Zachary Hawk
Editor’s Note: The Happy Beginnings series features recent College of Arts & Sciences graduates who are getting started in careers, graduate school and service.
Soon after graduation, Zachary Hawk ’17 started as a Manager-In-Training with Thunderdome Restaurant Group in Cincinnati, and he landed the position after the group’s Human Resources director came and spoke to a “career planning in the liberal arts” class.
Hawk majored in Sociology-Criminology because he had always been interested in crime and what leads individuals to commit criminal acts.
He says sociology was the perfect major to learn and engage with society and the social structures that force individuals to lead their lives a certain way.
Spring semester of his senior year he took CAS 1130 Career Planning in the Liberal Arts.
“The CAS 1130 class was an eye opener for me!’ Hawk says. “Kacey Schaum taught me a lot of important information about both career and leadership development.”
Because of CAS 1130 he says he was able to correctly format his resume, cover letter, and reference sheet, as well as conduct informational interviews in addition to going through the application and hiring process.
He landed his first post-grad job through CAS 1130.
‘My Skills and Experience Would Allow Me to Succeed’
“Being from Cincinnati I know that the restaurants under the Thunderdome name are very popular and very successful. I liked what she had to say about the opportunities within the company and felt that my skills and experience would allow me to succeed in that industry, or at the very least I’d be able to get valuable management experience. After meeting with the representative one on one, she really liked my resume, and I was extended an offer immediately following graduation.”
He is training at every position in the restaurant, back and front of house, to be able to fully understand the day-to-day activities of his employees. He has nothing but good things to say about his experience so far and particularly enjoys being able to interact with all different kinds of people on a daily basis.
He never imagined he would work in restaurants after graduating, but his prior work experience is almost completely in the restaurant and bar industry, and his position provides valuable management experience.
“As far as management goes I’ve always considered myself more of a leader than a follower, and my personal philosophy is that a leader isn’t a leader unless they’re willing and able to get their hands dirty and do the work that they’re telling others to do,” Hawk explains.
He has since been promoted to Bar Manager with Thunderdome, so in addition to his duties working the floor, he is also in charge of all the inventory and purchasing of all alcohol for the entire restaurant.
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