Restaurant profiling tests.
Comments
I know…those tests are a joke. Most people are smart enough to know which answers are the “right” answers, whether they agree with them or not. Whatever happened to sitting down with an applicant and having a conversation with them and asking questions that pertain to their job experiences and their lives? Seems like the best way to get a glimpse of someone’s personality in a short amount of time, doesn’t it?
Those tests are a joke. What I hate even more is being interviewed by some clueless dumb-ass twit from HR that’s never worked in the industry or ever set foot in a kitchen. They all ask the same insipid boilerplate questions. The “Tell me about a time when …” I have over twenty years experience in the kitchen and running restaurants and the thought of having to justify myself to these halfwits just to get a chance to get an interview with someone who may have a clue makes my blood boil.
These comments make me laugh. I’m that guy who gives out those tests to applicants before interviewing them. Half of the applicants don’t pass them. Sad. Also, I get lots of applicants that tell me they’ve got lots of “restaurant experience”. Yep, they’ve worked at six restaurants in the last year and a half. Real impressive!! Tough business to find truly quality individuals.
Jay….you’re a douchebag. I don’t really have time to write this now but it can’t wait. The world needs to know. You’re a douchebag. What the hell does “pass” or “fail” have to do with an arbitrary test. Did one for a corp.rest myself. That was the interview. I think having the balls to leave 6 ridiculous restaurants that most likely lied about the position, review/raise schedule, hours, and overall conditions…probably by HR douchebags such as you, in this economy is VERY IMPRESSIVE. We are in the trenches of inequity in a professional kitchen, not plucking our eyebrows by the watercooler in an insulated cubicle stepford world. You diss one of us…you diss us all. Douchebag.
sounds like you applied to a corporate chain type of place (i.e. pizzaria uno’s, red lobster, the olive garden et al.)
they tend to be the worst of the service industry jobs…one step above working in a fast food joint for minmum wage.
but they can be advantageous. yes you have to put up with a lot of suits who have no idea how hard it really is to wait on tables but for the most part you avoid a lot of the shadiness that goes on in a privately owned establishment…especially in the areas of hourly training pay, benefits, not seeing your tip money go into other peoples pockets and being able to get time off after six months and a year.
so if you need the job…put up with it, answer the questions, tell them what they want to hear and start making some money.
if it isn’t your thing tell them you aren’t interested and go on your merry way.
personally those chain type places aren’t for me…i live in a big city and have discovered that the best paying waiters jobs are in smaller, under the radar upscale establishments.
i can see if you live in a rural, non city environment these kind of jobs can be the bread winners.
Anger management issues are common in the industry. They want to know if you are consistent, and they think these tests are the best way to establish that. In my opinion they are sorely mistaken. But corporate restaurants like to cover their ass. They think if you’re normal on paper, then you won’t go around throwing knives at people. (shrug) I’ve got ten years in. With experience similar to your own. Chicago is a tough city. It’s tough to find a decent restaurant job. It’s even tougher right now. I’ve been looking for the last six months, and come up with bupkis. Except this board. It don’t pay, but it is cathartic.