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Interviewing for F&B positions: The secrets

by Maria Sougaraki, F&B Director | Santikos Collection

And here comes the time for you to select the people that will work on the front line of your F&B department...You only have so little time during the interview in order to get to know and trust a person you have never seen or talked to before. How easy can that be?

First of all, you should not forget that not only the candidate but also the interviwer is getting prepared and evaluated during the interview!


A structured interview will give you a better idea of the candidate. Try to make the same questions to all your interviewees and in the same order to finally create a score scale. This will help you keep useful metrics, and make the most accurate and realistic assessment possible.


To help you a bit, here are 8 both technical and behavioral questions, which will provide you with all the information you need!


1. Which is exactly the role of a Waiter?

This question may sound easy, but the answers to it can be so helpful for the employer letting him/her understand how well the candidate knows his obligations and duties.


2. If your car broke down on your way to work, what would you do?

Consistency is one of the most important elements of an employee's behaviour. How much can the members of the same team count on him/her? The answers that one can receive to this question are very interesting.


3. What do you think are the food trends nowadays?

Is your possible candidate updated on his/her position trends? How well can he/she "read" the customers?


GET THE COMPLETE INTERVIEWING F&B POSITIONS GUIDE HERE


4. Which wine labels do you mostly suggest to your clients?

How well informed is the candidate about wine and how well is he following the trends of the moment?


5. Please describe the last time you had dinner at a restaurant, and how the service experience was.

How obscure the candidate is and how much importance he pays to detail? Can he identify the mistakes and distinguish the right service?


6. Who has a more important role in a restaurant? The kitchen team or the service team?

Again, the issue under negotiation is the candidate's team spirit. Can he/she maintain good relations with the kitchen team? How important does the candidate consider teamwork?


7. How do you act during restaurant's peak-times?

How well can the possible candidate manage a kitchen delay? A table that was late to arrive? A customer with no reservation?


8. Have you ever had dinner in our restaurant? What things do you believe we could have done better?

Among the last questions you will ask, letting the candidate relax so that you get one more honest answer. You will understand if he/she is firmly on his feet and if he/she hesitates to speak honestly.


The list of the possible questions is very large and you can easily understand that it does not stop here! Every professional, owner, recruiter shapes his/her list according to the needs of the business he/she represents. That's why you should not fall into the trap of whether a question is right or not!


Stay tuned as even more priceless questions that will help you build the strongest food and beverage team are coming soon into a full guide by Workathlon!


In Workathlon we love Hospitality and its people. Click here to find your dream team - we can guarantee that, but you better find it yourself!


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