Restaurant Hiring Process: How to Screen Applicants Fast

You’re down a few staff members, your wait times are growing longer, and your customers are starting to notice. But you don’t want to race through the hiring process. 

Why? 

Because while speed matters, a bad hire can cost you way more than taking a few extra days to find the right fit. 

Bad hires can make things worse, cost you money in onboarding and training, and lose you customers for life. 

You need strong, reliable, service-oriented staff members who can keep up the pace on busy shifts without getting overwhelmed and losing their cool. 

To get those people on your team, we’ve put together a simple screening system that will help you move fast while protecting quality. 

Key Takeaways 

• A structured restaurant hiring process helps managers screen applicants fast while avoiding costly bad hires that hurt service and morale.

• Using a fast screening funnel that includes an application filter, phone screen, and paid trial shift improves hiring quality, even during urgent staffing shortages.

• On-demand staffing platforms support faster restaurant hiring by providing vetted, role-ready workers and real-time reliability signals.

Why restaurant hiring gets stuck

First, let’s look at why hiring gets stuck in the restaurant business. 

Obviously, you have a ton of applicants. People are constantly applying for work in the restaurant business because it offers quick, “easy” money, flexible schedules, and a fun atmosphere. 

But not everyone is suited to the business. 

So you have a ton of applications to wade through, but you don’t have enough signal showing you who will actually show up on time and perform to your expectations. 

What’s worse, your managers are busy covering your gaps now that they don’t have time to wade through applications and hold interviews. 

When they finally do sit down to interview candidates, managers tend to have different screening processes. So you end up with a mixed bag of workers with inconsistent work habits. 

The fast screening funnel (the 3-step model)

To get your restaurant unstuck and speed up the hiring process, you need a clear, consistent, simple model to follow every time. This involves applying a quick filter to remove obvious mismatches, a short screen to test reliability and role fit, and a paid trial shift for final validation. 

Here’s your model: 

Step 1: The 2-minute application filter 

From just the application or resume, you can typically get a few critical pieces of information that allow you to weed out the misfits. 

Look for: 

1. Availability match. Can the applicant work nights, weekends, and during your peak busy times? If not, toss the application in the “no” pile. There’s no reason to hire someone who can’t show up when you really need them. 
2. Relevant role experience. Unless you have a strong mentoring program in place, you need people in your restaurant who already have experience in critical areas. Particularly, have they been tested in high-volume situations? This business is not for everyone. And that’s okay. But if you have an FOH or BOH applicant who has no experience being busy in that role, they’re not for you. 
3. Job stability pattern. Yes, there’s high turnover in restaurants. So, of course, you’re going to expect to see a few different jobs on the application. But if you notice multiple short stints at various restaurants that seem to be all over the place, that’s likely a red flag that the person lacks job stability. They’re probably not for you. 
4. Commute and start date. Can the applicant start soon? Do they live nearby? These are both signs that you can count on the person to get in and get ready for every single shift, starting tomorrow. You don’t want someone who has so much going on, or who has to sit in traffic and show up late. 
5. Must-have requirement. Finally, look for the required certificates, such as your bartender's. Also, be sure your FOH staff can speak the language of your primary customers. Plus, any staff that will be working with your POS system should have some experience working with any other POS system, so you know they can figure yours out quickly. 

You can typically scan the resume or application in under two minutes to find your strong candidates and start making phone calls. Using an on-demand coverage platform like shiftNOW will also take care of this for you, so you’ll only get candidates who make it through your filter. 

Step 2: The 10-minute phone screen script

When you start making those calls, you’ll want to have a list of questions to ask, so you can further wade through applicants to find the best fit. Quickly run through these questions and give each candidate a score of 1-5 based on factors like reliability, calm under pressure, customer service, leadership, and ability to take feedback. 

• “Confirm your availability for the next 2 weeks. Any constraints?”
  
• “Walk me through your last busy shift. What was your section or station?”
  
• “How do you handle feedback mid-shift?”
  
• “If you’re running late, what do you do and how soon do you communicate?”

• “What do you want in your next role, and what makes you leave a job?”

When you’re done talking to all of your potentials, review the score cards and call in the ones with the highest scores for a paid trial. 

Step 3: The paid trial

The paid trial is a brilliant way to gain insight into exactly how someone performs in their expected role, especially for those with high turnover. You don’t want to waste a bunch of time and money training someone only to have them quit within a month. 

To get the most out of this trial period, create a consistent system that serves as a snapshot of this potential employee's future. 

Here’s how: 

• Keep it structured. The paid trial shift should be no more than 4 hours and take place within a single station. Assign a lead to act as a mentor and supervisor throughout the shift, and set clear expectations before the shift begins. The candidate should know about any menu highlights, what their side work is, and how to escalate any negative situations. 

• Use a simple checklist to score your candidate’s performance from 1-5: On-time arrival and readiness, pace during rush moments, communication and teamwork, coachability and response to feedback, and guest handling (FOH) or station discipline and safety (BOH)

• Close the loop the same day. Directly after the shift, provide the candidate with feedback, pay them as agreed, and proceed to the next step. Either you’re asking them to come back for more shifts, or you’re going to pass on working with them. 

• Bonus: If you use an on-demand staffing platform, the paid trial doubles as a “try-before-you-hire” while keeping coverage intact. 

Now that you have your core team in place, you can start building a backup bench of workers to call in whenever you need them. 

Screening tools that increase signal 

You’re not going into this blindly. There are several tools you can put into place so that you can get a better sense of your candidate’s fit, or lack thereof. These tools will increase the signals you need to make hiring decisions quickly. 

