The Interview

 I finally made the decision to give Chick-Fil-A a shot. I hopped online and found out the 2 closest stores were about 40 minutes away. Which for a fast food joint that is a lot of distance. So there must be a bigger reason behind my desire to work for Chick-Fil-A. 

The biggest reason I wanted to work for Chick-Fil-A was all about the culture I noticed as a customer. Culture matters in a workplace. 

One of the most public attributes of Chick-Fil-A culture is their response to "Thank You" with "My Pleasure." CFA employees are the kindest people out there. Customer service is important to how they are perceived. Any company that prioritizes customer service will do well no matter the product they are selling. However if you have a good product and service you will thrive.

While online I looked to see if either of the restaurants were hiring. I noticed one had open interviews every Tuesday and the other was looking for catering. I applied online to the catering job and made a plan to go to the open interviews.

The open interview: I walked in, resume in hand and introduced myself as being there for an interview. I was greeted by a nice person and directed over to where they were holding the interviews. I sat down with a guy named Doug. He asked me to fill out a short personality test. It was the one with the animals; lion, otter, golden retriever, and beaver. I turned out to be a lion. No surprises there. 

We had a good interview and he asked all the simple get to know you questions. Based on the personality test and getting to know me through the interview Doug said Frontline would be a good fit. Doug told me he wanted me to interview with Zach who was the Executive Director of the Frontline.  We set up the interview for a day or two later. 

The catering interview: I had set up the interview to coincide with the open interview and left one store to go to the other. I showed up early of course because nothing says you have it together more than being early. I asked for the person who I was scheduled to interview with. Scott came up front and said he would conduct the interview as the other person forgot  they had an interview scheduled. I had a good conversation with Scott and we scheduled a second interview with the person who led their catering team. (the person I was supposed to have the interview with in the first place.)

Interview with Zach: A couple of days later I interviewed with Zach. The first question he asked me was, "What is your story." So I discussed my background, family, job history, our recent move to Indiana. It turned out we had a lot in common. I honestly do not remember if Zach asked me any more questions but the interview ended up being approximately 45 minutes.  He offered me a position with the Frontline. I told him I had committed to another interview and would let him know my decision by the end of the day.

The catering interview #2: I showed up for the interview. Again the individual who I set up the interview again had forgot about the interview, but was able to squeeze in the interview. The first question he asked me was "why do you want to work in catering. Is it because they make more money?" The question took me off guard. It was a weird way to start an interview. I honestly did not know the differences in pay from one job to another. The rest of the interview was shaky and awkward. He told me he had another couple interviews for the position and would let me know the decision soon. 

I left the interview and called my wife Jenny. I told her I was going to accept the position offered by Zach. I told her about the differences between the two interviews and the differences in culture of the two stores. I knew I did not want to start off in a poor culture. 

Culture is everything. If you want to hire top notch employees, you have to be a top notch leader. You need to stick to your commitments and not make the interviewee feel like you are just fitting them into your schedule. Remember you have scheduled the interview and show up prepared. 

The first store impressed me. The second store lacked what the first had. The first store had heart. There was a purpose behind what they were doing. They were placing people in the store based upon their personality. The second lacked organization. He missed his purpose for being there. 

This also led me to believe that not all Chick-Fil-A stores are the same. They are different because of the people that work there and the personalities that make them unique. The interview can become the driving force of why someone may come to work for your organization. You may be conducting the interview but the candidate in also interviewing you. 

When creating a good culture in your organization it starts with the interview.