I approach employer interview prep with the same principle that guides good service: make people feel welcome, comfortable, and prepared for what’s to come.
A great deal of thought is put into the guest experience. Reservations are confirmed in advance, questions are answered before arrival, guests know where they’re going, are greeted when they walk through the door, and their needs are anticipated before they have to ask.
The tone is set from the top down, especially in the hospitality industry. A candidate interview may be the first time someone experiences your restaurant from the inside. Before they’ve met the team, worked a shift, or accepted an offer, they’re already learning something about how you operate.
Make the way you hire an extension of the way you treat your guests. Confirm the interview the day before and make sure the candidate knows where you’re located. Let them know in advance what to bring. Give them your contact information, where to park, whether public transportation is available, and let them know where to go and who to ask for.
Welcome candidates when they arrive like you would a guest. Offer a beverage. Even a glass of water is an act of kindness. Hiring is an extension of hospitality.
VIP Arrival Treatment
What impression do you want to make when a candidate walks through the door?
I want to make sure a candidate is comfortable. I don’t leave them waiting unnecessarily. Before we begin, I outline the interview so they know what to expect, just like a server might ask if a guest has dined at the restaurant before and then explain how the experience works.
Restaurants get busy, and sometimes something happens five minutes before or during an interview that requires your attention. If you can’t meet with the candidate immediately, have a plan in place. Maybe this is when another team member gives them a tour and introduces them to other employees. Maybe they’re given a menu to look over.
Most importantly, respect their time. Let the candidate know what’s happening and when you’ll be available.
The goal is to keep the experience seamless, just as you would for a guest.
The candidate shouldn’t feel the operational scramble behind their interview any more than a guest should feel the operational scramble behind their dinner.
Employer Interview Prep: Who Is the Candidate
Before you sit down with the candidate, read their resume. Give yourself enough time beforehand to understand who you’re meeting and what you want to ask.
Look at where they’ve worked, how their experience has developed, how long they’ve stayed in previous positions, and what you genuinely want to learn more about.
You can have a consistent interview structure without conducting the same interview with every person.
A server who has spent ten years in fine dining should prompt different questions than someone moving from casual dining into their first upscale restaurant. A sous chef ready for their first chef position should prompt a different conversation than someone who has already run several kitchens.
Hospitality is personal. Interviews are personal.
Turn the Interview into a Conversation
I like to start with something simple, like asking if they have had a chance to learn about the restaurant before sitting down with me. What did they learn? Do they have any questions?
I’m listening for awareness and interest.
A good answer will usually give you somewhere to go next. How did they get started in the industry? If they mention a restaurant where they worked for a while, a manager who influenced them, a move from the kitchen to the dining room, or something they learned from a difficult experience, follow it.
You don’t have to abandon your interview structure to have a conversation. You still need to cover the experience, availability, expectations, compensation, and qualifications that matter for the role. The difference is that you’re responding to the person sitting across from you rather than waiting for them to finish before asking the next question on your list.
The best interviews often lead to questions you hadn’t planned to ask.
Candidates can prepare for that conversation too. Our front-of-house and back-of-house interview prep guides look at the same conversation from the candidate’s perspective.
Ask Questions That Provoke Conversation
Uncomplicated questions often provoke the most telling responses.
Instead of asking candidates to describe themselves, ask them about situations they’ve actually experienced.
Suggestions:
- Tell me about a service when you were completely in the weeds. What happened?
- Tell me about a difficult guest and how you handled the situation.
- What is your focus when you’re caught up?
- Tell me about a manager you enjoyed working for. What made the relationship work?
- Tell me about a mistake you made during service. How did you handle it?
- How would your former coworkers describe working with you?
- What would make you want to stay in your next position for a while?
The initial answer is only the beginning. Follow up.
If someone tells you they handled an unhappy guest well, what happened? What did the guest say? How did they respond? When did they involve a manager? How did the situation end?
The first answer gives you the story. The follow-up questions can reveal how the person actually thinks.
For another restaurant-specific perspective on building the hiring process, 7shifts’ guide to hiring restaurant staff provides additional guidance for restaurant employers.
Employer Interview Prep: Listen for the Story
I’m less interested in whether someone gives me a polished answer than whether I can understand what actually happened.
Real stories contain details. The candidate remembers what the guest said, why the kitchen was backed up, what their coworker did, where communication went wrong, or what they would handle differently today. Everyone remembers that night the dishwasher called out.
Pay attention to how they talk about former managers, coworkers, and guests too. Someone can describe a difficult situation honestly without making everyone else in the story the problem.
