Free tools · hiring
Choose the job and what you want to understand about the person. You get a short set of interview questions, with follow-up questions and what to listen for in the answer. Every question asks about something that really happened, because real examples tell you much more than "what would you do if…" questions.
The question builder
Nothing is saved or sent anywhere. This tool does not score people or tell you who to hire. It helps you ask better questions, and the decision stays with you.
Tip: if the person is new to work, tell them any example is fine: school, college, sport, volunteering or family life.
6 questions for: Server or waiter
Looking after guests
Follow-up questions:
Listen for: Trying to understand what the guest wanted. Staying polite. How they talk about the guest now: some frustration is normal, but not disrespect.
Looking after guests
Follow-up questions:
Listen for: Noticing small things about people. Doing it because they wanted to, not because they were told to.
Working in a team
Follow-up questions:
Listen for: Staying calm and polite with the kitchen. Trying to fix the problem, not win the argument.
Working in a team
Follow-up questions:
Listen for: Noticing other people. A small, real example is better than a big story. Helping without being asked.
Staying calm when it's busy
Follow-up questions:
Listen for: Making clear choices about what matters most. Asking for help early. Keeping guests informed.
Staying calm when it's busy
Follow-up questions:
Listen for: A clear order of priorities. Staying calm and polite with colleagues when things are hard.
WHY HATS
A CV tells you where someone has worked. It does not tell you how they treat guests, or what they do when a shift goes wrong. WHY HATS is our hiring platform, built to help hospitality businesses understand people, not just CVs.
Find out about WHY HATSBefore you use these
01
This tool does not score answers or tell you who to hire. Listen to the full answer, take notes, and compare people against the same few things. The decision is yours, and it should be based on the whole interview.
02
Under the Equality Act 2010, do not ask about age, disability, race, religion, pregnancy, marriage, sex or sexual orientation. Do not ask about health or sickness before you offer the job, except to ask if they need any changes for the interview itself.
03
If someone has never worked in hospitality, let them answer from school, college, volunteering, sport or family life. How someone helped a teammate or handled a problem matters more than where it happened.
Questions
Hiring well is the cheapest way to keep good staff. Every hire who stays is a hire you do not have to make again.
Good questions ask about real things the person has done, not what they would do. For example: "Tell me about a guest you found difficult. What happened?" Then ask follow-up questions. Real examples show you how someone actually behaves at work, which matters more than experience on a CV.
A behavioural question asks someone to describe a real situation from their past, usually starting with "Tell me about a time…". The idea is simple: how someone acted before is a good guide to how they will act again. It is harder to give a practised answer to this kind of question.
Usually four to six main questions is enough for a 20 to 30 minute interview, with follow-ups for each. It is better to ask fewer questions and go deeper into each answer than to rush through a long list. Ask every candidate for the same job the same main questions.
Do not ask about age, disability, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, plans to have children, or marriage. These are protected under the Equality Act 2010. Avoid health questions before offering the job. You must check that everyone you hire has the right to work in the UK, but do it the same way for everyone.
That is fine. Most questions here work with examples from anywhere: school, college, sport, volunteering or looking after family. Tell the person before you start that any example is welcome. Many of the best hospitality workers started with no experience at all.
WHY Hospitality