Interview Questions and Ideal Answers and Induction Plan - Coursework Example

The Running Head: CASE STUDY- MARADONAS     Your name:   Course name:             Professors’ name: Date: Outline Task 1: Interview Questions and Ideal Answers Task2: Alternative/additional Selection Methods Task3: Induction Plan Task 4: Reflections Bibliographies Task 1: Interview Questions and Ideal Answers Waiters/waitresses Q1. Tell me about yourself? In terms of my work experience in hotel industry I offer a solid waiters/waitress background that includes having a Diploma in Hospitality and Management from Maryland Polytechnic (Corfield 2009), in terms of my personal attributes I am hardworking, honest, and ambitious, can work under pressure, social and reliable, and I really enjoy this field of waiter/waitresses of work. On personal note I love making friends, watching basketball in my free time and doing volunteer work. I have settled in this area and I’m looking forward to working for a hotel such as this one (Corfield 2009). The purpose for this question is to put the interviewer at ease, to learn from the interviewer why he/she should be hired, to find out what the interviewer can offer to the employer or if it is on personal concern that family business may interfere with the job which the interviewer will be offered, and lastly to learn little about interviewer background and his/her qualifications in the stated job. Q2. Tell us about your experience in waiter/ waitress? “If the interviewer has experience: “yes, I worked at Next Generation Restaurant from 20th March, 2005 to 20 March, 2011. The duties I performed were serving drinks and food, assisting customers with their movements, booking and making the program for other staffs. While the achievements were able to serve 50 customers in one hour, my training in this field includes Public Relations (PR) and serving customers”. The purpose of this question is to find out if the interviewer has the relevant experience to do the work, it is important to hire someone with experience because they are the ones who will be in contact with the customers at all the times, if the customers are happy the Restaurant will prosper (Corfield 2009). Q3. What made you wanting to work for this restaurant? “Your Restaurants in other cities has a reputation for giving good services, and are well known. I am really interested in utilizing waiter/waitress skills I have gained in the last five years while growing with the Restaurant”. The purpose of this question is to find out if the interviewer likes about the restaurant and if he would stay when he/she has been employed. Secondly, to see if the interview has the relevant qualifications that fit the new Restaurant requirements and approach. Lastly, to find out from the interview if he/she is genuinely interested in contributing to the Restaurant or he/she wants the security or prestige they offer. Q4. Describe the type of people who irritates you and find difficult to work with in a task? ” In my last for jobs as a waiter/waitress I have worked with people from diverse background and cultures, the only time I experience problem in my line of work was with men or women who are dishonest and not giving their best about work issues. There this instance I worked with a man who was taking credit for what his team had accomplished, I had an opportunity to talk with that man tell him that what he was doing was affecting others employees morale in the restaurant. He took it positively and his behavior changed after we talk the issue”. The purpose of this question is to see if the interviewer is flexible enough to work in a diverse environment, this is because the restaurant will employ many people from different background and race (Rosengren 2007). “Before I tell you my expectations I will need more information about the waiter/waitress job and the responsibilities that are involved that are involved, could you kindly give me an idea of the range of salary for this position?”. The purpose for this question is to whether know if we can afford the interview or the interview is comfortable for what we will offer him/her (Rosengren 2007). A Maitre D (front of house manager/supervisor) Q1. We expect the house manager/supervisor to work more than 10 hours in a day. “If I am considered for this position, I have no problem working long hours for this restaurant, before I have worked 12 hour days, but for me what I have found for me is to work smarter and not necessary working for longer.” The purpose for this question is to find out if the interviewer is work-aholic or the person who requires balance. The nature of restaurant manager is to work long hours because sometimes the demand for the restaurant may be stretched to the limit so we need to hire a dedicated manager. Q2. Why do you want this job? “I’ve been very careful about the restaurant where I have applied, when I saw the advertisement that you currently opening a new restaurant in the city and this position needed to be filed, I knew I found what I was looking for. What I can bring to this restaurant is my 8 years of experience, and knowledge of the restaurant industry, plus my ability to communicate- written and taking- fluently and build customer relationships. The purpose for this question is to find out if the interviewer to be hired is using his/her shot- gun approach to job search or do the interviewer really knows what he/she wants?, also it good to find the right kind of a person to fill this position, because he will be in charge of coordinating various functions in the restaurant. Q3. When have you been most satisfied as a person in your career? The last job before the current one was my most rewarding experience for me as a person, I was working with wonderful team environment and me being their team leader. There was a lot of camaraderie’s at work, I had the opportunity to work with a team of five people and we did some really original thinking in our responsibility, it is that kind of working environment I would want to be involved in again because it brings me pleasure (Stockwell 1989). The purpose for this question is to find out if the interviewer is really motivated or de-motivated with his/her role as a manager. Q4. What are your strategies that will help you attain your goals while in this position? As I have already done some research on other managers at Maradonna Restaurants to see how they achieve similar goals. I know that Maradonna’s Restaurant encourages the pursuit and will reimburse for tuitions of a course, I plan on pursuing Hotel Management to give me an even more extensive knowledge in Restaurant management (Edenborough 1999). The purpose for this question is to find out if the manager has personal ambitions that will make the restaurant to achieve its goals and objectives of providing quality services to its customers. Q5. We are ready to make an offer for you, are you in a position to accept it today? “I do have personal policy that I have myself at least 24 hours to make a decision based from what I have gathered during the interview process, I could let you know by tomorrow of my offer.” The purpose of this question is to make sure the right candidate for the job doesn’t want to go away and think about the position and change his/her mind. Task2: Alternative/additional Selection Methods Waiters/waitresses Assignment 1: booking and preparations! The