Interviewing Coffee Shop Staff

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CafeCulture

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I am setting up a small coffee shop. I have advertised for staff 20 hours per week- possibly two, but i definitely need one.

I have received over 100 applications and enquiries. I have selected 20 applications from the CVs received and hope to interview maybe half of these.

All the selected staff are foreign (who appear to have excellent education/ training)

Any advice or tips for interviewing? Where should i conduct interviews- the cafe is currently a 'shell'
 
I am planning on setting up a coffee shop myself. if your premises isnt "ready" for people yet i would go with a local hotel. the company i work for tends to do that to make people feel at ease etc; only problem is you'll have to pay for the coffee! just make sure that whoever you hire speaks good english & has worked with the public before.... after that its all about personality & your own character judging skills! good luck!!
 
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CafeCulture said:
Any views on this? need help ASAP

Thanks
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How long is it going to take to turn the " shell " in to a cafe ? Are there any planning , fire , environmental health issues to be sorted out? Labour turnover is notoriously high in that business and it is definitely an employees market at the moment - can't see prospective employees waiting around for too long if there are dealys in getting the cafe up and running. Good luck with it.
 
All equipment and furniture will be fitted in one day
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Is this what your shopfitter has "promised, honest"?!

I'd bargain for a delay of a couple of days - trying to get any tradesmen to do anything to a timeframe is a near impossibility in Ireland these days...
 
Do you have a business partner or some whose opinion you value? If so ask them to attend so that you can pick their brains about the interviewees.

Always keep a couple of people on stand by in case your first choice doesn't workout.

I hope this isn't viewed as rasicist because it isn't intended to be and it is based on experience, if employing two foreign nationals then think about employing two people from different parts of the world. As the boss in a new business you can do without staff chattering away between themselves in a language you don't understand.
 
No offence Clubman- but we are not as 'green' as you might think.
We have sufficent family help to run the cafe, but that goodwill may not last forever.

In any case, the advice and comments from all the posters on AAM is invaluable and helps us make sure we are not leaving out anything etc.

Many thanks to all-
 
You said that you definitely need one employee above and it's two weeks to go and ostensibly you don't know how to interview them. Good luck!
 
ClubMan said:
You said that you definitely need one employee above and it's two weeks to go and ostensibly you don't know how to interview them. Good luck!
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ClubMan, this isnt very constructive feedback for the OP. If you dont have advice/tips for him you dont have to reply.
 
In our current job when we're on a recruitment drive we hire out 6 rooms and get 6 candidates and 6 interviews and intereview them all for the day. At the end of the day we pick the best candidates.

In your case I would invite them all to a hotel (or cheaper business centre such as prem group) and get interview them all for the day (get a few interviewers) and then make a decision.
 
Hi everyone, thanks for all the feedback- positive and not so positive. We called 8 for interview today. We now have 2 perfect candidates selected and 2 that would be 'ok'.

Thanks again
 
I think a trial run is the most useful way to assess this kind of staff you see very quickly how they work. Some of the most useless feckers are great at interviews!
 
Would agree with money grower

Get them to make you a coffee and bring it to your table

Get them to do some mental arthimatic with a price list

3 coffees, 2 scones, mineral water... what change out of a twenty..
 
Fintan said:
Get them to do some mental arthimatic with a price list

3 coffees, 2 scones, mineral water... what change out of a twenty..
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Why an arithmetic test? Wouldn't they be using the till for all sales?
 
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