Best Interview Questions to Ask Potential Candidates

What are the best questions to ask potential candidates in an interview? We have asked some of the best restaurant groups in the country and these are the questions that they feel give them the most insight on the person they are interviewing. Try them out, see what kind of results you get.

1. "Describe an episode in your work history involving an unhappy customer. What went wrong, and how did you handle the situation? What did you learn in the aftermath?"

This questions is designed to test the candidate's problem solving skills. It will also give you a good sense of their teamwork, diplomacy and tact.

Weaker candidates may launch into a story in which a boss or coworker let a customer down, and the candidate in question swooped in to save the day.

You are looking for candidates that tell the truth and let the interviewer know that they take responsibility for their own mistakes and they know how to learn and grow from failed projects and poor decisions.

2. "If you have to choose between cutting a corner to meet a deadline, and missing a deadline in order to attend to a detail, which do you usually choose and why?"

You are looking for a candidate that chooses the option that best fits the circumstances at the time. The candidate should explain their typical decision-making strategies so you can gain a broad sense of who they are and how they approach tricky problems.

3. "Would you describe yourself as more of a leader or more of a follower?"

You can learn a lot about a candidate from this question. Many will go for the easy answer. If they say "leader," this may suggest they don't follow instructions or work with teams very well. And if they say "follower," they sound obedient but unambitious. Either might be appropriate/inappropriate depending on position.

What you are really looking for is for the candidate to explain when you typically choose one role and when you tend to choose the other. Your will need to read between the lines and gain the information to make your decision.

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How to Write a Restaurant Business Plan

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNE0wkBNzUE Before taking action on any complex problem, it's a good idea to write down all of your thoughts  on paper. This is especially true in the restaurant world and that would be called a business plan. Everything that was brain stormed onto to the paper, important restaurant business questions might be raised such as:

"What’s your concept? How do you want it to feel? What does it look like? What’s the food going to be like? What are the beverage selections going to be like? How’s it going to be staffed? How is it going to make money? What are the expenses going to be?What’s it going to cost, and how much time is it going to take to pay off any debt or repay investors?"

Of course, your ideas and thoughts start out simple and build up to greater ones, however it doesn't end there. Since all of that information is plotted down on paper, now it must be meticulously and convincingly polished for investors and creditors to grasp on.  It's important for them to be assured that your restaurant business will have financial success and continue to grow in the long run.

After devising the business plan, it's important to take advice from experts in the areas where you need solutions to.

"It might be important to have an architect or a designer involved as you write the description of the restaurant and how it looks and feels. It might be very important to have an accountant look at your financial projections and the numbers that you write down to show how the business will operate financially."

You're not the only one involved in the business plan. Money is at the balance, so make sure that you include people that you trust to be part of it as well. Others can see things that's obvious to them but may not be obvious to you. All feedback is important ranging from the tiniest aspect to a larger one.  Description about the food, the beverages and how the place is going to feel are important to share to get an idea of how your concept is going to layout. This will be a contributing factor to the success of the business and it could also adjust the business plan as needed.

As you layout your concept, think about how much it will cost you. Think of it as a de facto opening budget so that you can work financially and respond to the needs and resources of the restaurant. Be thorough and comprehensive about the business to calculate things properly.

"How many seats your restaurant will have will determine how many guests can eat in your restaurant – will determine how many covers, as they’re called, you’ll do each day. The menu pricing will determine the check average or how much each person will spend. Once you have the number of covers and the check average you know how much revenue you’re going to be making."

Every detail and thought that comes across, plays a vital role to your decision about the business and the operation. You may ask if you have linen, or will you have bare tables? Will you have flowers or not? What kind of silverware and plate-ware will you have? Will it be paper napkins or linen napkins?

All of those decisions lead to costs. The more thorough and well thought out your business plan is the more helpful it will be in making you successful in your opening year.

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How to Pick Decor for Your Restaurant

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDYtkszMO3U

Congratulations on making it this far! Now it's time for the fun part. Although the look and feel of your restaurant is ultimately up to you, you might find it helpful to enlist the support of a designer. This is not a trivial part of your business. In fact, a lot of things depend on the design of your restaurant.

