I started working at a restaurant as a hostess a few months ago. I wanted to make some money for myself before college, and I also wanted to be a part of a real team. I'm a film/television production major, so teamwork is very important to me. Yes, I've worked on shows and productions, but in high school, I'm really only teaming up with the "theater kids" for these projects, and there's nothing wrong with that. I realized that because I grew up with these people, it was no challenge to work with them, and it was so much fun to work with them every single production. I wanted to break out and learn how to work with a new type of team. Start fresh. Get to know people with different backgrounds and interests. Now a few months into the job, I know that I'm getting life skills and lessons every single day, instead of just learning how to work with a new team.

1. You learn patience.

When working in a restaurant, some customers can be a pain. As a hostess, my job is to bring people to their tables. The customer is supposed to follow the hostess to their table. This is common restaurant etiquette. Sometimes, the customer walks in front of me to "choose" their table. Sometimes, when I need to wipe down a table before I sit someone, and I ask them to wait at the front of the restaurant, they then proceed to follow me to their still dirty table. Sometimes, they sit down before I get a chance to clean it.

But this is nothing.

Recently, a woman came to the restaurant with her three young daughters, and she wanted to sit outside. Here's the thing: all the outdoor seating available for four people was taken except for the couch area. Now, apparently, this was a problem for the mother. The couch area we have at the restaurant is lower than the rest of the tables (because it's a couch), and the tables are about the height of a coffee table. This area is often popular for large parties. But the second I walked outside:

"Are the cushions clean?" the mother whispers to me. Yes, ma'am, they're cleaned every night.

"Where am I supposed to put the food?" Ma'am, there's a table right there.

"I don't know, girls. Where am I gonna put the food?!" The table's still there, ma'am.

"Ugh, fine. Will you take our order?" No, ma'am, I'll get your server.

First of all, you passed by the seating area before you walked into the establishment. I saw you. Second, your girls are better behaved than you. They're not making a fuss. Third, open your eyes, there's a table right in front of you. Fourth, have you ever been to a restaurant before? If you had, you'd know that the hostess does not take the orders. Ever.

But, obviously, if I said all this, I'd be out of a job. This is not the case. I had to keep my mouth shut because "the customer's always right." Sometimes, you want to teach the customer a lesson, but that's not how one gets by in life successfully. Hence, patience.

2. You learn to not be afraid to get your boss's attention.

In the professional field, one might be a bit nervous to ask their boss for a raise, promotion, etc. This is totally understandable.

At the restaurant, we have a giant blackboard that has the burger of the week, shake of the month, wine of the week, what drinks are on tap and any specials we're running. Me being the art kid and notorious doodler, I wanted to draw the board each week. So, I accidentally-on-purpose left out a doodle of eyes I did at the hostess stand. My manager tends to only remember things that are his ideas. When he walked over to the stand, he asked who did the doodle, and I told him I did. He liked it, so the rest of the conversation went sort of like:

"(Server who told me I should do the board) said I should do the board," I said.

"Yeah. Can you come in Friday morning and do the shake?"

And the rest, as they say, is history. Now I'm up on a ladder every morning at 8 o'clock to draw a new design. I love that I get a chance to do something I like to do at work. I also get paid to do it, and they give me free food so there's that, too. But if you want to do something you want to do at work, or just something more or feel like you deserve something, don't fear your boss. In most cases, the worst they can do is say no. Pick up more work than you need to do. Show your boss that you're capable of more, and they just might reward you for your efforts.

3. You learn to not be afraid to ask questions.

Because I'm still new, I'm learning more and more about the restaurant each day. After I seat customers, they sometimes ask me things about the menu or a policy or a coupon. Being a hostess, I don't need to know as much as the servers do, but I need to find an answer for the customer. I often go to my manager or an experienced server for an answer. I can't hide behind, "Your server will know more about that." It becomes my job to answer this customer's question. Sure, it's not much, but if you're someone who is a bit shy or doesn't like to ask questions, this helps. You need to ask questions in the real world.

