Red Lobster Interview Questions & Tips

Interview Process Varies by Position

Internationally renowned seafood restaurant Red Lobster interviews applicants for entry-level positions with regularity. Some locations require applicants to participate in skills tests, phone interviews, personality tests, and one-on-one interviews before managers make employment decisions. Other Red Lobster locations hire applicants after a single interview with a restaurant manager. The hiring process may take as little as a day and up to two weeks to complete, depending on Red Lobster's staffing needs. Job hopefuls should stay persistent throughout each phase of the hiring process and maintain professionalism both in appearance and conversation.

Common Interview Questions

Hiring personnel aim at finding out applicants work histories, relevant skills, and availability during Red Lobster job interviews. Common questions posed at hiring meetings include:

• What is your biggest motivation?
• How do you manage time?
• How do you feel about work?
• How will you decide to take a job if given multiple offers?
• What makes you qualified for this position?

Candidates often need to mock sell menu items to interviewers. Remain confident and friendly during all questions and exercises. Hiring Managers may also ask simple Red Lobster trivia questions.

How to Prepare

Applicants should conduct some research about company values and history to prepare for the various questions asked at each job interview. Red Lobster values developing and promoting leadership from within, and entry-level applicants interested in management positions should express desire to move up in the company, when given the opportunity.

Managerial Interviews

Red Lobster also hires on managers for restaurants and corporate locations. Some managers cite participating in as little as two, 10- to 15-minute interviews before gaining employment. While Red Lobster interviews are short in time, hiring personnel keep these meetings to-the-point. Applicants should prepare for each interview by gaining knowledge about the company and reviewing skills necessary for the job. Job hopefuls may field questions like:

• "Why should we hire you?"
• "What type of management style do you possess?"
• "What makes Red Lobster a desirable place to work?"

Potential Red Lobster managers should keep responses short and convincing and avoid off-topic rants.

What to Wear

Applicants vying for upper-level or serving positions at Red Lobster should dress in business-formal attire for job interviews. Candidates hoping to gain cook or busser jobs may dress more casually.

How to Stand Out

Maintain a comfortable level of eye contact with Red Lobster hiring personnel during the job interview, and keep responses positive and speaking kindly of previous employers. At the end of the Red Lobster interview, express gratitude for the opportunity and ask about the company's preferred method of follow-up.

Red Lobster Line Cook Interview Video

Video Transcript

Interviewer: Please describe your job title and primary duties.

Red Lobster Line Cook: I worked at Red Lobster. I was a fry chef. So basically you would have to drop the food as the tickets came in. There was maybe 10 to 15 items that you would cook, prepare. You’d work on a time schedule and have to provide for the front of house to get the food out for the customers.

Interviewer: What was the work environment like?

Red Lobster Line Cook: So Red Lobster, it was a friendly environment. It would be very stressful at times, especially during the busy hours. But, generally the management would keep everyone under control and try to push the team forward. It is a team environment, so there is a lot of communication and working with each other. So, it is stressful at times, but for what it is, it is a good work environment.

Interviewer: Please describe the application and interview process.

Red Lobster Line Cook: Yeah, so for their application process, it is online. So, you would fill it out online. You would send it in and they took maybe four weeks to get back to me, somewhere around there. And then they brought you in, in a group setting interview. So you would have your interview. There would probably be two or three other people that are interviewing with you, so that’s normal. And then within the same day, they would tell you if you got the job or not and invite you back for training. So general questions were, what experience is relevant do you have? What have you done before? Can you drive? Can you provide transportation? And then just your personality, are you going to fit into their team?

Interviewer: How were you notified that you received the job?

Red Lobster Line Cook: So, you turn in an application and they invite you in for interview. In my case, they hired me on the spot after the interview. They said, “You have the job,” and they gave me the following training date and when I should show up. I don’t know if that’s standard, but I feel like that’s usually when you get hired, you usually find out after the interview process at Red Lobster.

Interviewer: Okay.

Interviewer: What set you apart from other candidates?

Red Lobster Line Cook: I think being honest is going to be your strongest ability. If you have something, don’t hide it cause if you can show that you’re honest, then the interviewer is a person too, so they’re going to like you, right. And if you feed them lies, they might like you, but if someone else is honest, they’ll probably stand out more than you will. So, that’s what I did. I just told them the truth.

Interviewer: What other advice would you give to a job seeker looking to gain employment?

Red Lobster Line Cook: So, I think the biggest thing for applying there is don’t limit yourself on the positions you apply for. If you want to be a line cook, put line cook, dishwasher, show that you’re flexible. That way you have a better chance to get in a foot in the door because you can work up in the system through there. So if you start as a dishwasher, you can move to the line cook, or if you want to work in front of house, if you start as a busser, you can move to a server. So, make sure you’re flexible and it’ll help you with your application process.

