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3 Interview Questions to Ask Every Dishwasher Job Candidate

It’s important to get the information you need upfront about candidates for your open role. Even if you’re looking at temporary or gig workers, you may want to ask them a few basic questions before moving to hire them. Of course, there are details you should put in your job post to screen for relevance, like whether or not the position requires a high school diploma. But you can’t figure out everything through the job post and application. The following questions will help you gauge the ability of the worker you’re interviewing, what kind of duties they can handle, and how they will work with other team members. 

1. Have you worked on a team before? How would you describe your past experience with teamwork?

Even though dishwashers will be primarily washing dishes, they are part of a larger kitchen staff. They will need to cooperate with other members of the team and may need to take direction or pick up tasks from other members of the staff. Restaurant and catering jobs are often high-stress, so if the candidate is not ready to work as part of a team, they may struggle in the role.

2. Have you ever worked in food service?

Dishwasher jobs are often entry-level roles, especially if they’re part-time or shift work. But, you will likely want some workers who are experienced in food service on your team. If you have special requirements for dishwashing, you may want to look for someone with experience too. For example, if your business caters large events like weddings or galas, you may want someone with prior experience in high-volume food service or dishwashing. Entry-level workers may get overwhelmed if you throw them into such a high-intensity activity without experience in similar job types.

3. How do you handle stressful professional situations?

While dishwashers are rarely customer-facing and do not need to interact with clients, they do need to clean tableware quickly and efficiently, often for a large number of diners. Consider exactly what this position entails: if you regularly have a fast-moving kitchen environment, a busy mealtime rush, or cater events with hundreds of people, your employees will likely need to understand how to handle stressful situations from the get-go.

If the candidate can answer these questions to your liking, then they may be a good fit for your open dishwasher job. We hope these tips will help you find the best possible addition to your kitchen staff.