You aren’t looking for perfection. You’re trying to understand patterns in how someone works, communicates, responds under pressure, and treats the people around them.
Employer Interview Prep: Nervousness Vs Ability
Interviews are strange situations. They’re a little like a first date, with both sides hoping to make a good impression.
Someone can manage a packed dining room on Saturday night and still become nervous sitting across from a hiring manager talking about themselves. Another candidate may interview beautifully and struggle once they’re actually responsible for a section or a shift.
Give candidates room to settle into the conversation.
If someone seems nervous, slow down. Ask a simpler question. Go back to something on their resume they’re comfortable discussing. Sometimes all it takes is a few minutes before you begin meeting the person rather than their interview nerves.
That doesn’t mean overlooking poor communication when communication is essential to the position. It means making sure you’re evaluating and prioritizing the skills the role requires rather than someone’s ability to interview well.
Employer Interview Prep: Tell the Truth
Be transparent and clear about the schedule, compensation, responsibilities, management structure, volume, expectations, and anything about the position that could affect whether someone wants it.
If every Saturday night is required, say so. A restaurant regularly doing 300 covers is something the candidate should know. If the position became available because the last three people struggled with the same part of the job, that’s worth discussing.
Getting someone to accept an offer isn’t the objective. Hiring someone who understands the job and wants it is.
A candidate can’t determine whether the opportunity is right for them if they’re interviewing for a version of the job that doesn’t exist.
That transparency matters because candidates are weighing more than the position itself. Toast’s restaurant employee insights show how compensation, scheduling, and management influence what restaurant employees value when deciding where to work.
Encourage the Candidate to Interview You
I don’t suggest waiting to ask, “Do you have any questions?” at the end of the interview.
Pause throughout the conversation and give the candidate opportunities to ask about what you’re discussing. Their questions often reveal what matters to them, and your answers can help them decide whether your restaurant is where they want to work.
Answer their questions as openly as you expect them to answer yours.
The interview works to everyone’s advantage when both people leave with enough information to make a good decision.
Let Them Experience the Restaurant
Show the candidate around the restaurant. Let them see the kitchen, dining room, bar, storage areas, or workspace relevant to the position. Introduce them to employees they’ll potentially work with.
Pay attention to those interactions too.
How does the candidate engage with people who aren’t conducting the interview? Do they acknowledge the dishwasher? Ask the bartender a question? Seem curious about the kitchen? How do your employees respond to them?
These interactions can reveal things to both sides that wouldn’t necessarily come out when sitting across from one another while discussing the role.
The restaurant is where the job will actually happen. Let them experience some of it before either of you makes a decision.
The After Dinner Mint
Before the candidate leaves, outline what they should know about the next steps.
Tell them whether there will be another interview, a stage, and what to wear or bring, references, or a decision. Give them a realistic idea of when they should expect to hear from you.
Then follow through.
If you tell someone you’ll contact them Friday, contact them Friday, even if the answer is simply that you need more time. Better yet, let them know as soon as you can. Technology has changed hiring, and good candidates may be having several conversations at once.
Candidates remember being left wondering what’s next, like a guest waiting for a server who never comes back.
The interview may be over, but their experience with your restaurant isn’t. Close the loop with the same hospitality you showed when they walked through the door.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Should an Employer Prepare for a Restaurant Interview?
Read the candidate’s resume beforehand, prepare questions based on their experience, confirm the interview, explain what to bring, and make sure they know where to go and who they’ll be meeting.
What Questions Should I Ask During a Restaurant Interview?
Ask about situations the candidate has actually experienced, such as a difficult service, guest complaint, mistake, coworker interaction, or manager relationship. Follow-up questions often reveal more than the initial answer.
How Can I Make a Candidate Comfortable During an Interview?
Greet them warmly, offer something to drink, explain how the interview will proceed, respect their time, and give them room to settle into the conversation.
Should Candidates Tour the Restaurant During an Interview?
When possible, yes. A tour allows candidates to see the workplace, meet potential coworkers, and better understand the environment before either side makes a decision.
Final Thoughts
The way you conduct an interview tells a candidate something about what it might be like to work in your restaurant.
They notice whether you were prepared. They also notice how they were greeted, whether you respected their time, how employees interacted with one another, whether you listened, and whether the job you described felt honest.
None of this means lowering your standards or hiring someone who isn’t right for the role. Hospitality and high standards have always belonged in the same restaurant.
The goal is for both sides to leave the conversation understanding what working together might actually look like.
Hiring is hospitality. As you prep for an interview, put one nonnegotiable at the top of your list: show the candidate hospitality.
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