Dishwasher interview questions

What this hire must get done

Write the scorecard before you interview, then hire against it. Set the bracketed targets from your own numbers.

What to tell candidates before the interview

Say the hard parts plainly. People who wouldn't stay drop out early, and the ones who stay knew what they signed up for.

• Name the shifts: nights until the kitchen is clean, weekends and holidays, and roughly when close ends.
• Say what the work is: a hot, wet dish area, chemicals handled with the gloves and eye protection you provide, trash and cardboard runs, and the kitchen floor at close.
• If dishwashers can move to prep and then the line, say how that works and name someone who did it.

How to run the interview

1. Same questions, same order. Ask every candidate the questions below and the same follow-ups. It is the only way to compare people fairly.
2. Two interviewers. An owner or manager and someone who does the work. Take notes on what the candidate says, not on how you feel about them.
3. Score right after each answer. 5 sounds like the strong answer, 3 like the mixed one, 1 like the weak one. Use 2 and 4 for answers in between.
4. Rate alone, then compare. Compare candidates question by question, and talk only after everyone has scored. Big gaps are worth a conversation.

1. Situational · Sanitizing right

   During the Friday rush you check the dish machine, and the reading is below the line on the log sheet. The line needs plates now. What do you do?

   Plates that come out clean but not sanitized can make guests sick. This shows whether they trust the check over the pressure.

   Follow-ups

   • What happens to the plates that already went through?
   • How do you keep the line in plates in the meantime?
   • What do you write on the log?

   5Strong

   Stops using the machine, lets the chef or manager know at once, pulls back and rewashes every rack run since the reading was last right, moves urgent items to the three-compartment sink, and writes the reading and what was done on the log.

   3Mixed

   Stops the machine and gets the chef at once, then waits to be told what to do about the racks already run and how to keep the line in plates.

   1Weak

   Keeps running racks because the line needs plates, or doesn't check the reading at all.

2. Situational · Chemical safety

   A cook tells you to pour some bleach into the floor cleaner to make it stronger for the grease by the fryers. What do you do?

   Bleach mixed with other cleaners can give off fumes that are dangerous to breathe. A new hire has to hold this line even when a senior cook pushes.

   Follow-ups

   • What would you say to the cook?
   • Where would you look to find out whether two products are safe together?
   • The cook says they've done it for years. What now?

   5Strong

   Doesn't mix them, says politely that bleach should never go in with another cleaner because of the fumes, uses the degreaser the way its label says, and checks the safety data sheet or asks the manager if unsure.

   3Mixed

   Won't mix them, but doesn't know where the safety data sheets are or who to ask.

   1Weak

   Pours the bleach in, since a senior cook asked.

3. Situational · Chemical safety

   While you swap an empty chemical jug on the dish machine, some splashes on your arm and near your face. What do you do?

   Dish chemicals can burn. You want someone who rinses first, reports it, and wears the gear next time.

   Follow-ups

   • Where would you find the first aid steps for that chemical?
   • Who do you tell, and when?
   • What do you do differently on the next jug?

   5Strong

   Stops and rinses the skin with plenty of water at once, flushes at the eyewash if any got near the eyes, tells the manager, follows the first aid steps on the label or safety data sheet, and puts on gloves and eye protection before the next jug.

   3Mixed

   Rinses at once and uses the eyewash, but doesn't check the safety data sheet and mentions it to the manager only at the end of the shift.

   1Weak

   Wipes it off, keeps going and tells no one.

4. Situational · Keeping the pit moving

   It's the dinner rush and you're alone in the pit. Bus tubs are stacking up, the bar wants glasses, and the sauté cook is out of pans. What do you do first?

   A sauté cook with no pans stops cooking. This shows whether they wash what's needed or what's in front of them.

   Follow-ups

   • How do you decide what comes first?
   • Who do you tell where you stand, and what do you say?
   • At what point would you call for a hand?

   5Strong

   Gets the sauté cook pans first, since the line can't cook without them, then glasses for the bar, scrapes and stacks tubs so they don't overflow, gives the chef a quick status, and calls for a hand before plates run out.

   3Mixed

   Picks a sensible order but says nothing until someone comes looking.

   1Weak

   Washes in the order things arrived and tells no one.

5. Behavioral · Keeping the pit moving

   Think of any job, class, team or volunteer work. Tell me about a time you had to go fast and still get every piece right.

   In the pit, speed without checks sends dirty or chipped plates to guests. This shows what they keep doing when rushed.

   Follow-ups

   • What did you keep checking even when you were rushed?
   • What did you let wait instead?
   • How did it turn out?

