Facilitating the Interview Road Map

Facilitating “Interviewing to Advance Your Hospitality Career?
Here’s a Road Map to Success”
 by Peter Langlois,
 author, ‘The Interview Road Map’  and
 co-author, Weekly Restaurant Connections

Step one is to download the Interview Road Map from www.RestaurantU.com, punch holes and assemble as a Workbook.

An interview is an interactive process and it is only through practicing and role playing that “candidates” become grounded in the skills that will enable them to receive job offers. The instructor acts as a facilitator and coach. Like many business endeavors, the “candidate” will get out of the process the equivalent of what intellectual and physical energy he or she expends. In the greater career scheme, “sweating the details” of this program may foster a life skill that serves the “candidate” well in future business challenges.

Lesson 1: Overview, I-IV

This portion of the “Road Map” sets the stage, laying out many of the ground rules. The main idea in the Overview is to take a pro-active stance and to develop a plan for success. I liken this to preparing a personal marketing plan, replete with strategies and tactics.

In I: The most difficult concept to grasp is “minimum skills.” “Candidates” often think that they can substitute work experience for educational requirements, for example. The facilitator must convey that applying for a position for which you do not meet the minimum standards is foolish. A company’s human resource representative is charged with eliminating at the outset any “candidate” that doesn’t meet the “minimums.” No human resource manager would keep her job if she presented candidates who are under-qualified. The fact is that there is a tremendously large pool of qualified “candidates.” If you’re not in it, you’re not in it.

In II: A common area of confusion for candidates is the application form. After all, all this stuff is on my resume, right? Maybe. But, one of the immediate “tests” is to see how a candidate responds to this request. It’s unnecessary to expound upon the liability issues, and more important to convey that the candidate can build positive rapport by cheerfully and accurately filling out whatever forms requested.

Another potential weakness is to respond with “Motherhood and Apple Pie” answers. When an interviewer prompts the candidate to expand on an answer, specific examples, including numbers and names are in order. Saying, “I run good numbers,” or “I’m a great people developer,” are meaningless. Give powerful facts, real numbers. “Our food and labor cost were 28 percent and 32 percent versus a plan of 30 percent and 34 percent,” or Jim, Sue, Bob and Mary were promoted to general manager, regional sales manager, food production manager, and bar manager,” help the interviewer by providing perspective.

Making notes about the interview and writing a thank you note are essential.

In III: The most common mistake is to over value the resume. There is a tendency to believe that a great resume is an automatic ticket to a job offer. This is particularly naive in the hospitality business where interpersonal skills are critical to success. The well-written resume should absolutely reflect accomplishments and demonstrate the candidate meets “minimum” requirements. Yet, it is only an admission ticket to the interview! The interview provides the setting to demonstrate superior communication and leadership skills. Managing in hospitality is all about building rapport and relationships. This is mostly done through verbal communication and body language, and rarely through written documents. As an aside, I also prefer that resumes “match” the candidate. When the human resource rep has a “tuxedo” resume on her desk and a “casual” candidate standing in front of her desk, red flags are raised. Consistency is a beautiful thing.

In IV: We reach a role playing session. All of the issues and questions here are standards that each candidate must master. Initially, I suggest the facilitator pose these questions to the entire group. Following an initial run through this series, breaking out into groups of three is recommended . Each group will have an interviewer, a candidate and an observer. The facilitator or coach should roam from group to group. Within each group the roles should change so that each person participates as a candidate, an interviewer and as an observer. The “candidates” will realize that they are not able to completely answer several questions. That presents a natural bridge to V.

Lesson 2-3: In V: Individuals research companies of interest using the Internet and actually visiting locations where possible. A worksheet (which can be duplicated) is included for use in this process. While I feel that being thorough is very important, five important facts about each company should be listed. Because the Workbook is in looseleaf style, each “candidate” can include as much research as he desires. After completing V, A-C, the “candidates” should once again submerge into role playing. I suggest that “new” groups be formed, so practicing in front of a new audience becomes comfortable. Can’t answer the questions completely? Do more research and more practice.

In V.D.: “Candidates” develop probing questions to see how well they match the culture of the companies. Perfect matches don’t happen, but near-perfects do.

In V.E.: The concept of a scorecard is introduced. A blank scorecard is included in the workbook. Choosing criteria and weighting each choice establishes standards from which candidates make informed decisions. This is perhaps the most important step in preparing for the interviews. Here the “candidate” is identifying career goals and setting up a program to measure how companies meet standard objectives. A great deal of introspection is required. I suggest that each “candidate” develop a personal scorecard and present it to the group, verbalizing why criteria have specific standard scores. The group should “brainstorm” to assist all in finalizing scorecards. Once the measurements are set, the same yardstick will apply to each company.

In V.G.: Preparing references is accomplished through the use of the form included in the workbook. I caution any candidate into talking someone into being a reference. If someone doesn’t cheerfully agree, move on. A half-hearted endorsement is a bad reference!

V.K. Is a necessity–a good night’s sleep! Like cramming for an exam, at some point you stop preparing, knowing you’ve done all you can. Whether it’s interview day or test day, being rested, relaxed and poised are assets that will carry you through.

Lesson 4-5: VI: Interview Day is meant to be dress rehearsal for the real deal. By breaking into new groups of three and following step-by-step the interview process, “candidates” will find that what seemingly were “tough” questions are now familiar friends. Role-playing should be continued to build confidence. Evaluations and Thank You notes are in order. Group members must provide feedback. In VII I caution against eliminating any companies until a job offer is accepted. “Candidates” limit their choices when they make hasty decisions. I couldn’t tell you how many times candidates have told me the job’s wrapped up, only to find the interviewer’s opinion completely different! Most of all, remember what Yogi says in VIII: “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.”