Practice Makes Perfect: Smart Interview Questions
Time for a little hiring math. In a food & beverage interview: smart interview questions + great answers = successful employment connections. Not surprising, though a critical equation for anyone looking to get the upper hand in an interview situation.
While you certainly don’t want to sound over-rehearsed, adequate preparation is essential to making a great impression. So whether you’re on the job hunt or hunting for the ideal candidate, gain an advantage by being ready to ask these questions.
Smart Interview Questions – Practice Makes Perfect
Food & Beverage industry job candidates, be prepared to answer the following standard food & beverage interview questions:
- Tell me about yourself. Talk about your career, giving a brief summary of your background, experience and future goals. Four or five sentences should suffice.
- What accomplishment are you most proud of? Choose a business accomplishment that relates to the open position. Get specific, and have numbers ready to support your claims. Have you enhanced productivity or safety? Increased sales or profitability? Cut costs or downtime? Created programs?
Then turn the tables – by posing thoughtful, smart interview questions which: show that you’re prepared; allow you to gauge the opportunity; and help you position yourself as the ideal candidate:
- What are the next few steps in the interviewing process? Reputable employers will have a well-established interview process and can give you an idea of what to expect. What’s more, asking about next steps conveys your genuine interest in the opportunity and demonstrates forward thinking.
- What would a successful first year in this position look like? This question will help you get a general idea of what the interviewer will expect you to have mastered/accomplished in a year’s time. Additionally, it will allow you to gauge whether the expectations for the job are realistic.
- What are the primary factors you will use to select the right person for this job? Pose this question to determine what kind of employee the interviewer is seeking (and if you’re the right kind of person for the job). Once the interviewer responds, counter by discussing important skills or qualities he lists which you may have forgotten to mention.
Be Ready To Answer These Questions from Employers
In addition to standard interview questions (to assess your skills and experience), employers will customize these questions to prompt discussion and evaluate an individual’s potential fit within the organization:
- Why have you chosen to pursue this opportunity with us? This question creates an “opportunity gap” for discussing the shortcomings of a current job with the advantages the new position offers.
- How would this opportunity help your future career progression or help you build your resume? This question helps the employer gain deeper insight into how a job seeker thinks about and manages his career. It also garners goodwill, because it shows that the employer is concerned about considering the job seeker’s future.
- What things do you not like to do? Employers look for red flags that indicate you might dislike a key responsibility of the available position.
- Why have you had (X) amount of jobs in (Y) years? This question uncovers the real forces that drive a professional’s career progression. Employers want to find out why you change employers and what motivates you to stay.
Want more great advice on food & beverage interview preparation?
Contact a Kinsa Group recruiter today. Experts in executive and c-level food & beverage recruitment, our insights can bring you one step closer to the ideal opportunity or professional.