"The way things are placed in a restaurant can have a profound impact both on how it feels to be a guest and how it works for the staff when they’re trying to do their job."

When you're thinking about your restaurant's interior space, you might want to seek out the advice of an architect. You're also going to want to bounce ideas off of someone else to get some basic decor questions answered. Although these may seem like small details, they are extremely important when trying to create a unique customer experience.

"Will you have flowers? Will there be art? Will there be music? What kind of flowers? What kind of art? What kind of music? Any one of those elements can be adjusted slightly and change the feeling of your restaurant."

It's important to remember that the design of your restaurant is shouldn't be the only focus. Don't neglect the quality of your food and customer service. While decor is important, you have to make sure it matches the rest of your restaurant.

"Your concept, the space, the food, the design, the beverage offerings, the staff. It all is part of a whole."

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How to Create a Wine List for Your Restaurant

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISnFIPsCUO0

Although it may seem backwards, you should look to your food offerings when creating your wine list. Because wine complements the food, it is essential that the wine you chose is consistent with the established theme.

"You want to make sure that the wine list idea matches the food idea, matches the concept of your whole restaurant."

If wine is not your forte, you might want to enlist the help of someone more knowledgeable such as a wine director or sommelier. This person will be able to manage your selection and inventory so that your wine sales are making you money.

A wine director or sommelier would also be able to train your staff to understand the nuances of wine.

"One of the most common impediments to wine sales is insecurity. People don’t know what they like. They don’t know how to order. They don’t know what will go with their food. So, when the staff is more confident, they’ll sell more wine and the guests will enjoy it more."

Another thing to consider when developing a wine list is your restaurant's identity. If you are trying to establish a reputation as a wine destination, you're going to want to offer more than a red, a white, a rosé, and a sparkling wine by the glass. One thing to remember is that the more wines you have in stock, the more of a financial investment you're going to have to make.

You also need to make sure your wine and food are similarly priced.

"A standard rule-of-thumb is that the check average for dinner is what most people will spend on a bottle of wine for dinner."

Regardless of its relation to your menu price point, your wine pricing should still be such that what you are charging is greater than the wholesale price. Don't mark up the prices too much though. When people drink more wine, they typically spend more on food and have a better experience.

"If they feel like there’s nothing they want to drink in the range they want to spend, they’re going to be unhappy."

To ensure the over satisfaction of all of your guests, you should have low, middle, and high end offerings that can accommodate a variety of budgets and tastes.

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How to Pick a Theme or Concept for Your Restaurant

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QNjW0yZpgc

When you are deciding upon the theme or concept for your restaurant, it's important to start with what you are passionate about. Start broad and then try to refine your options based on your goals. You need to take into account what excites you and how you plan on translating that into your restaurant.

One thing to consider is whether your restaurant will focus on showing off your culinary abilities or whether the focus will be on the design. You really need to pin down what your trying to say or accomplish with your business.

"What do you want to create? What do you want to spend your time, your money, and your effort on creating every day for people who come to your restaurant?"

One of the benefits of working on something that you are passionate about is that you are going to enjoy yourself. It's up to you to be the motivational leader of your business.

However, you may find that your passions are incompatible with the marketplace. This is why testing your concept is essential. Just because something gets you excited, it doesn't necessarily mean that others are going to be enthralled with what you're doing. It might benefit you to hang around the neighborhood and social scene that you plan on entering. Gaining a proper understanding of the community will benefit you when you're analyzing the strength of your concept.

"It’s probably not a good idea to put a very expensive restaurant in a college town. You might want to think about the schools that are nearby, the businesses that are nearby, the traffic. What kind of concept would work in that particular location?"

When planning out your concept, get inspired by existing restaurants. Try to think back to memorable experiences you've had at restaurants and how you can incorporate those positive aspects into your business. You may find it hard to be original, but nothing is stopping you from putting a unique spin on a tried and true concept. Add value where you can and make it your own.

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