Cooking has long been a passion of mine. As an amateur cook (and armchair career advisor) feel there’s a lot of cross over between both these pastimes. Here are John and my top five tips that anyone can follow to be Jamie Oliver-esque, both in the kitchen and in the workplace. Follow them and fare well.

Set yourself up for success: plan ahead and be organized.

Remember that time you came back from the grocery store, started preparing butter chicken only to realize you didn’t pick up the butter and only got half the chicken required? That definitely sucks. So does planning on making a career move without a well prepared resume, the beginnings of a supportive network of mentors and a social profile that demonstrates just how excellent you are.

Get the right tools to get the job done.

When you’re prepping for a big dinner party nothing is more frustrating than having to cut reams of vegetables with the equivalent of a butter knife. That’s what I had do at John’s place back when we were both college-aged lads. Sometimes we have to muddle through to get the job done, but usually it helps to have the tools (in terms of skills and experience) to get the job done well. So set yourself up for success, in the kitchen and in the workplace. That means if you want to go into communications or journalism, set up some information interviews with people in the industry and pick their brains about the credentials/training/professional development they undertook to get where they are now. Volunteer to build your skills repertoire and consider other technical and transferable skills that you can hone to make you an even better asset.

Presentation counts.

There’s a reason people pay big bucks for culinary art at Michelin-starred restaurants. Attractive, interesting and unique presentation always impresses more than slopping something together. Same goes when you are interviewing or presenting to your team or a potential employer. Look your best. Wear your favourite power suit, dress, or slacks to stand out. Polish your shoes. Tend to personal grooming. Make that powerpoint shine with a cool theme sans typos or spelling mistakes. Look like the pro you are, or and as Prop Joe once said in the hit TV show The Wire: “Look the role, be the role m$therf*cker.”

Find your own style and build on it.

When I cook, I like to clean as I go. I tend to be less precise with measurement and use enough salt to make the Dead Sea seem like a lake. My mom, on the other hand, leaves her kitchen looking like a hurricane blew through. Her dishes tend to be gorgeous but she’s very careful about measuring twice and adding once. I’d hazard to say we’re both good cooks, but we certainly have different styles. Find your style at work and cultivate it. I knew one guy who was all about wearing bow ties and other quirky garments (and working really hard). Everyone knew he was the eccentric dresser and his style made him stand out. He became so renowned he even had some copycats.

Taste trumps all.

When you get right down to it, if your meal tastes bad and isn’t getting the job (of feeding you) done, then it doesn’t really matter how pretty it looks – you’re still going to be hooped. Same goes for your career. At the end of the day, even if you have the polished presentation and interesting style, if you aren’t delivering (finding out your bosses objectives and delivering on time with results meeting – or better yet – exceeding expectations) you need to re-evaluate your career recipe.

Creative Commons photo courtesy of Matthias Ripp

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