get a second job as a server so I know I walk out with cash every night. It's not ideal, but in this economy a job is a job. & I'll take what I can get to be able to support my family, but it definitely beats working at McDonalds- they'd only pay minimum wage. I wish you luck on your job search and hope you find what your looking for.
A
Original message sent by rwarren
My background is in I.T., and I've been out of work since last year. I've been wondering if I should make a living as a decorator. I inquired at one shop where there was a help wanted sign. I was discouraged to learn that I make more on EI doing nothing, than if I worked as an "assistant pastry chef" at the cupcake store. :(
While I don't expect to make I.T. wages doing cakes, is it normal for salaries to be this low??
For jobs where supply greatly exceeds demand and barriers to entry are relatively low (e.g. cake decorating), low salaries are normal. This is true in the IT field as well for certain general skills that can be handled remotely (technical support, Java programming, database administration, etc.).
If you want to draw a higher salary, my recommendation is to look at your general field of expertise and focus on a specialized skill with a non-trivial learning curve and untapped demand in your area. With cake decorating you are more likely to have to be an entrepreneur unless you live in a market big enough to support the expansion of businesses in these specialized niches. In the IT world there are several specialized options that are nearly universal, but you are better off the closer you are to your employer's competitive advantage...for example, in my day job we have a very tough time finding technical IT people who can support ERP systems (these are the computer systems that run sales/marketing/finance/accounting/HR/procurement/etc. for just about every large business) and also have knowledge on the business side.
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