Finding your first job can be a daunting task, especially if you’re not really too sure how to go about it. Luckily for you there is more than one way to get your foot in the door and land a barista gig!

1. Educate yourself

As with any job you go for, you’ll need the necessary skills to actually do it, that means you’ll need to educate yourself and do some barista training. If you have any experience in customer service that will definitely help you on your way in the coffee industry, as a barista you will be talking to people a lot! Doing a barista course also puts you in touch with trainers who have a wealth of knowledge about coffee, so why not think of a few questions while you’re there and get as much out of it as you can?

2. Make an impression in person

Cold call applications can seem like a difficult or unpopular approach, but it works. When you are looking for work in the hospitality industry you might find that you can’t find many businesses advertising for new staff, and the reality is, most businesses don’t! Being in the right place at the right time is a big part of getting noticed for a job opportunity, and if you haven’t made the effort to ask if there is a job going, somebody else will. Often café or restaurant owners are so busy they often don’t realise they need to hire new staff, this often happens when business varies due to the change in season or a change to the business occurs leaving them in dire need of new employees.

3. If you’re looking for an opportunity, ask for it!

Networking is another excellent way of getting noticed and to find out about any job opportunities. It could be as simple as striking up a conversation with the barista at your favourite café each time you grab your latté and asking if the manager needs an extra pair of hands. If you’re stuck for a conversation starter, every barista loves to talk about coffee, where is it from? How many do they make per day? How did they learn to pour latte art? You can think of it as your own coffee research.

4. Where else can you begin making coffee?

If all of your favourite cafes and restaurants have already got enough staff you can also start to look outside the typical café scene to get your start behind a coffee machine. These days barista work exists in all sorts of jobs across the hospitality and retail industries, café’s and restaurants can be a great place to start because you can usually ask your manager or co-workers to mentor you when the shop is quiet. Most bars and pubs also serve coffee, not to mention many hair salons too! Service stations like On The Run are another workplace that integrates coffee service with retail petrol, think creatively, give the manager a call and line yourself up interview!