help me gain employment in the wonderful world of food service

October 27, 2008 7:03 PM

What can I expect at interviews for simple restaurant/food service jobs? What things should I be saying to increase the chances I'll get hired? How should I dress? I have no foodservice experience.

I know food service jobs are often cited as something easy to get, but I tend to get really anxious in new situations (like interviews), and I've also been having such little success in my job search lately that I'm worried and disheartened.

I'd feel much less anxious if I had some idea what to expect and what questions they're likely to ask me. Pretend I'm clueless (maybe I am?)

I'm especially wondering about open interviews at chain restaurants. (Some offer health insurance, which would be wonderful, and I haven't seen that many ads for those chain jobs, so I really don't want to fuck those interviews up.)

If it matters - I'm in my mid-twenties, done with college, have sort of spotty job history in that I've done temp work but also had some chunks of time where I just veged out (but I've never been fired or left a job on bad terms, I just get stuck in a rut sometimes.) I'm an honest and responsible person, but sometimes I'm not sure how to make that come across, and in the sucky US economy, I'm not sure that's enough anyhow.

Thanks.

posted by anonymous to work & money (16 comments total)

I worked in a Chili's for a while (I was spectacularly bad at it); I was in a similar situation and was offered the job for a couple of reasons:

1) They really needed servers

2) Although I had no experience, I was polite and smiled a lot at the interview. The manager who ended up hiring me said that she'd rather have someone who was pleasant and friendly with no experience than someone who was surly with lots of experience. I think this is especially true at chain restaurants; they can teach you how to take orders and what's in all the food, but it's much more difficult to force someone to be polite to customers if it doesn't come naturally.

I think you'll probably be fine as long as you can demonstrate that interacting with you will not be a hellish experience for customers. They might make you take a series of tests about the ingredients in ALL of the food and drinks (Chili's did). Mostly just don't panic about it -- if they ask why you think you'd be good, say that you're honest and responsible and that you are willing to be polite to people even if they're not polite to you.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 7:22 PM on October 27, 2008

Make sure to tailor your resume to highlight all jobs where you have been in direct contact with the public. When interviewing with the manager, emphasize any service experience you might have had, how customers were always delighted to be working with you, and how you loved doing your job.

Dress: black pants, a black button-down shirt and nice shoes are always appropriate for a restaurant job interview, unless you are applying for a hostess position. In that case, you'll have to dress up a bit.

Are you a decently attractive woman? In my experience, you'll get hired just for walking into a restaurant and asking if they have openings available and you have absolutely nothing to worry about. Forgive me if that is not helpful.
posted by halogen at 7:27 PM on October 27, 2008

Neat appearance, clear communication, eye contact, and enthusiasm all will count for as much if not more than spotty work history. Show up 15 minutes early.
posted by Burhanistan at 7:45 PM on October 27, 2008 [2 favorites]

Red Lobster offers health insurance from day one, or at least they did a year ago. A few of the questions i've been asked:

a) How do you do in a fast-paced environment?
b) How do you prioritize?
c) Are you a people person?
d) What would you do if a customer became upset?

I second the advice to smile and arrive early. You'll do fine as long as you're friendly.
posted by Ugh at 8:14 PM on October 27, 2008

Smile a lot. This cannot be overemphasized. If there's one thing I heard more than anything else from managers while working in the business, it was to smile whenever you're on the floor (incidentally you should work on being able to smile no matter what sort of state of mind you're actually in- this skill is crucial while serving and is also generally useful).

