How to Prepare for a Restaurant Manager Interview

At the heart of a successful restaurant lies the effort and hard work of a talented restaurant manager. This individual is responsible for making sure that the restaurant operates effectively and profitably. The fact that this job also entails dealing directly with the public is why a restaurant manager's duties are all the more challenging. Someone who is looking to fill the post of restaurant manager should be prepared to face tough questions during an interview. So, if you are applying for a restaurant manager position and need to better prepare yourself for the interview, read on. Following are some questions that the interviewer will most likely ask you, and the kind of answers they're looking for.

#1: Tell us about yourself

Reply in a professional manner and don't get too personal. Give a brief history about your family situation and job experience, but make it lead into why you're sitting in front of them. Mention some of your goals and dreams as they pertain to the position and the industry you're looking to enter.

#2: Why did you decide to choose a career in restaurant management?

You could say that you have a passion for food (you can be specific here if you're looking toward a particular “foodie” audience). Include what it is about working in this particular business itself and industry that has compelled you to seek this kind of position.

#3: What do you know about our restaurant?

Questions like these are often very tricky to answer. Here, you need to make sure that you thoroughly research the restaurant to which you're applying. You want to sound knowledgeable and interested in that particular restaurant, but don't show off or gush. Keep your tone matter-of-fact, but feel free to add some excitement and eagerness about working there.

#4: Have you visited our restaurants? What is your opinion regarding our services?

Again, you have to rely upon your research to better answer this question. Actually visiting the restaurant on a non-interview occasion is a good part of that research. Then you have real experience to speak from. Keep your language positive even if things weren't exactly to your liking or preference. You need to show that you can be respectful and diplomatic in situations that aren't always ideal. You'll be dealing with a lot of those as a restaurant manager.

#5: What is it about us that you believe makes us unique compared to our competitors?

There can be many answers to this question. This is the kind of question that calls for real-life experience with the restaurant. Visiting restaurants of the same and different status and caliber, will give you a basis for comparison. You will also impress your interviewer with your forward thinking and interest in the industry where it's important to know what your competition is doing. If this is a new establishment, you will be able to express what kinds of services or advantages you'd like to implement there to help them move ahead of their competitors.

#6: Why do you want to work for us?

This is one of the most important questions you will have to answer throughout the interview process, so make sure you prepare for it. Here, the interviewer is again trying to assess your desire to work for them and if you have the tenacity to stick with such a career, so keep your reply brief and to the point.

#7: What do you think the manager's role should be?

While answering this question, don't try to give a lengthy reply regarding the roles and responsibilities of a manager. Instead, stick with the basic responsibilities that any manager needs to perform. How you believe that a manager is not supposed to be a boss of personnel, but a leader and role model. Here, it is important that you show the interviewer that a manager can be someone that should be able to handle multiple responsibilities at once, and can compose himself in stressful situations. It will help if you can add personal experience here from researching various restaurants of the same and varying calibers.

#8: As a manager, how would you motivate others?

You may wish to suggest cash incentives, the introduction of employee training programs to help make employees better at their work so they can work towards promotion, or an employee of the month program if they don't already have such a thing in place.

#9: What were the best and worst companies that you worked for?

Again, this is a tricky question that you need to answer very carefully. You need to showcase respect for your previous companies, even if you didn't enjoy working for them. You can give them a brief account of some of your good and bad experiences regarding previous employers, what you have learned from those situations and how you have used those experiences to become a better professional.

#10: Tell us about your accomplishments or your professional achievements that you are most proud of

Don't try to overstretch your reply and brag about how great you are. Instead, mention one or two achievements that can be counted as your biggest yet. These can be situations where you learned the most or managed a particularly challenging customer or circumstance.

#11: Tell us about your ability to control costs

Give the impression that you know how to manage numbers well and that you have the capability to improve or contribute positively to the restaurant's financial results.

#12: Were you ever involved in any sort of confrontation with any employee or senior manager? If so, then how did you manage it?

Almost every working person gets into a confrontation or conflict with another individual in the workplace. So, it is not about whether you clashed with someone, but rather how you managed it. Here, try not to give the impression that you have never faced such a situation. Instead, show the interviewer that you are a diplomatic person who knows how to get out of “messy” situations. In the end, they are interested in knowing how you will resolve such situations when they arise with patrons.

#13: What would you do to resolve the following situation…………?

Just be honest with your answer and properly understand the case study explained by the interviewer. If you need to, ask more questions to make sure you really know the answer the interviewer is looking for. This also gives the impression that you pay attention to details, particularly those that other people might not notice, which is necessary when you're managing a restaurant. These are some of the most common questions that an interviewer might ask you during an interview for a restaurant manager position. Prepare yourself for them, research and rehearse so that you can give your answers without sounding like you rehearsed them. They need to sound natural not memorized. Also, it's just as important to try to relax throughout the process and be positive. Add all this to dressing for the part and you will most certainly have a great interview.