JOB/INTERVIEW ADVICE LOLZ:
1.) it's not about what your experience is, it's how you sell it. a job at an upscale restaurant can work just as well as a bank job (or better) if you're planning on a career with business as long as you sell the tangents well during an interview -- in this case, the customer service skills gained when working with the wealthy and privileged.
2.) connections. with the restaurant job i'd venture that if you're ambitious enough, you'll have the opportunity to chat with and impress more people in a position to give you a better career than you'd find working as a bank teller. the restaurant manager is probably a great source of connections -- he works with high-profile customers and clients all the time.
3.) your manager. suss out both jobs -- you want a manager who sees you as a resource to develop, not as a tool for exploitation. best rule of interviewing is to put yourself in the mindset that the company has to sell itself to YOU, not vice versa. the WORST thing you can do is accept a job because you HAVE to -- if you do, you become the company's and your new manager's BITCH. also, when you go in with the attitude that they need to impress you a bit, you ask much better questions and generally look far more qualified. ask "i'm looking to develop my career -- what do you offer that could grow me as an employee here?" and be sure to emphasize your potential as much as your qualifications.
4. set your sights high and your expectations low. treat every job as a learning experience, no matter how noxious or mundane. i learned a lot in my days as a grocery checker and as a caterer, even though i loathed both jobs -- in fact, i apply more of those skills as a well-paid middle manager in software engineering than i do those gained in my CS and English degrees. to tie this into point #1 -- recognize when you've gained and developed those skills, and sell the fuck out of 'em.
5. first impressions set the score, and every positive or negative thing you do after that only shifts folks' perception of you slightly. they either start out wanting to like you or wanting to hate you, and that lens will refract all of your accomplishments accordingly. work your fucking ass off and kiss a little ass during those critical first few months. never take a job where they seem fake as hell.
hope this helps!