   5Strong

   Gives a real example, names the checks they kept doing, like looking over each item, says what they let wait instead, and can say how it turned out.

   3Mixed

   Got it done on time by working faster, but can't say what they checked along the way.

   1Weak

   Admits cutting corners to finish, or has no example.

6. Situational · Speaking up

   As you unload a rack, you spot a plate with a small chip on the rim. A cook is waiting for that stack. What do you do?

   A chip can break off into food. This shows whether they hold the line on small things when someone's waiting.

   Follow-ups

   • What do you do with that plate?
   • Who do you tell?
   • What would you do if you kept finding chipped plates?

   5Strong

   Pulls the plate before the stack goes up, puts it in the breakage bin or wherever the kitchen wants damaged dishes, hands over the rest, and tells the chef if chips keep turning up.

   3Mixed

   Pulls and bins the plate, but would keep quietly binning chipped plates without telling the chef they keep turning up.

   1Weak

   Sends it up because it's a small chip and the cook is waiting.

7. Behavioral · Speaking up

   From work, school or volunteering, tell me about something unsafe or wrong you noticed and reported.

   Dishwashers see broken glass, wet floors and failing equipment before anyone else. Past speaking up is the best sign they'll do it here.

   Follow-ups

   • What did you see?
   • Who did you tell, and how did you say it?
   • What happened after that?

   5Strong

   Describes something specific, like a spill, a broken tool or a skipped rule, told the right person soon, said it plainly, and followed up if nothing changed.

   3Mixed

   Told someone, but only a friend or only after being asked.

   1Weak

   Stayed quiet to avoid trouble, or can't think of an example.

8. Behavioral · Showing up

   Tell me about something, a job, a team or a class, where people counted on you to be there at a set time, week after week.

   A missed close leaves the line to wash the pots. How someone kept a set schedule before is the best evidence an interview can give you.

   Follow-ups

   • Tell me about a time you couldn't make it. What did you do?
   • How much notice did you give?
   • What would the person in charge say about you?

   5Strong

   Names a specific commitment, showed up as promised, and when they couldn't, gave notice early and helped find cover.

   3Mixed

   Showed up most of the time, but has called out late without notice and sees it as normal.

   1Weak

   Can't name a commitment, or skipped shifts without calling and shrugs it off.

Work exercise: a short paid sink test

Pay finalists at least minimum wage for the time. Before each test, a trained employee fills the three-compartment sink from your dispenser at working strength, so candidates never handle concentrate. Show each one the sink and the sanitizer test strips once, in the same words, then give them [15] minutes to test the sanitizer and work through a bus tub and a rack of pans you've staged, with one chipped plate hidden in it. Provide gloves and eye protection. No dish machine, baler or compactor.

Use made-up materials, never real customer work, and keep it to the time shown. Follow your own safety rules for anything hands-on.

Reference check questions

Tell finalists you'll call a former manager, and get their permission first. Ask about what they did, not whether they were nice.

• When they fell behind, did they tell anyone? What did they do?
• Did they ever miss a close or a weekend shift? How did they handle it?
• Did they follow safety rules, like gloves or chemical labels, when no one was watching?
• If they asked for their old shifts back, would you give them? Why or why not?

Questions to skip, and what to ask instead

Ask only what the job needs. Questions that touch age, health, family or pay history can break federal, state or local law, even when you mean well.

• SkipHow old are you? Closing runs late.

  AskClosing shifts end around [your closing time] on [the nights you need]. Can you work that schedule? After the offer, verify eligibility the same way for everyone, and get a work permit if the hire is a minor and your state requires one. Federal rules let fourteen- and fifteen-year-olds wash dishes, but their workday must end by seven in the evening (nine from June through Labor Day), so a late close needs someone older.

• SkipDo you have any skin problems or allergies to cleaning chemicals?

  AskSay the same thing to everyone: "The work involves [handling dish chemicals with gloves and eye protection, and lifting racks up to forty pounds]. Can you do that, with or without reasonable accommodation?"

Common mistakes when hiring a dishwasher

• Hiring whoever can start tonight

  The pit is often filled in a panic after a walk-out. The fifteen-minute sink test and one reference call show you who will run the sanitizer check and who will show up on Saturday.

• Training by shadowing alone

  Many kitchens teach the pit by having a new hire watch the last dishwasher for a shift, and bad habits, like skipping the test strip, get passed on. Teach the machine check, the sink and each chemical from a checklist, and sign off each one.

• Asking how tough they are

  Questions like "Can you handle it back there?" screen out people unfairly and invite a disability claim. Name the tasks and the schedule, and ask everyone whether they can do them, with or without reasonable accommodation.

Dishwasher interview FAQ