Interview With a Restaurant Manager: How To Build a Restaurant Career  

Sebastian Rios: “The hospitality industry can be a little hectic sometimes. Our industry tends to take us away from our families.  

When entering the industry, be prepared to miss a lot of birthdays, graduations and celebrations with the family. So, I take occasional career breaks to stay true to myself. Now, I am not saying that you should do this — but it has been very useful for me. I am not burned out.  

If you are a person that wants to be with their family on special occasions, try to arrange it with your employer.” 

Sebastian Rios: “If I may be honest, this is probably one of the most difficult questions to answer. There is no such thing as one size fits all.  

When I choose new restaurants to work in, I ensure that it’s a right fit. What I mean by that is the establishment needs to align with my personal values. 

One important but often overlooked thing is I also listen to my gut feelings during the interview. If the vibe is off, I don’t bother coming back in for a second round.  

If you walk into a place, and you see that people are just kind of slacking around, not doing anything, or it’s dirty or like if you look at the glassware and it’s not polished. That means somebody’s not doing their job properly. 

If people have time to just stand around not doing anything, they definitely have time to clean.” 

Sebastian Rios: “Most definitely to me, one of the things that are the most important is appearance. I can see this is a missing element with a lot of people that come in looking for a job.  

Let me elaborate on that a little bit, so you don’t get the wrong impression.  

It’s all about how you come in to apply for a job. If you are trying to get into a fine dining restaurant and you come in wearing jeans and a T-shirt, chances are you won’t even get through the first round, let alone get the opportunity to introduce yourself to the manager.  

The popular saying goes: ‘Dress for the job you want, not the job you have.’ 

If you come in without putting any effort into the way you look that is what we can expect from you on all other occasions. Now, I am not saying come in wearing a tux or a gown, but there are certain things you should observe.  

Your nails and hair must be tidy, this is non-negotiable.  

When it comes to clothes, don’t come in wearing things that are inappropriate, like you wouldn’t in your private life. To put it in simple words: You need to look like you’re trying to get a job.” 

Sebastian Rios: “Well, the skill set will heavily depend on the role I am looking to hire for, but there are some general guidelines every hospitality employee should follow. 

Get some background knowledge! 

If you will be dealing with beverages you need to know alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, you need to understand the wine and spirit basics. If you are going to be handling food, get some knowledge of that particular cuisine.  

Nobody expects you to know everything during an interview stage and we are willing to teach you everything you will need but show some initiative. This will help you land the job. 

I always want to work with people that are hardworking and show they care about the job and the team. 

Nowadays, a lot of the people that are in the restaurant industry are a little bit more entitled, and they just look at it as a job. The mindset is that the workforce is in demand, so if they get fired, they will find a new job in no time. Some people simply don’t take pride in taking care of other people.  

If you want to succeed in this industry, be genuine and be happy to work with people and serve them.  

Most of the restaurants — especially here in Miami — have great food but not a lot of them have great service. This is what makes it or breaks it for a restaurant. If the service is exceptional people will come back and they even might forgive some minor food mishaps.  

I need to see that you are willing to go above and beyond to make a guest happy and you will be hired.” 

Sebastian Rios: “Isn’t that something everyone wants to know? Let me start by saying that even when it comes to tips you need to develop a different mindset. 

You need to stop thinking about how to maximize the one-time tip! You need to start thinking long term. Believe it or not, in this industry the regulars are the ones paying your bills.  

Let’s start by answering some basic questions. 

It’s not only about the service level you are providing, but also about interacting with guests. If you want to get more tips, ask yourself:  

• Are you interacting with your guests? 

•  Are you making them feel welcome? 

•  Are you getting to know your guests?  

If you answered ‘yes’ to all the questions above, chances are that your guests will be coming back to the restaurant two or three times a week.  

If you answered ‘no’ to all or some of the questions above you should turn them to a yes. I would suggest starting immediately, because that is what will ultimately give you the success you are looking for.  

It’s not only about the tips, but also about getting noticed by management. Happy customers that ask if you are working during the time they come to the restaurant are one way to get that promotion.”  

Sebastian Rios: “That might be one of the hardest questions, because when I look back at my career, [I ask myself] ‘Could I have done things differently?’  

Yes, I could have. But would I do anything any other way? Probably not. Yes, there are some things I wish I knew when starting out, but it’s challenging to get just one.  

When I was starting out it was a different atmosphere. There was way more tough love than there is today, and I am happy that we can see the positive change. Nowadays you can’t get by if you want to play the tough love game, because people don’t want to cope with such behavior.  

If there would be only one thing, I could share it would be: ‘Take everything with a grain of salt.’ 

There will be times when you will make mistakes, but those mistakes won’t define you, and it doesn’t mean you will continue repeating the same mistake.  

Have patience with yourself. On occasions you will have difficult customers and regardless of your efforts they won’t be happy. They need to blow off some steam and sometimes you will be the one standing right in front of them. So be patient with yourself, your customers and your colleagues.  

With the risk of adding more than one thing to this I need to say: ‘Remember to always smile. Sometimes it will be the only smile the person in front of you will get. Smiling goes a long way in this line of work.’ 

If you follow this approach, you will be a happy and successful person.”