Interview scorecards and role checklists. These help you reduce bias if you use the same ones every single time. You’ll simply mark scores down and check off boxes. That way, you’re never relying on a “gut feeling” that could get your business into trouble. 

Skills tests for servers. Running your potential servers through a menu knowledge scenario and your line cooks through station logic tests, for example, will help you see in real-time how they adapt to your environment. 

Reference check questions. When you ask the same role-specific questions of every reference you call, you’ll be better able to predict performance. 

Paid trial shifts. These can take a huge weight off your shoulders when it comes to hiring and spending money on training and onboarding. The trial shift will help you get immediate coverage and measure a candidate’s ability to show up, perform, handle stress, and serve customers in just a few hours. It’s a win/win. 

How on-demand staffing helps you screen faster

The good news about restaurant hiring today is that you don’t have to do it alone. On-demand staffing helps you quickly get the workers you need into your business. Here are just a few of the ways a last-minute staffing platform can help your hiring process run more smoothly: 

• You can pull from a pool of vetted, role-ready workers to cover shifts while you hire. 

• Paid trial shifts with applicants from the platform allow you to trust that you’ll get coverage now while also interviewing these applicants for long-term roles.

• Each candidate will be available for you to rebook in the future if you find them a good fit with your team. This helps you build a reliable bench to call upon during your hiring gaps. 

• You’ll be able to use reliability signals like shift history, ratings, and role experience from the platform at a single glance. No more wading through paper applications and hoping for the best. 

shiftNOW offers an easy-to-use, mobile-friendly application that lets restaurants create an account and start the hiring process now. 

What to prioritize by role (quick rubric)

As you’re reviewing applicants, you’ll want to check off a few boxes in your head to ensure you have the right person for the specific role you need covered. 

These should be your top priorities for each role in your restaurant: 

• Server: pace, guest recovery, teamwork, communication
  
• Bartender: speed, specs, consistency, composure, cash handling basics
  
• Line cook: station readiness, safety, ticket communication, consistency
  
• Dishwasher: pace, endurance, close discipline, reliability‍
• Host/front desk: composure, clarity, problem-solving, friendliness

Common screening mistakes that waste time

Of course, everyone makes mistakes as they build toward a smart system that works consistently in every hiring situation. We’ve compiled the most common ones here for you, so you can avoid making them yourself. You’ll save time and energy and get the best team members onboarded quickly. 

Don’t forget to prioritize availability. This should be the first thing you look at with any applicant. If they’re not available on the days you need covered, nothing else matters. 

Don’t hold long interviews without the initial filter. Seriously, you can avoid a bunch of phone calls by simply double-checking the application and profile of any candidates. Do they actually have the qualifications necessary for the role you need to fill? If not, move on. 

Don’t hire someone because you think they’re nice. Just because you like them doesn’t mean they’ll do a good job. You need hard evidence of their ability to keep pace, perform well, and show up ready to work. 

Don’t drag out your decision-making process because you’re not sure how to score your candidates. Use the checklist here and prioritize specifics for each role. Keep it consistent and make hiring a quick, simple choice of the best candidate. 

Don’t ignore communication patterns. If you’re seeing signs that the candidate may show up late or not show up at all, move on. You don’t need the drama. 

Watch for these mistakes, create a system, scorecards, and templates, and you’ll be ready to hire in no time. 

7-day hiring sprint plan (so you stop falling behind) 

If you’re gearing up to get your team into place, and you’re tired of feeling like you’re always playing catch-up, you can stop now. Instead, spend the next seven days on a hiring sprint that will put your core leadership people into place, set up a bench of strong candidates for backup, and keep you from having to constantly deal with short shifts and emergency situations. 

Day 1: Define your role requirements and shift needs. Sit down and make a list of which positions you need filled and what exactly those people need to be able to do. 

Day 2: Batch screen applications. Run each application through your 2-minute filter from above. Once you’ve selected the best candidates, start booking phone interviews. 

Day 3-4: Run interviews using a preselected set of questions to increase signal, and use your scorecard to rate your candidates. 

Day 5-6: Hold paid trial shifts with your candidates. Assign a single station and a mentor to help guide them through the shift. Set expectations up front, and be sure to debrief at the end of the shift. 

Day 7: Offer jobs to your best performers and schedule their onboarding meetings. 

Now you have your core team in place, and you can keep many of the candidates you don’t hire on your bench to call as backup when you need extra coverage. 

Closing 

In the end, fast hiring is a system, not a rush. 

With a short funnel and consistent scoring, you’ll screen applicants fast and hire with confidence. 

Book a demo with shiftNOW today, and get started with your hiring process. 

FAQs

What’s the fastest restaurant hiring process that still works? 

The best and fastest restaurant hiring process is one that filters out unworkable applications, screens applicants for role fit, reliability, and performance during a 10-minute phone call, and offers a paid trial shift to gain real-time insight. You can get all of this done in a couple of days. 

What should I ask in a 10-minute phone screen? 

The most important questions you can ask in a 10-minute phone screen will relate to schedule fit, real-life examples of past failures and criticism, and commute times. You want to make sure your candidate is both a practical and high-performing fit. 

When should I use trial shifts to screen applicants? 

Trial shifts are ideal when you need extra coverage anyway for a busy shift. It’s a great opportunity to see how the candidate performs under pressure and ensure you have extra bodies on the floor for your existing staff and customers. 

How do I avoid no-shows and quick quits?

You can get ahead of no-shows and last-minute quits by tightening up your hiring process. Bad hires typically result in unreliable, flaky people. Also, be sure to set expectations up front and make real-time adjustments when things are going south with an employee.