ANY QUESTIONS?
A HOSPITALITY CANDIDATE’S GUIDE TO INTERVIEWING THE EMPLOYER BACK
There’s a moment near the end of every interview that sometimes catches people off guard. The formal bit is over, and the interviewer asks: “So, do you have any questions?”
The candidate freezes a bit and says, “No, I think you’ve covered everything.”.
Maybe they didn’t have any questions, or maybe they felt that by not asking, it was a good thing.
That question is not a polite formality. It’s an extremely useful part of the whole conversation, and it’s the bit where you take a bit of power. And show you are serious. You’re invested. That you have given thought to what employment there will look like. That’s a good thing.
We’ve said this before, and we’ll repeat: an interview is not a one-way street. A modern interview is two parties deciding whether they want to work together. A good employer expects you to interview them back, and frankly, the ones who bristle at being questioned are telling you something extremely useful.
The goal here isn’t to catch anyone out or treat the interview like an interrogation. It’s to find out whether this is somewhere you’ll actually want to be in six months, before you hand in your notice somewhere else. Pick three or four of these. Ask them like a human, listen properly to the answers, and pay as much attention to how someone answers as to what they say.
ON THE ACTUAL JOB
“What does a normal week look like in this role?”
In hospitality, this is the question that tells you everything. Listen for the honest version. If the answer is vague or you get a cheerful “oh, every day’s different,” that can mean genuine variety, or it can mean there’s no structure and you’ll be firefighting from day one. Ask about the split between shifts, how rotas are set, and how far in advance you’ll get them. A business that respects its people plans their time.
“What does success look like in the first three months, and who decides that?”
You want to know what good looks like before you’re being measured against a standard nobody told you about.
“How are new starters brought into the team, and who’s responsible for it?”
Onboarding is one of the clearest signs of whether a business wants you to succeed or just wants the gap filled. If there’s a structured first week and a named person who’ll actually show you the ropes, that’s a business that knows people who are supported tend to stay. If the answer is a vague “you’ll pick it up as you go,” you may well be thrown in at the deep end with everyone assuming someone else is training you. It won’t tell you everything, because plenty of well-onboarded people still get left to sink later, but a business that can’t describe its onboarding usually hasn’t thought much about retention either.
“What does the rest of the interview process look like from here?”
In an ideal world, this is laid out before you walk in, but if it isn’t, ask. How many stages? Are they in person, and who’ll you be meeting at each? Is there a trial shift? This does two things. It settles the nerves, because uncertainty is half of interview anxiety. And it lets you make a real decision, because you might not have the luxury of time, and you’re allowed to know what you’re committing to before you turn down something else.
ON THE TEAM AND THE CULTURE
“What’s the team like at the moment, and how long have most of them been here?”
Tenure tells you more than any culture statement. A kitchen where people have stayed three or four years is a kitchen worth joining. One where the longest-serving chef arrived in March is worth asking a bit more about.
“What happened to the person who had this role before me?”
A genuinely useful question, asked plainly. Promoted internally is a good sign. Moved on quickly, or “we’d rather not go into it,” is your cue to dig a bit. Also, you want to know what you are walking into. Is there going to be a handover? If so, how long for? Or has the last person gone, and you are going to have to hit the ground running?
“How has staff turnover been over the last year?”
In our industry, churn is the tell. High turnover rarely sits with the staff. It sits with how they’re managed, paid and rostered. You’re allowed to ask.
ON HOW THE PLACE IS ACTUALLY RUN
“What’s the biggest challenge the team’s facing right now that I’d be helping with?”
If the honest answer is “we’re short-staffed and everyone’s covering,” that’s not automatically a red flag, but it tells you what you’re walking into. If the answer is “nothing really,” be careful. Sometimes that means you’re being hired to absorb the work nobody else wants.
“How does the business handle it when something goes wrong on a busy service?”
This is the one we’d never skip. Every kitchen and every floor has a bad night. What matters is what happens next. Do they look at the process, or do they look for someone to blame? The answer to this question is the answer to “what’s it actually like to work here on a Saturday at 8pm.”
“What’s the split between full-time staff and agency or casual cover at the moment?”
A floor or kitchen leaning heavily on agency is usually a floor that can’t hold onto its own people. It tells you about stability, about how stretched the permanent team is, and about what your week will really feel like.
“How are tips and service charge handled here?”
Few questions reveal a business’s relationship with its staff faster. A straight, confident answer means they’ve nothing to hide. Hesitation or a vague “it all gets sorted fairly” is worth following up on, because it affects your actual take-home and tells you whether the people at the top trust their team with the truth.
“When was the last time the menu or the offer changed, and who drove it?”
This one’s subtle. It tells you whether the kitchen and floor have a voice, or whether everything comes top-down. Businesses where chefs and managers shape the offer tend to be businesses where good people want to stay.
A last thought. You’re not there to trip anyone up. Watch for hesitation and vagueness, yes, but a good operator will welcome thoughtful questions and answer them straight. The ones worth working for are pleased you asked. That, on its own, tells you a great deal.