Red Lobster Greeter and Server Interview Video

Video Transcript

Interviewer: Please describe your job title and primary duties.
Red Lobster Greeter and Server: Okay, so I had two of them. At first I was a greeter, and my job was to make sure that I welcome the customer and I make sure they know where they’re going to sit, how many are in the party and how long they wait. Then I became a server which was completely different. I’m pretty much trying to, first, once a customer is at the table, you try to make them feel welcomed. Initially ask for drinks and what they order, and while you’re doing that, you’re helping out your other teammates by, let’s see, someone’s lacking a drink or something, you help them refill, so you’re looking out for your coworkers and you’re trying to maintain your customers’ happiness.

Interviewer: What was the work environment like?
Red Lobster Greeter and Server: It was really hectic, but it was also really fun. If you like being busy, that’s the place to be. Mostly it was pretty much exchanging back between the kitchen, making sure orders come through. Then they started getting all digitized, which was really nice, because it was convenient. Just put it in a computer. You come to a window. It’ll just be right there. Then it was stressful, as well, because sometimes you’ll drop food. Sometimes you have someone who’s like really picky or they just had a bad day and they want to put it on you. You just got to keep on trooping it.

Interviewer: How would you describe the application and interview process?
Red Lobster Greeter and Server: Initially, I applied through a third party website. They are just devoted to jobs in general. From there I found my way by, like, the manager called me back. I came for the interview. We talked a little bit. Then, after that portion, there’s a second interview where you have to, like … I guess it’s more of an informal one and you look around and ask these questions. Then they just started you right there. The orientation was first like this online thing where you just go through a series of workshops. Then one was a, it was kind of like training. You have, for example, a set of glasses and a plate, and your goal is to try to dodge a kid, but someone will play the kid while you’re trying to go around them, like stuff like that.

Interviewer: What questions did the interviewer ask during the job interview?
Red Lobster Greeter and Server: Oh, if you see a teammate or a coworker struggling, what would you do to further … to assist your coworker? Usually you try to work off of there, like I said with the glasses, if someone needs a refill. Or let’s say it’s your break and you see someone struggling or maybe we’re lacking men, will you be willing to sacrifice? Stuff like that. What are you willing to do? How are you willing to do it?

Interviewer: How were you notified that you received the job?
Red Lobster Greeter and Server: After the interview I had to wait about a week, because they usually do it every Friday. They have a list of people they call back or don’t call back. That’s how long I had to wait.

Interviewer: What other advice would you give to a job seeker looking to gain employment?
Red Lobster Greeter and Server: Really think about the questions they ask you because sometimes they’re looking for a deeper meaning and the big part is showing your efforts, like how would you … It’s the how, and I guess thinking outside of the box about how would you assist others, because the big thing is a team, because you are a team in the end.

Red Lobster Server Interview Video

Video Transcript

Interviewer: Please describe your job title and primary duties.
Red Lobster Server: I was a server at Red Lobster, so my main job is to represent the company to the customers that come in there and deliver the food, take orders, just make sure their experience is really good.

Interviewer: What was the work environment like?
Red Lobster Server: It’s really teamwork oriented, so you’re in a section with another team member. Everyone’s really helpful to each other. If you ever need anything, you can ask them to make you a salad or something.

Interviewer: Please describe a typical day as an employee.
Red Lobster Server: Basically, you come in, clock in, check in with the hostess and let them know that you’re there. See what section you’re in. You go back to the kitchen and see what needs done. I make salads so we’re ready if we get some kind of large party comes in. Then, you greet your tables and it’s very routine – you take the order, you go back, you make your salad, deliver your salad, deliver the food, deliver the check. It’s all routine basically.

Interviewer: How would you describe the application and interview process?
Red Lobster Server: I had a friend that worked there, so I talked to him first, then he talked to his manager, and I applied online, and then they pulled my application out. Then, I had an interview with the manager, and then I got hired. That was basically it.

Interviewer: What questions did the interviewer ask during the job interview?
Red Lobster Server: They asked me about any restaurant experience I had before that. They asked me about times I had been a member of a team or dealt with teamwork. Then, they asked me some questions about Red Lobster, just to sell one of the items on the menu. There were some other personal questions – not personal questions but personality questions, like: “How do you feel about Red Lobster?”, “How are you going to represent our company?” That kind of stuff.

Interviewer: What other advice would you give to a job seeker looking to gain employment?
Red Lobster Server: It’s a really great company. Darden is our overseeing company, and the restaurants are awesome. Their image is that they are – I don’t want to say higher class – but when you go to Red Lobster, you expect good service, and I like being part of a company like that.

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Related Links:
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