Restaurant crew members work in restaurants or other dining establishments and assist management, servers, bartenders, kitchen staff, and other crew members to ensure customers are taken care of and each shift operates as smoothly as possible.
A crew member may help with taking orders, preparing and serving food, cleaning and sanitizing tables and dining areas, packing takeout orders, cashing out customers, keeping supplies and inventory stocked, and more.
If you’ve applied for a restaurant crew member role and are scheduled for an interview, that’s great! To have a successful interview and be hired for the job, it’s time to do some research and prepare.
Research the company and role.
You should always research the position you’ve applied for and the company/restaurant you’re interviewing with. Understand the job responsibilities listed in the description and ideal requirements for a candidate, and think about how you meet those requirements and what experience you have with those responsibilities. If you don’t have experience, consider how you’d make up for that in another way.
Also read about the restaurant, including the history, mission, values, and anything else that you may want to know. You may also want to do some research on social media or review websites to see what the customers say about the location, and what they like and dislike the most, so you can be prepared to speak to how you can be a part of or improve those experiences.
Prepare answers and examples for common interview questions.
This list of common restaurant crew member interview questions and answers is a great place to start. Having an idea of what to expect in the interview and preparing your responses ahead of time can help ensure you have strong answers, and helps you to feel more prepared and confident. It also gives you time to think through examples to support your answers.
Write down questions to ask the hiring manager.
You should always have questions to ask the hiring manager, whether about the job, company, expectations, leadership, etc. You can ask about the hiring timeline, the company culture, mission or values, or any questions specific to the role.
Focus on your knowledge and expertise.
There’s a lot to know to be an excellent restaurant cream member. Even if you don’t have experience in the restaurant business, familiarize yourself with the skills necessary to be successful, highlight how you excel in each of these areas, and reinforce what you’d bring to the role if hired.