Corporate vs. Private...the interview process

Something came to my attention the other day, that caused me to do some pondering………..


A friend of mine, that I used to work with at a corporate restaurant, came in and applied for job where I currently work. It made me reflect on the difference in the interview process between a corporate restaurant and one that is privately owned.

At a corporate restaurant, one must first fill out a longer than necessary application. Some of the questions not only border on ridiculous, they go way past that line. “What are your goals for the next 12 months?” “What are your long term goals for the next 18 months?” Really? Most people look at being a server as temporary state of affairs, not a lifetime career, well, not a career at all. Just a means to and end, like getting through school, or just for a little extra pocket money.

At one corporate restaurant, when you go to apply for a job, you should plan on spending the afternoon there. First you fill out the application, then you get interviewed for, say, an hour, hour and a half…..you may have to talk to more than one person. Then you have to take the personality test, another half hour to 45 minutes…..the you talk some more, then your talk gets interrupted, so you sit and wait for 15 to 20 minutes……then you find out about the week long training, and the four follows, and the food running shift, no matter what your experience is. And blah, blah, blah. And….they have hired some really serious ass holes.

At a private restaurant…..it goes like this…..

“Hey, I’ve got a friend that I used to work with looking for a job. She’s an excellent server.”

“Good, have her come in and talk to me.”

“She’ll be here this afternoon.”

So she shows up, they talk for maybe 10 minutes, he gives her the application, has her sit at the bar and fill it out.

I go over and talk to her while she’s filling it out, we walk back to the office, the owner looks it over real quick, asks how to pronounce her last name……I tell him she won’t need much training….he says she can follow for a shift and should be good to go.  Done.

So my question is: Was all that corporate bull shit really necessary? And, how much time and money do they waste following this process when they still can’t weed out the ass holes?