27 April 2010

How to Conduct Restaurant Interviews

Posted by Crystal under: Recession Tips & Tricks; Restaurant Business .

Knowing how to properly conduct a restaurant interview and which questions to ask can tremendously reduce turn-over rates at your restaurant.  By carefully selecting potential candidates for important positions, you save yourself from future headaches by not having to deal with problematic employees.  Here are several tips on how to properly interview potential job applicants:

Short Summary of Personality. It is always nice to start the interview with an easy, yet revealing, question, asking the job applicant to tell you briefly about him/herself. This will give you the chance to get a first glimpse at the candidate’s passions, hobbies, and overall personality.  By asking the candidate what kind of social circles he/she is in can provide an employer with a lot of insight into a candidate’s personality.

Stress Questions. Asking stress questions often reveals to an employer how a job applicant reacts in situations under pressure.  Pressure and stressful situations abound in restaurants, which is why it is important to assess the stress threshold of your potential employees.  These questions can be anything from why the candidate is leaving his/her current position to what his greatest accomplishment in life is.  Ask your candidates about their relationship with the previous employer.  The candidate’s reaction can be very indicative of what kind attitude he/she will have towards you if hired.  Ask your candidates what kind of hopes they have for the position they’re applying for, and what their promotion expectations are.

What Motivates the Candidate? This is one of the most important questions to help you assess the motives behind why the job applicant wants to work for your establishment.  Ask probing questions, such as why the candidate decided to apply for the job at your restaurant.   Why is the candidate applying for a job at this particular restaurant and not the neighboring one?  What is so special about working at your particular restaurant?  While many job applicants are just applying for any job they can get close to their home, questions like that can quickly weed out people who might not be suitable for your restaurant’s concept.

Strengths and Weaknesses. Ask the job applicants about their three main character strengths and how these traits can relate to the restaurant industry.  See if the candidate can focus on the specific traits that are relevant to the restaurant industry.  Also, ask the candidate to identify their three weaknesses.   If a job applicant is able to calmly assess and describe his/her strengths and weaknesses in the right, balanced way, this can provide you with enough information to make the right employment decision.
Dealing with Stress.  Working in a restaurant can be quite intensive, and things can get chaotic and hectic.  Restaurant is certainly not a relaxed environment to work in.  Assess your job applicant’s ability to consistently deal with customers in a positive way, be always on his/her feet, and be willing to work long hours.

Team Player. Probe if a candidate is a team player.  This is important because it is always better to hire somebody who aims to achieve team goals, rather than focusing on exclusively individual ones.  Good prospective employees should be willing and capable to do many other types of jobs, outside of their main duties, in case somebody suddenly quits or other need arises.

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