3. LAND A JOB

The best way to land a great restaurant job is to go from restaurant to restaurant and ask to speak to the owner or a manager. Don't sit at home and make phone calls because you're more likely to be dismissed. Look under the "Help Wanted" section of your newspaper, or visit your favorite restaurants and ask the waiters there if they know if the manager is hiring. One more way to find an available job is online. Some placement services include FoodService.com and RestaurantJobsNetwork.com.

VERY IMPORTANT: When you're out restaurant-hopping, make sure you hit the restaurants during non-busy hours. You're practically guaranteed NOT to get hired if you bug the manager during prime time hours when the restaurant is at its busiest. So the best time to job hunt is between lunch and dinner.

Obviously, the interview process for a job waiting tables is less formal than other job interviews. You don't have to wear a suit, but don't wear ripped jeans and an old T-shirt either. So dress neatly, trim those nails, comb that hair, and look sanitary. You want to possess that "I-am-not-a-health-code-violation" aura. Most importantly, wear your best smile. As we said earlier, waiters must be friendly, so be sure to channel the Brady spirit.

The interview process at each restaurant varies. You might be asked to fill out an application. You might be asked to come back to chat with the owner, or you might chat with the manager right then and there so be prepared to sell yourself. If you have prior experience, you should be ready to give examples of how good of a waiter you are. If you have no experience waiting tables, make sure you are ready to discuss the qualities you have that would make you a good waiter. Tell funny anecdotes if your interviewer is friendly. Do NOT focus on how you need a job to pay your bills. Focus on the fact that you would be wonderful working at a restaurant because you're such a people-person or you're such a hard worker, etc. Most importantly, be friendly yet in control. The manager is going to trust you to be the liaison to their customers, so you want to look like you could handle any situation that comes around.

Make sure to follow up the interviews with a phone call (about a week afterwards). Restaurant managers are always busy, so they might need a little nudge, especially if hiring is an ongoing process in their restaurant. Our advice: again, call during off-peak hours, and give a little friendly nudge that you're really interested.

No matter what, be persistent with your job search. Go to as many restaurants as possible. You could get a job the first day you go out, or it could take several weeks. Keep in mind that job turnover in the service industry is incredibly high, so it's all a matter of being in the right place at the right time. And lest you forget, keep that smile big and wide.