How To Prepare For An Interview For A Food Service Management Job

Interviews can be nerve wracking for even the most experienced job seekers. Follow these four tips in order to make sure that you are prepared for your food service management job interview and that you present yourself as well as possible.

1. Dress Like You Belong in Food Management

In order to trigger an involuntary connection between you and the food service management industry in the interviewer, you are going to want to dress like you already have the job to which you are applying. Either research what current food service managers wear in the company that you are applying at, or simply stick to dark colored pants and a white top, which is the standard uniform of anyone in food service management. If you look like you already have the job, you could tip the scales in favor of you actually getting the job.

2. Know About the Company to Which You Are Applying

If you've ever eaten at the restaurant that you want to manage, talk to the interviewer about an excellent experience that you had at the restaurant. Talk about specific things that the restaurant does in order to improve a customer's experience, such as cooking any food to order exactly as the customer specifies, offering frequent drink specials, and the design of the food on the plate when it is presented. If you are able to point out these specific parts of the service that you experienced, you will be able to show the interviewer that you are already familiar with the customer treatment policy at the restaurant and that you will be able to adapt quickly.

3. Be Polite to Everyone

You will likely be interviewing at the restaurant itself. When you come into the restaurant, be polite to everyone that you encounter, from the hostess to the busboy. You don't know if the interviewer is already watching you and you want to make sure that you make a good impression off that bat. You will also want to show the interviewer that you know how to behave professionally in a restaurant setting.

4. Show that You Can Read Body Langauge

Food service managers need to be able to read the body language of their customers. If you think that you have answered a question poorly because the interviewer sat back or crossed his or her arms, rephrase the question to make sure that you totally understood it and tweak your answer to the interviewer's satisfaction. Talk about how you are able to tell how customers feel in a past professional experience and how you reacted to their body language.

For more information, talk to someone who has already interviewed at the company at which you are interviewing. 


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