When food costs you your job [General]

2016 Dec 25
Any good stories on this topic?

A friend was telling me the other day about a friend of his who did a job interview at a restaurant, and was told afterwards that she did not get the job because she put salt and pepper on her food without tasting it first. This showed that she could not think for herself is what she was told.

2016 Dec 27
A judgemental, micro managing boss . . . just what everyone wants !

2016 Dec 31
On the same topic but from the perspective of the employer, we for sure consider food to be an important part of the hiring process on our farm!

To give you some background, for us sharing a midday meal with those that work with us is a significant part of the day. We work hard long hours, so having a hearty, healthy, filling lunch is important, not to mention we get to have a rest and it’s a fun part of the day. It also means in the summer when the days start early and go late, people coming to work on the farm don’t have to try and figure out what to bring to eat each day.

Having a team member that is super picky about food makes lunchtime tricky. We once had someone on the farm that would only eat white bread, chicken breast, eggs, and no vegetables other than potatoes. It made cooking not only boring, but a real challenge depending on what we had on hand, and seeing the food we worked so hard to grow picked over and wasted each day was hard.

After that, our farm went to group style interviews where part of the interview day was sharing a meal. I could care less if someone adds salt or pepper to their food before tasting, but if their food preferences potentially limit our meals to less than half a dozen food items chances are they won’t get a call back from us. But thankfully, because now the people that apply have a much better idea of how important the mid day meal is for us, picky eaters don’t even apply!

2016 Dec 31
Interviews are a tricky subject because often people approach them as one would an academic exam. In reality, finding a great fit is much more subtle. Employment is very much a bidirectional relationship and the most successful hiring practises ensure compatibility in both directions.

In zym's story, I'd say the interview was successful. It indicated to his friend that the employer was probably not someone for whom she'd enjoy working. :)

2016 Dec 31
Agreed, Warby!

We found once we went to a casual group interview that included a meal as part of it, it completely changed things and made finding those that fit so much easier!

People that applied that were really fussy about food dropped out of the process before the interview. Those were people that would probably not have fit in here anyway.

Those that came, said it was the best interview they had ever had before, and they felt that they had a much better chance to not only let us know what they had to offer, but they also left with a very clear idea of what it would be like to work along side us.