How to Interview and Hire Restaurant Employees
A simple, repeatable process for interviewing and hiring restaurant staff — the questions to ask, red flags to catch, and a scorecard to compare candidates.
The best way to interview and hire restaurant employees is with a short, structured process — a 15-minute phone screen, a 20-minute in-person interview built around a consistent scorecard, and where possible a paid trial shift — rather than a single unstructured conversation that relies on gut feel.
Why unstructured interviews fail restaurants specifically
Restaurant work is physical, fast, and social in ways an office interview can't test. Someone can interview beautifully and freeze during a Friday rush, or interview awkwardly and turn out to be the most reliable person on your line. A structured process reduces how much you're gambling on a 20-minute conversation.
Step 1: The phone screen (15 minutes)
Before bringing anyone in, a short call filters out mismatches on availability and pay before either of you invests time.
- Confirm availability against your actual open shifts — not "flexible," the real days and times.
- State the pay rate and ask if that works for them.
- Ask why they're leaving their last job — listen for how they talk about their previous employer.
Red flags at this stage
Vague answers on availability, unwillingness to state a reason for leaving, or bad-mouthing a previous employer in detail are all worth noting, not disqualifying on their own, but worth watching for a pattern.
Step 2: The in-person interview (20 minutes)
Ask the same core questions of every candidate for the same role so you can compare answers fairly. A few that work well across front- and back-of-house roles:
- "Walk me through your last really busy shift — what happened?" (Tests real experience and composure under pressure.)
- "Tell me about a time a coworker or manager frustrated you. What did you do?" (Tests conflict handling.)
- "What does good teamwork look like on a line/floor?" (Tests whether they understand the job is collaborative.)
- "What are you looking for that your last job didn't have?" (Surfaces expectations early.)
Step 3: Score it the same way every time
| Category | What to look for | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reliability signals | Steady work history, clear reason for leaving | High |
| Composure under pressure | Specific, calm answer to the busy-shift question | High |
| Team fit | Talks about coworkers respectfully, gives examples | Medium |
| Skill match | Relevant experience for the specific role | Medium |
| Availability match | Covers your actual open shifts | High |
Takeaway: Score every candidate on the same categories, on paper, before you decide — memory of "how the interview felt" is unreliable once you're two interviews deep.
Step 4: A paid trial shift, when you can
Nothing predicts kitchen or floor performance like watching someone work a real shift. Where labor law and your setup allow it, a 2-4 hour paid trial (clearly labeled as such, and paid at least minimum wage) tells you more than three interviews combined. It's also fair to the candidate — they get to see if they like your kitchen too.
After the offer: don't let it stall
A strong hire can fall apart in the first two weeks if onboarding is disorganized. See Onboarding New Hires the Right Way for how to make someone's first shifts stick. And if the role needs a written posting first, Writing Job Descriptions That Attract Good Staff covers how to get the right applicants into your pipeline to begin with.
Use the worksheet below as a printable scorecard — bring it to every interview so you're comparing apples to apples across candidates, not relying on memory.
Bottom line
Structure beats gut feel in restaurant hiring: a phone screen to filter, a consistent scorecard to compare fairly, and a paid trial shift when possible to see the real thing before you commit.
Candidate Scorecard Worksheet