4. You learn small talk.

This is huge. In the real world, we're going to have to kiss-up to people who can change our lives in a heartbeat. Parties, functions, golf outings, etc., it's important to know how to keep up small talk. This ties in with questions too.

I'll chat with customers while they're waiting for a table or while I'm walking them to their table. Mostly about the weather, how slippery the floor is or their birthday. It gets me used to talking with strangers. I greet every person that comes in the restaurant with, "Hello, how are you?" and a smile. Again, it's not much, but it helps me get used to the fact that I'm going to have to master small talk if I want to make it anywhere in life.

5. You learn how to problem-solve.

Picture this: it's a rainy Saturday evening. The dinner burst. You're on a 40-minute wait for a party of two. The majority of the tables in the restaurant are two-tops. You. Don't. Take. Reservations. Or call-ahead. Suddenly, as if the front of the restaurant isn't crowded enough, a customer comes in and says:

"Hi. We're gonna be 18."

(Did you mean: my first day of training?)

What do you do? First, you share a horrified look with the other hosts/hostesses. Who brings a party of 18 to a popular restaurant on a rainy Saturday night, the single, most crowded — no, chaotic — time for a restaurant? Did you really think we'd have room this very second? Because we don't. Second, scope out a group of tables you can put together, preferably tables where the customers are almost done eating or about to get up. Third, because you're on a 40-minute wait for a party of two, and there are multiple parties of four waiting their turn first (if you haven't already mentally placed them at a table), you go back and say:

"I'm sorry, but we're on quite a bit of a wait, and we can't guarantee how long it will be before we seat you," although you know it will be at least two hours, "If you'd like, you can leave your number here, and we'll contact you when your table's ready." Simple, and polite. Let them down softly. Obviously, they leave their number. The next task is to bus the tables as quickly as possible to get the wait down, and then push approximately 4,000 tables together, because there's a party of 18 waiting to eat.

One has to keep a calm, cool head through all of this. When it gets this crazy, my managers are constantly telling me "do an open menu count", "bus table 12", "can you run this food to 30?", and so on, all while trying to be a hostess at the same time, which comes with its own set of struggles (see: patience).

6. You learn how to deal with people you know (when you unexpectedly see them).

The restaurant I work at is at a nearby mall. Almost every single shift I see a classmate or a teacher come in to eat. Sometimes, you don't necessarily like these people. So you can either a) do a bathroom check for the person's entire stay, or b) do your job, put on a smile, and seat the person. This is your land. They are the customer, regardless of your past with them. Treat them as such. Refuse to be awkward when you see someone you know in public. I suppose this skill is most useful for when you run into someone you went to high school with or your least favorite neighbor in the grocery store when you're looking "special" (def: when you dress like you don't want to see anyone you know. Your hair is shoved up in a a pony tail or under a hat, no makeup, you haven't showered yet. You're just running errands). Small talk helps with this too.

7. You learn teamwork.

This is something I knew I would get out of working at a restaurant, and it was something I knew I needed to learn. No matter the career, every one needs to learn teamwork. Whether you become a lawyer, doctor, artist, journalist, pilot, plumber, or stay-at-home-mom (and there's nothing wrong with that), you need to have teamwork and compromise under your belt.

On busy nights, there are usually at least three hosts/hostesses on, and we bring out the radios so we can communicate from different points in the restaurant (because communication is a key component of teamwork). We can't double-sit the servers because they have enough work to do, we have to help bus the tables to keep things going quickly and smoothly, and we have to make sure every customer gets seated when they are supposed to.

Working at a restaurant is a great way to get some extra money and some life skills down. Especially for college students, this is a great way to start to understand how the real world works, and it's always nice to add something to your resume at the very least. Future employers will respect that you come prepared with this little mental-toolkit of skill.