Learn How To Get Hired | Top 13 Chick-Fil-A Interview Questions And Answers
Do you have your eyes set on a job at fast-food chain Chick-fil-A? If so, knowing the common Chick-fil-A interview questions will help you be prepared and respond with confidence during the interview.
Because of its values and strong company culture, many people want to work at Chick-fil-A, so getting through the interview process is competitive. They are typically able to fill roles within a few weeks of posting new job openings.
Chick-fil-A job interviews may be stressful, and the competition with your future coworkers can be tricky. If you don’t prepare with the right interview tips, your chances of getting hired are much lower.
The questions listed below are typical of those asked during a Chick-fil-A interview for entry-level and intermediate roles. I have also put together some example responses and some additional pointers and tactics for you to ace the interview and get a job you’re proud of.
Let’s get this ball rolling and get you on that Chick-fil-A team!
What Is The Chick-fil-A Interview Process?
Before we dive into the questions, I want to give you a sense of the typical process. While it can vary a bit from location to location, the process tends to follow this basic path:
- You need to submit a job application. There seems to be equal success applying in person as applying online through sites like Indeed or Glassdoor on even on chick-fil-a.com.
- The next step is an email to schedule a phone or video interview. If they haven’t reached out to schedule this in 7-10 days, it might be worth following up.
- Finally, you’ll be asked to come to the store for an second interview in person. These are usually one-on-one though occasionally they hold small group interviews.
- In many cases, if this goes well, you’ll be hired on the spot. But don’t despair if this doesn’t happen, check out our follow up email templates for inspiration for checking back in.
Now let’s get into the Chick-fil-A interview questions you should expect.
Sample Chick-Fil-A Interview Questions And Answers
Why Do You Want To Work For Chick-fil-A?
This is one of the most common interview questions you can expect, so you must nail the answer to “why Chick-fil-A?”
You could answer this one by telling them how their values and mission resonate with your values. For example, Chick-fil-A emphasizes bringing the community together; you could say a few things about that too while drawing on your extracurricular activities like sports, clubs or volunteering.
Talk about how you want to represent them because you love their service and the food. On top of that, you must also mention that you want to work for a fast-growing fast-food restaurant.
If you’re a student looking for a job to fund your college, you could mention how having a job at Chick-fil-A will help you get the education you want.
Tell Us A Little About Yourself?
This is also a pretty common job interview question that you could be asked, so let it flow naturally.
This is how you should answer it:
- You could answer this by touching on the present, the past, and the future. Lightly talk about these three things when you’re asked to talk about yourself.
- Talk a little about what you currently do, along with some significant achievements that you’re proud of. For example, you’re a student who recently graduated high school and has had multiple accomplishments in your extracurricular activities. You talk a little about at time you went the extra mile and allow them to see who you are as a person.
- Then you could move onto an experience that you may have relevant to the position you’re applying for. For example, if you’re applying to become a kitchen staff member, you must mention how you work well under pressure and how you like to cook in your spare time.
- And lastly, you could brush up on why having this particular job can help you with personal and professional growth.
What Do You Know About Chick-fil-A?
You should consider doing a little homework before you show up for the interview.
Here’s what your answer should sound like:
You should touch on surface-level information like how Chick-fil-A is a restaurant founded by S. Truett Cathy specializing in chicken sandwiches and has over 2600 restaurants in 2021. It is operated as a franchise and unlike most fast-food restaurants, it is closed on Sundays across all locations.
This is a very basic question that you should 100% expect the hiring manager to ask. And its an easy one to shine on if you prepare in advance and show how much you know about the franchise.
Not only does this gives them an idea about how aware you are of their operations and function, it also shows them that you prepare and take your work seriously.
Finally, don’t get tripped up if the interviewer mentions CFA. Many people shorten Chick-fil-A this way.
How Do You Define Excellent Customer Service?
As a job seeker who is supposed to work a high-pressure job, you must have a strong sense of what customer service looks like. Naturally, the hiring manager would want to hear your point of view on this as Chick-fil-A takes hospitality very seriously.
Your response should sound something like this:
- Customer service is about going above and beyond to ensure that the customer leaves the restaurant fully satisfied. This means that their needs must be met, and they should be happy with the entire experience.
- You can then follow up highlighting the importance of being responsive and fast, especially when taking orders and interacting with customers.
How Could Your Skillset Be Used To Help Further Customer Experience?
Every person is born with a particular set of skills that are innate in nature. You could talk about those traits by highlighting your skills that best match the job description.
Answer:
Talk about the traits you’re most confident in; for example, you are a sociable person who happens to make friends easily. So, you could talk about that and how that specific trait has helped you through life and then link this trait to the job requirements.
So as a sociable person, it is easier for you to be friendly and responsive to customers who walk in since it comes naturally to you.
Highlighting how your work ethic and team player attitude will benefit customers is great here as well.
What Makes You A Good Fit For Our Team?
The right way to answer this question is to focus on the hiring manager’s qualities. You’ll get an idea after you go over the job descriptions.
The answer:
You should start by highlighting Chick-fil-A’s values and how your skills, qualities, and traits align with them. You should let them know that you are motivated to contribute to the business and provide great customer service. Even better if you have prior work experience you can connect to this.
Also, talk about how teamwork is essential and give them an instance where you worked with a team—and how it helped you achieve quicker results.
Finally, mention how you’re purpose-driven and that you are willing to put in the effort in helping the business achieve its goals, i.e., keeping the customer happy. This is a cornerstone to their company culture.