purpose for this task is to see how fast and effective the waiter/waitress is in preparations before the customers arrives at the restaurants. The job description of a waiter involves many things, before the customers arrive in the restaurant, a waiter has to fill the glasses of water on the table for the customers to drink, and he/she also has to make sure the tables are clean by ordering the person in charge of the same to clean the tables. Assignment 2: Serving a group of customers! The purpose of this task to see how effective and fast a waiter is in serving. When the customers arrive at the restaurant, it is the work of a waiter/waitress to direct the customer or a group to a table that is appropriate to the number of customer dining at the restaurant. He/she may have to help the customer by drawing their chairs for them to set (Byers 2007), and give them menu card which has all the food items available in the restaurant. The waiter/waitress will note down the food and serve the guests in a decent manner. After the guest has finished with their meals, the waiter/waitress will give them the bill and hand over the cash to the restaurant cashier (Byers 2007). A Maitre D (front of house manager/supervisor) Assignment 1: personality test! The purpose of this task is to find out how effective the house manager/supervisor can coordinate various restaurant functions. House manager/supervisor needs to dress up well and at same time be well groomed to create a good impression on the restaurant customers. He/she will need to speak politely to those dissatisfied customers and tackle difficult situations that are present. In short to be a good house manager/supervisor you must have the following traits: good communication skills, interpersonal skills, discipline, good conduct, smartness and presence of mind are the qualities for becoming a good house manager/supervisor. Also, how effective are you in cooperating with your fellow workers. Assignment 2: management tests! Management particle tests are essential for a good house manager/supervisor. It part of job description for a house manager/supervisor to ensure customers at the restaurant are properly served (Edenborough 1999), while service flow is maintained and his/her present is felt in interacting with customers at the restaurant or resolving any customer issues. Also, his/her job description entails: responsible for all cash in and cash out functions at opening, close and from shift to shift in the restaurant. Task3: Induction Plan For the smooth operation of the Maradonas the following induction topics will be discussed: team working, creativity, decision making skills and communication skills. Team work- team behavior is characterized by four elements which include: Team members must have a common reason and goal to engage in the same kind of work; team members have to develop the perception of the need to have a working relationship that is interdependent (Cartwright 2009). The individuals forming the teams have to develop commitment to the efforts of the team and finally; the team has to show accountability to the Maradonas restaurant. A team can also accomplish a lot more than a work group which can be regarded as efficient, but do not operate as a team. Therefore, the restaurant expect each and every staff to work as a team, also every staff should make sure each the team member makes concerted efforts towards the achievement of the overall target of the team (Cartwright 2009). Creativity- in the changing global economy, each staff at Maradonas Restaurant should be creative. In the restaurant change is a continuously phenomenon and these changes may be either internally or externally or both; the staff are therefore required to make creative plans for the restaurant, or staff should react towards predictable or unpredictable challenges that he/she may face while carrying his/her duties (Cartwright 2009). Every staff is required to think ‘outside the box’, because creativity is used by forward thinking restaurants for success of Maradonas restaurant objectives. Decision making- this can be defined as the ability of a staff to identify problems, analyze the problem, and being able to solve the same problem in a complex situations involving conflicting demands (Cartwright 2009), needs or priorities. Problem solving and decision making is a natural part of restaurant life, in a restaurant, the ability of any staff to solve a problem which has arose ans a result of the restaurant customer being unsatisfied will mean the difference between the success and failure of the Maradonas Restaurant. At the restaurant, all the staff are required at all the time to be flexible and be open- minded; is an essential part of being able to solve problems and make critical decisions for the restaurant (Cartwright 2009). Communication skills- There are different forms in which information can be passed, such forms are: the spoken and written word, figures, visual images, facial expressions or gestures (Mullins 2005). For the smooth running of the restaurant there is a need of good communication between the staffs in the restaurant. Communication reduces conflict and also prevents unnecessary misunderstanding. Some people would argue that lack of good communication in restaurant staffs will be a source of conflicts within the restaurant. Advantage of good communication at the restaurant will allow staff to develop high level of trust in their fellow staffs (Mullins 2005), and staff will be able to communicate ideas and issues that will benefit Maradonas Restaurant. Task 4: Reflections When carrying a mock interview on waiter/waitress on question one to “tell about him/her” found that he was able to answer it correctly, but the student had difficulties in answering question two because he didn’t know what it entails to be a waiter/ waitress in a restaurant. The same with question three which asked “Why do you want to work for this restaurant” he had a conflicting answer instead elaborating on his experience; he wanted to gain more experience I presume the student had worked in another restaurant before. The fourth question “What type of people do you find difficult to work with” the student although he answer it correctly, he took to answer it. Lastly, the question about salary, the student didn’t know what to say. From this mock interview with my fellow student, I learn it good to anticipate interview questions before going for an interview, also confidence is important because it will give you advantage from other persons being interviewed for the same positions. Bibliographies Byers, A. Great Resume, Application, and Interview Skills. Elsevier Academic Press, Burlington, MA, 2007. Cartwright, D. Group dynamics: research and theory. Michigan: Row, Peterson Publisher, 2009. Corfield, R. Successful Interview Skills: How to Prepare, Answer Tough Questions and Get Your Ideal Job. London: Kogan Page Publisher, 2009. Edenborough, R. Effective interviewing: a handbook of skills and techniques. London: Illuminations Unlimited Publisher, 1999. Mullins, L.J. Management and organisational behavior. London: Prentice Hall/Financial Times, 2005. Rosengren, D. Building Motivational Interviewing Skills: A Practitioner Workbook. New York: American Management Associations, Extension Institute Publisher, 2007. Stockwell, H. Interview. New York: Department of Education, 1989 Read More