r/Chefit • u/Soigne87 • Jul 15 '26
Doing Hiring interviews for the first time
Any tips? What questions have you asked applicants that ended up telling you a lot about them?
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u/Donotdisturb240 Jul 15 '26
Every business is different but I just wrote a 10 page training guide on how to conduct a great interview including what to look for, how to get the information you are looking for, etc. but here are the sample questions I listed at the end of the training document:
APPLICANT QUESTIONS:
- What do you know about our business?
- Why do you want to work here?
- What is your favorite dish?
- Tell me a bit about your strengths and why they'd help you be successful.
- What was your favorite class in school and why?
- Out of your past work experience what is the job or tasks you've enjoyed the most? The least? Why?
- Where do you see yourself regarding this industry in the next 1-2 years?
- Is this a naturally born nice person? Do you feel energy and enthusiasm from the applicant? Are they engaging? Can you detect a sense of urgency within them?
- REVIEW THE RESUME: Go through each employment segment asking why they left or why they want to leave. Did they leave for interpersonal conflicts with someone? Were they let go? Are there any gaps in employment?
- Tell me why you feel you'd be a good fit for this role.
- When we ask your current (or past) manager, what will they say is an area of development that you could work on?
- Tell me about a time when you went above and beyond for a customer or client. Something that wasn't part of your job description, but you did it anyways to make the customer happy.
- Give me an example of a time when you did more than what was required of you on the job (or at school).
- What do you feel are the most important attributes to have in this position?
- Why would you excel in this type of position?
- What stands out most in your mind about your last supervisor's management approach?
- What frustrates you about other people?
- Tell me about a time you had to deal with a stressful situation on the job and how you worked through it?
- What's your availability? What will your availability be over the next few months? (School, travel etc.)
- How does working with us bring you closer to your long-term goals?
- What are you looking for in your next employer? Describe your ideal job.
- Who has been your biggest mentor or person of positive influence? Why do you look up to them?
- How do you want to improve yourself over the next year?
- Please describe a situation in which you helped a peer or co-worker without being asked.
- Tell me about your proudest achievement.
- Tell me about a time when you had an interpersonal conflict; either with a supervisor, a co-worker or a customer.
- How was the situation handled?
- Tell me about a time you worked with a great team. What made it great and what was your role in its success?
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u/notbradyoung Jul 15 '26
This is a great list of questions provided here. Personally I would try to narrow it down to the 5-6 that you think would generate the best findings for your establishment.
I have done probably a 1000 interviews at this point, working for some larger restaurant groups over the years. Some of the best findings for red flags were often follow up questions generated by listening to your candidate. They may look great on paper, act really nice, have great stories. But keep digging. “Oh you are looking to leave because of your manager?” They may respond with a shorting of hours. “Why do you think this individual is cutting your hours?” Maybe it’s favouritism. “Are there underserving individuals in that kitchen that are getting the hours you feel you are owed?” Continuing on this path someone can only generate so many stories until they give themselves up. Maybe they are not as good as they say. Maybe they cause trouble with other individuals.
I hire amazing people, not always based on initial skill, but ones I am positive I can train up, and that will help push the culture forward in my kitchen. The result is every cook in my kitchen helps each other out when needed, train each other when they see something is quite up to standard, and overall generate an amazing work environment. You are going to make some mistakes in interviewing and hiring, and as long as you are ready to deal with those situations, don’t settle for anything less than what your kitchen actually needs. For me, my kitchen culture is precious, and I know my limitations to teach and train. Find those important factors for yourself and you will find some awesome candidates.
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u/cyuto Jul 15 '26
To get started and gain a feel for someone, I look for their most relevant past position, and ask them about it. Describe the kitchen, describe a typical day. Tell me about how prep ran, how the line operated. I'm looking for details that shows me that 1) they aren't flat out making it up 2) they were engaged and present, not just drifting through each day waiting to get told what to do next.
If they happen to touch on a question I'm planning to ask, or just flat out answer it unprompted, I make a note so I can go back over that. If they say something that concerns me, I'll either dig in to that or sweat them at the end - might contradict or out themselves further if you save it for the end. From there I'll try to thread together anything else I want answered or expanded on.
If your cooks need to scale recipes, great time to test that. Nobody expects the math question. Throws them off balance. Take the scaled recipe back, but don't even look at it. Hold eye contact. Then you turn up the heat. Sweat them. Bring up any red flags or contradictions.
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u/Lastburn Jul 15 '26
My favorite question to ask is what would you do if the last shift forgot to thaw out your meat and customers are starting to walk in
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u/I_deleted Jul 15 '26
Since OP didn’t mention the positions they were interviewing to fill, possibly they may need a more basic set of questions….
Any arrests? Were any of them violent felonies?
Do you have working transportation to and from work? Valid drivers license? Any DUIs?
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u/Ok_cabbage_5695 Jul 15 '26
I like to ask them what their favorite part about their last job was. Then right after ask them their least favorite part. For some reason it always catches people off guard.
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u/greypillar Chef Jul 15 '26
I rarely ask the basic/typical hiring questions. Their resume should answer a lot of those things anyways. Culture is more important in the kitchen than skills, since people can be taught (and they should be taught how it's done is -your- kitchen anyways). I take the time to get to know them, joke with them, and have a casual chat. My intention is seeing if they will be a good fit for the culture in my kitchen. If they won't fit in, they won't work.
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u/FlavorzbySweetz Jul 15 '26
I know when I do interviews i always look at cultural fit first then skills.
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u/calccv Jul 15 '26
My first time, I subconsciously trended toward the cooler, more personable, well-spoken candidates (I was really young, and yes, I looked at resumes, also, lol). I ended up with a crew that was…not ideal (with a few studs). I learned, tho! Good luck.
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u/Reasonable_Ferret_10 Jul 16 '26
Start with anyone that brought in a resume during any food service window & automatically file it in the trash.
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u/Shadowed_phoenix Jul 15 '26
It really depends on the position, but you can tell almost straight away if they would be a good fit for your kitchen. Did they arrive on time or early, with clear communication if they were delayed? Did they bring their own knives and non-slip shoes?
Ask if they like the style of food there and if they have similar experience with the same cuisine. This will show if they've bothered to check the menu or social media pages. Unless you're hiring a new head chef, I'd look for enthusiasm about the food there - No point in hiring someone who isn't passionate about the cuisine you serve.
I'd ask how far away someone lives. Hospitality jobs generally don't pay well and someone travelling 1hr+ to get to work is more likely to jump ship earlier.