What I learned while working at Pizza Hut

The secrets of the stuffed crust

I got my first weekend job when I was 13. It was at a small, cute little seaside cafe and I would clear the tables and do the pot wash. I stayed working there throughout my teens and, along with a good friend, by the time we were 17 we could run the place by ourselves. I loved this job, it was hard work but fun, and it gave me enough money to buy a new top and go out every couple of weeks. At university I got a part time job at Pizza Hut. At the time, this really was THE DREAM JOB. Free pizza, flexible hours, great people to work with. It was hard work though. Lots of training and strict customer 'check points', such as acknowledging a customer within 3 seconds of them entering the restaurant. A script to learn and sides and deserts to be upselling at all times. etc etc. We were constantly on edge knowing any customer could be a mystery shopper.

For the third year of my biology degree, I decided to spend the year working in industry and applied for a science job through the university. The job I had in mind was a researcher at The Seed Bank Project, based in Sussex. For this, I needed to fill out a proper job application. It all felt very grown up. I added my academic qualifications and talked about why I would be good for the role. Then I got to the part where you write past work experience. Work experience? For a scientific conservation job? Well I certainly hadn't travelled around the Galapagos Islands saving sea turtles with David Attenborough... my experience consisted of The Driftwood Cafe and Pizza Hut. I didn't want to leave it blank though, so I included Pizza Hut and wrote briefly about my responsibilities there. 

On the day of the interview I travelled down to Sussex and waited patiently for my turn. I was being interviewed by two of the directors and I had prepared a presentation, then answered a few of their questions as we talked through my application. And completely to my surprise, when we got to my past work experience, one of the directors suddenly became very animated and talked to me at great length about how THEY used to work at Pizza Hut and how important it was to represent a brand and work to their high standards. He knew the rigorous training employees went through and how stressful it was when mystery shoppers came in. Suddenly I realised that this experience WAS relevant. It showed I was punctual, had a good work ethic, could work in a team, was friendly and had good customer service. I might not be required to carry 3 pizzas and a diet coke around the seed bank but there were loads of skills I had acquired that showed a different side to me that my GCSE grades might not be able to show. 

Over the years I reached a point where I didn't have to include Pizza Hut on my CV anymore. But remembering those transferrable skills and, especially in my years as a graphic designer and representing big companies in a different way, the ethos of always working to a high brand standard has always stuck with me. And now, as I embark on yet another career as a children's illustrator, I know that I mustn't disregard everything I learned in my previous lives. We are made up of those past experiences and they show themselves in so many ways. I'm sure subconsciously I always smile at people as they enter a restaurant, even though I'm just a customer and don't actually work there!

Oh, and I never did figure out the secret of the stuffed crust... I just know they spray something on it that makes it all shiny and smell weird. 

Thanks for reading!