Barista Magazine

AUG-SEP 2017

Serving People Serving Coffee Since 2005

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BEST HIRING PRACTICES FROM A PRO BY LIZ DEAN ILLUSTRATION BY STEPHANIE FROMMLET WHEN I TOOK OVER AS DIRECTOR of retail for Irving Farm Coffee Roasters in New York, I became responsible for hiring for all seven of our cafés based in Manhattan. Hiring hadn't previously been under the director of retail's auspices; rather, it had been at each manager's discretion. The reason I assumed the task was in part because I quickly realized that the managers hadn't ever had formal training in how to hire for their cafés, which resulted in a lot of friends and family members coming on as employees (pro tip don't do this), and huge inconsistencies in both the quality and type of service being offered across our cafés. Prior to Irving Farm, I had worked in a number of roles where interview- ing and hiring were primary responsibilities. In fact, I have conducted inter- views for almost every job I've ever held in my adult life. While in college, I worked for the admissions offi ce as an interviewer of prospective students. Later, I became a phone interviewer for Teach for America, and then a man- ager of a dog-walking company where I hired new dog walkers. What's cool about having such varied experiences as an interviewer or hir- ing manager (and, to be fair, also as an interviewee) is that I've learned that in many ways, the job for which you're interviewing doesn't matter. The rules are almost always the same. Just about everything I can say on the topic of hiring boils down to the fact that it really should be an honest, transparent, two-way process. Companies, of course, want to fi nd candidates who are going to fi t in and who will perform the job that's being asked of them, who will contribute and add value, and hopefully stick around for a while. What's often not considered, however, is that candidates should have an equal chance to honestly assess for them- selves how well they'd fi t in with the company, which includes being able to understand not only what their responsibilities will be in their new role, but also the company culture, and how much they can expect to be compensated. 65 www.baristamagazine.com

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