What Would You Say Is Your Greatest Strength?
Here you could mention some traits that can convince the hiring manager that you’re a purpose-driven individual willing to work in a high-stress environment.
When the interviewer asks, your answer should sound something like this:
Think of a trait that helped you during a difficult time or when you had to work your way out of a challenging situation. It could be anything. For example, you could talk about how flexible you are; it could be with timings, skillset, adaptability, anything! Just make sure you’ve identified a strength relevant to the job you’re applying for.
This will help the hiring manager understand what you are like and how you, as an individual, can be an asset to their franchise.
What Are Your Weaknesses?
It is important that you share your weaknesses with the interviewer to know what areas you’ll be working on once you join them.
You could say that your sociable personality makes it difficult for you to peel away from the customers once you start chatting with them, and that’s something you’d want to work on. Tell them how you’re learning to serve people efficiently without getting too chatty with them.
Let them know that you’re actively trying to work on your weakness. It’s okay for you to tell the hiring manager about the weaknesses. This should not cause you any stress or anxiety (since we’re all imperfect) – what they’re looking for is that you’re making an effort to overcome them and improve.
How Would You Describe Your Teamwork Skills?
This question is usually asked to determine whether the candidate being interviewed understands the importance of teamwork or not. It would be best if you let them know that you’re a good team player.
Your answer should sound something like this:
Mention how you work well in a team and give them an example of working with several people and achieving something through collective effort. It could be a project you worked on, a sports activity, or something that made you feel like you accomplished something.
Showcasing teamwork skills is important in any work environment, especially for a popular restaurant like Chick-fil-A. A typical day is always crowded with customers coming in and out of the joint.
How Well Do You Work In A Fast-Paced Environment?
Multitaskers and highly organized people are often the ones that thrive in fast-paced situations. Do not forget to bring along some examples of arranging your work and multitask when you need to attend to several customers.
So what should your answer sound like?
You should let them know that you can think on your feet, which is one of the reasons you work in a fast-paced working environment. You should go ahead and highlight relevant experiences here—it could be anything, a situation, action, a task, or maybe a result. Put extra emphasis on how well you performed in a fast-paced environment.
Your flexibility and versatility are important in these working environments because the hiring manager wants to know whether you’ll be available to juggle different tasks or not. What if one of the team members is not there or cannot perform that specific task that needs to be done as soon as possible.
How Would You Handle A Customer Who Tells You Their Order Is Wrong?
Errors occur, and mistakes happen, but what can you do in a situation where you’re required to calm down a furious customer or fix what’s already happened. Hiring managers want to know how you would handle a stressful situation where their order has been messed up because it’s likely to occur in a business.
Here is how you should answer this question:
You want the interviewer to understand that you’re a person who doesn’t avoid taking responsibility for their actions. So you must show them that you will not have a problem apologizing to the customer.
The first thing that should come out of your mouth in a situation like this is an apology; tell the customer you are sorry and apologize for the inconveniences caused by you. Second, you must immediately explain to your customer what happened; for example, if it was a staff error, let the customer know what the issue was.
This helps you be more transparent and honest. This is exactly what the hiring manager is looking for, someone who can connect with the customer to ease their frustration. After which, you must reassure them that it will not happen again. This will reduce the chances of them leaving the restaurant frustrated.
If We Ran Out Of A Product, How Would You Communicate This To A Customer?
It is not unusual for restaurants to run out of products or ingredients that customers frequently order. So the hiring manager obviously would want to know what you would do in a situation where you have to tell a customer that you no longer have a particular product.
This is what your answer should look like:
It would be best to mention how the first thing you would do in that situation is to listen to the customer. Ask them what they need and what they are looking for. If the product is not in stock, you must let them know immediately and offer an alternative. Ask them if they would like to have something similar to the product that they want.
This will comfort them and help them understand other options that you present them with. But, again, communication is critical in a situation like this, and you should let the hiring manager know that you’ll be handling the case pretty well.
What Would You Do If A Customer Was Shouting At You?
It can be pretty frustrating and nerve-wracking when things fly off the handle, and a customer starts to shout at you. This isn’t something the restaurant businesses are not familiar with; in fact, it happens quite a lot. Since that’s the case, hiring managers like to know whether the person they plan on hiring can handle the situation professionally or not.
Your answer should look something like this:
Let them know that you’re willing to stay calm no matter how difficult the situation may get for you. Then you could tell them that the first thing you’d do is try and calm them down by acknowledging their distress. Listening to your customer is the key here, and you’re going to make sure you’re making your customer feel heard and seen.
The two main things you must focus on are sympathy and apology. You’ll have to listen to your customer’s concerns, apologize, repeat those concerns to them and let them know you’ll try and sort them out.
Conclusion: Chick-fil-A Interview Questions
In the end, going into a job interview might be nerve-wracking. But lucky for you, we have provided you with a list of 13 most frequently asked Chick-fil-A interview questions that might help you ace the interview.
Take advantage of the questions and sample answers provided to you. This way, you can land a job in a popular franchise like Chick-fil-A, and you can finally fulfill your dream of working at Chick-fil-A.
Make sure to check out our article on fast food resume skills as well as our follow-up email templates to round your job application process.
And if a job at Chick-fil-A isn’t quite right for you, we have similar guides for McDonald’s, Starbucks, Tim Hortons & Target.
Good luck!