A few things to consider:

• If you have any previous sales experience, make sure to bring that up, especially if you can give specific examples of upselling customers. This doesn't have to really be relevant to a sales-oriented position- at my first restaurant interview I talked about selling Rewards memberships at Blockbuster and how I led the team in sales of such.
• Do you have liquor/wine/beer knowledge? If so, make sure to mention that as well. You don't have to go into too much detail, but you'd be surprised how many people out there can't name 5 varietals of wine, 3 brands of top-shelf gin, or two local microbrews. Since liquor sales are a major revenue source for restaurants, showing that you're knowledgeable and comfortable with talking about booze is guaranteed to score you points (naturally don't overdo or belabor this point, for obvious reasons)
• Front-end restaurant jobs involve lots of high-stress situations which require you to multitask effectively and manage up to 20 people who may not always be a huge fan of you, all at the same time. A lot of people completely crack in this sort of situation (nothing against them, it's just really not something everybody can do), and the restaurant manager is more than anything concerned with determining whether or not you're the sort of person who can handle this. Training a server in is extremely expensive, especially if the establishment does food tasting in training, and every hiring manager has had to deal with hiring someone who went through the entire week of training but lasted 3 days on the floor. Beforehand, try to come up with a few examples of situations you've navigated that demonstrate why you're the sort of person who thrives under pressure and social stress, not the kind of person who will flake out after a week.
• "Be a team player" is definitely cheesy advice, but that doesn't make it any less relevant. Restaurants can function effectively because servers work as a team- this means keeping an eye on your zone mate's tables, bussing extra dishes or running food when you have an extra hand, etc. Make sure to stress your ability to integrate with and function as part of a team.
• Above all, demonstrate that you can keep a cool head. If you get a question that you can't answer, don't stammer on blithely while you grasp for an answer...instead, calmly maintain eye contact and give a solid, well-delivered answer instead. This suggests that you're someone who will take the time to determine the best course of action, rather than scrambling for the most immediate solution. In the restaurant business the former do much better than the latter, and I speak from the experience of having been both at one time or another.
• Finally, be confident! Just because you don't have experience doesn't mean you're not qualified, although don't be surprised if they ask you to host for a few weeks before putting you into server training. I can say with absolute certainty that people who are obviously less capable and intelligent than yourself get hired for these kinds of jobs with alarming regularity, so as long as you smile, maintain eye contact, emphasize your calm and effective demeanor, and try to be as charming as possible, you'll get the job.

posted by baphomet at 8:18 PM on October 27, 2008

I think it was touched on previously, but your fashion choices could potentially up the ante. If you have a general idea of what the typical employee wears to work on a daily basis, do your best to dress similar (if a bit more dressy) for the interview.
posted by ktrey at 8:28 PM on October 27, 2008

When I went for entry level food-service jobs (Mcdonalds, a couple restaurants) the questions mostly seemed to be along the theme of 'what would you do if something went wrong?'. Examples were 'customer says they ordered x and got y', or 'customer says their change is wrong' or 'you have run out of z', or 'customer takes the drink from your hand and drops it all over the floor by accident - do they get another one?'. They often wanted to know that you could count change easily and count in general as well. And plus one to the smiling.
posted by jacalata at 8:42 PM on October 27, 2008

All this is great advice, but here's one more. BRING YOUR OWN PEN to fill out the application. At every single restaurant I've worked in, this was a huge annoyance to every manager on duty. Some would toss the application in the trash if the applicant didn't bring their own pen. To them it shows that you can't anticipate things in certain situations which can translate to you not being able to anticipate the needs of guests. I cannot stress how important it is to bring your own pen.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 8:48 PM on October 27, 2008 [1 favorite]

I've waited tables once, and was a barista briefly at an independent coffee shop. Most relevantly, my mom owns several dinners, so I've heard first hand what she looks for...

The interview process for the chain restaurants will be more lengthy than a mom and pop place. You're likely not to get an immediate answer right away, but don't sweat it.

What these places care about:

- Presentable, personable, friendly staff.
- Responsibility or the appearance there of...
- An understanding of customer service, or the appearance there of...
- Honesty, or the appearance there of...

Things to talk about:

- Your enjoyment of interacting with the public.
- Your understanding of the importance of being on-time and being reliable.
- Your ability to put the customer first - in essence to pay attention.

Basically you want to talk about how you understand the importance of making eye contact, of being familiar with the menu, of reassuring the customer, of creating a friendly, comfortable environment... talk about your own "personal standards..." whatever that means...

