Brief Interviews
Worldwide specialty foods retailer Smoothie King offers positions ranging from local, in-store jobs to corporate office positions. As a franchised organization, management at individual locations takes responsibility for the process of onboarding new, entry-level employees. Expect the hiring process to span three to four days once hiring materials are submitted. Prior applicants describe the interviews as brief, averaging a span of 15-20 minutes. Neat and well-kept appearances usually suffice. Smoothie King franchises typically do not require background checks or drug screens.
What the Company Looks For in an Employee
As a health-food chain, hiring managers look for workers who exhibit a lot of energy, passion, and ambition. Expect questions to revolve around personality, motivation, and past experience in the food industry. Managers want to see individuals who hold the capability of maintaining upbeat, happy personalities while working under very busy circumstances. Candidates may also field questions testing knowledge of health and nutrition.
Questions to Prepare For
Typical interview questions may include:
- “What are the health advantages of supplement ‘X’?”
- “What product would you recommend to a customer that wanted an energy boost?”
Following Up
Entry-level prospects may receive employment confirmation at the conclusion of the interview. Other candidates may need to wait a week or so to hear back about final determinations.
Interview Tips From a Smoothie King Hiring Manager
Video Transcript
Interviewer: What qualities do you look for in an applicant?
Smoothie King Hiring Manager: Basically I look for somebody, first I look to see if they’re really going to go to college. That’s mainly the base we pull from, is future college students. If not, if somebody’s doing really good in high school and they have a trade or a trade school, that’s good as well. A trade is almost just as good as a degree, so we do try to pull from people who are willing to further their education. Second what we look for is somebody that’s honest, can be on time, that’s going to take the work initiative because there is a lot of downtime there. It’s hard to find people that want to take the initiative when there’s nobody coming in the store. They have to be willing to do things when they’re not being watched, because you will be there a lot by yourself. Lastly, it’s just somebody that’s friendly, personable, just that can really interact with customers well and go ahead and give them good service, quick service, and will actually care about the job.
Interviewer: What kinds of answers do you look for in an interview?
Smoothie King Hiring Manager: A question I’ve asked. We don’t hire very often, and usually what I do, my job is to just go over the applications with people, get them to fill it out, and then I pass it along to the owners for an interview. Some of the really good questions I’ve been asked are basically kind of what you’re asking now. What’s the work pace like? What do you need, what do they look for in an individual? Another good one is, “When’s the owner here so I can come talk to him?” Because face time is really good. And application is great, but if you go into the store and follow up, that’s probably the best, best thing that you’re going to get is some face time with the owners.
Interviewer: What should an applicant do to prepare for the interview?
Smoothie King Hiring Manager: Basically really search online is what I tell some of the people, and look to see if you can find the application online first. Get it filled out, have it ready when you come in, because you don’t want to have to … Let’s say you run into the hiring manager, the owner, you don’t want to come in and not have an application, have to leave, come back, fill it out, or sometimes people like to go to their cars and fill it out, which is kind of not such the greatest thing. If you’re ready, you got your application in hand, you’re well dressed. A lot of times I have people that aren’t so well dressed coming in for a job interview, and it does affect that. Basically, they’re ready to answer any questions, and a resume really, really helps too as well, if you can see past experiences and exactly what that person has to offer you.
Smoothie King Assistant Manager Interview Video
Video Transcript
Interviewer: Please describe your job title and primary duties.
Smoothie King Assistant Manager: I’m an assistant manager. I make sure all the employees are doing the job because most of the time someone will get lazy and are not on the job or not doing the job. It’s my responsibility to make sure they are. That’s what I do, make sure they’re also interacting with the customers because they are the main focus for Smoothie King, the most important because we’re definitely a top level notch customer service. That’s very, very important for Smoothie King.
Interviewer: What was the work environment like?
Smoothie King Assistant Manager: The work environment is a lot of fun, a lot of fun. I try to make it as fun as possible as a supervisor because at times it will get tedious and slow. Some nights not many people come in maybe because of the weather, maybe because not. Sometimes we’re really busy. I make sure that the stress is as low as possible and we still make it fun for the customers, make them come back, give them that memorable experience at Smoothie King because we’re the only one where I’m at. Besides the point, make it a fun experience for the customers and the employees so we get more.
Interviewer: How would you describe the application and interview process?
Smoothie King Assistant Manager: Application is very important. You apply in the store and you actually have to make sure you can do it in the store. It’s for our time, open to close. Also a good thing to do is talk to the manager, the owner of the store, of that Smoothie King when you apply to get some insight and actually to get a good first impression with the owner. Great qualification for the job would be friendly vibe, very open.
Interviewer: What questions did the interviewer ask during the job interview?
Smoothie King Assistant Manager: He asked me a lot about my past work experience, what I did before. Also about customer service, am I a friendly person, which you can tell by the interview, the openness.
Interviewer: How were you notified that you received the job?
Smoothie King Assistant Manager: Most of the time, the owner would call and confirm and bring them in and start training. That call is the notification.
Interviewer: What other advice would you give to a job seeker looking to gain employment?
Smoothie King Assistant Manager: Be open, be friendly. It’s one of the most fun job you will have and also the most simple but definitely learn a lot about customer service and how significant it is.
Smoothie King Sales Associate Interview Video
Video Transcript
Interviewer: Please describe your job title and primary duties.
Smoothie King Sales Associate: I was a sales associate, so basically making smoothies and just cleaning the store.
Interviewer: What was the work environment like?
Smoothie King Sales Associate: It was very active, because it was typically busy during the day, and it was a lot of fun. I enjoyed it a lot.
Interviewer: What was your favorite part about working there?
Smoothie King Sales Associate: I think working with the customers because you could always make someone’s day, and they would tell you that. It was a really big age group, greeting people every day.
Interviewer: Please describe a typical day as an employee.
Smoothie King Sales Associate: It’s really steady all day long. I don’t know why people like smoothies. Not too many breaks, but there’s always someone coming in right after the other person, so it was pretty busy.
Interviewer: How would you describe the application and interview process?
Smoothie King Sales Associate: Very casual. Just a sit-down. You didn’t have to dress up too much. It was just about how you can help people, how you can deal with customers.
Interviewer: What questions did the interviewer ask during the job interview?
Smoothie King Sales Associate: How to deal with people that are angry, then what you would do in that situation, and just what you’ve done before, to kind of set yourself apart from others.
Interviewer: What other advice would you give to a job seeker looking to gain employment?
Smoothie King Sales Associate: I think definitely liking people – you have to deal with them every day. Definitely need to be people-oriented. I think that would definitely set you apart.
Brian says:
How do I get an interview with Smoothie King?
Lavania Pierre says:
You must wait until the company calls you for an interview.
Chelsea says:
I have an interview tomorrow! What should I wear?
Lavania Pierre says:
You have to wear professional business attire. Wear: long sleeves, button up shirt, slacks, and flats shoes. Don’t wear jeans, t-shirt, tank top, mini skirt, mini dress, sandals, tennis shoes, heels, or shorts. This is what the interviewer wants to see. Please be on time. Good luck.