Dress conservatively, but don't wear a tie. Down play your college experience.

Your resume can be mostly lies, they won't follow up - but some places will call your references if you list them - so make sure you have two or three of your buddies listed who you can rely on.
posted by wfrgms at 8:58 PM on October 27, 2008

I know this might sound a little weird, but be sure to smell unobtrusive. If you smoke, I'd avoid smoking directly beforehand. I would also avoid wearing heavy cologne or perfume.

If you plan on just showing up at the restaurant to ask about jobs, get there around 3:00pm.

Even though it seems corny, act chipper as all hell. Being able to project a sense of enthusiasm is really a critical part of working in the front of the house at any restaurant. Even though the management will likely be able tell that you're putting on an act, the ability to maintain such a front is something that they're looking for in and of itself.

Check out the menu/wine list on the internet ahead of time, or (even better) go eat at the place where you're trying to get hired. This might not matter so much at a big chain, but it's a big plus to be able to mention a few of the dishes and drinks. If you don't have any restaurant experience, it's really good to demonstrate that you know how to discuss food and make something sound appetizing.

At some chains (and definitely at Applebee's), you have to take a watered down personality test. It will probably be pretty obvious as to how you should skew your answers toward the sort of responses a multi-tasking, cooperative, extraverted, go getter of an employee would choose.

Good luck!
posted by solipsophistocracy at 10:01 PM on October 27, 2008 [1 favorite]

I know a few people who run higher end restaurants. They look for servers who are:

- In it for the long haul (so they don't have to train someone else again soon. Are you taking this job just until your college edjamacation strikes gold?)

- Good with people. Can both take orders from customers and deal with the ones that get out of control with a firm hand.

- Good under pressure. Friday from 7-10 when there is huge turnover and constantly 20 people waiting for tables, are you the kind of person who will freak out, mix up orders, forget things or otherwhise not be an asset?

- Actually interested in this job. You have a reason for applying here. You like the restaurant, the food, or something else that will make you come to work and do a good job. If you don't come in taking some pride in the (potential) job, they're no point in bringing you in.

It's not easly to get a job at these places, but a waiter will hundreds a night in tips at these places.

These isn't specific advice about how to interview, but what restaurant owners and managers have told me they have a hard time finding. Adapt your approach to an interview accordingly.
posted by Ookseer at 11:43 PM on October 27, 2008

I think Burhanistan has it. Be a good waiter/ess in the interview, smiling and being very polite and trying to make the interviewer happy, the way you handle a customer.

Your resume doesn't matter.
posted by rokusan at 4:25 AM on October 28, 2008

Make sure your nails are trimmed and clean, your hair is cut or neatly styled, that you're not wearing flashy jewelry (male or female), that your clothes are conservative and spotless, that your shoes are shined. Seconding also cutting back on strong odors of any kind. Basically, try to make sure you look and smell like someone you'd want leaning over you and handling your food.

When I hired people for front of the house positions, I was looking for geniality and intelligence. I was trying to get some sense that the candidate was unlikely to freak out when he or she was in the weeds on a Saturday night and there was a line of people around the block. While experience was often helpful in making this determination, I often hired people who'd never worked in the restaurant industry before, so long as they demonstrated the potential for learning quickly on the job and being good humored in stressful situations. Collegiality is pretty key when you work in restaurants, so if that's something that comes naturally to you, play it up.

Good luck.
posted by lassie at 5:45 AM on October 28, 2008

Listen to Mary Dellamorte, she speaks wisely.
posted by whoda at 6:07 AM on October 28, 2008

Someone already mentioned to show up at 3. It is really important not to show up when it is busy. You will annoy the heck out of everyone. Otherwise, everyone else's advice is spot on. Show you can handle pressure and enjoy working with the public.
posted by Gor-ella at 7:18 AM on October 28, 2008

Be available for the hours and shifts they need, without equivocation or qualifiers or anything like that.
posted by box at 7:51 AM on October 28, 2008