The barista job interview

Three Things You Should Bring With You To Your Barista Job Interview

Do you want to be a barista? If so, you’re heading into a worthwhile career in coffee. And your barista job interview is only the first step to a potentially wonderful job. If you have little or no barista experience, you should consider enrolling in a barista training course. (Enrolling in our Barista Training Academy online course would be an option.)

Online barista training can land you a job pretty much anywhere. Why? Because people love coffee everywhere!

Recent industry research by Harvard University details that the retail coffee industry is exploding across the country – and around the world. A few years ago, the chances of becoming a barista in American cities other than Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, and New York were slim. That has completely changed!

Today, coffee shops are growing and becoming ubiquitous (you can now enjoy a great espresso in Cleveland, Ohio, Lincoln, Nebraska, and Bend, Oregon). So for sure, there are more and more opportunities for barista employment and a real need for barista training.

If you have even a minimal amount of barista training, a genuine passion for coffee, and a great personality, your chances of being hired as a barista are really good.

Looking for Personalable Baristas

Assuming that you’ve searched for a barista position and applied, the chances are you will get called back. Coffee shop owners are looking for personable, intelligent, reliable, and honest baristas. Having experience as a barista is often second or third in line when it comes to the items I just mentioned. While you may not have barista experience, we do recommend that you get minimal training to help you catch up on the skills and knowledge you need to be effective, safe, and satisfied with your job.

If you have secured a barista job interview at a local coffee shop, congratulations! In this post, we're going to talk about three things you will want to bring with you to your interview.

 

 

As you may know, the barista interview is an important element of getting hired. You need to make your time with the hiring manager or coffee shop owner count. Therefore, you want to make sure that you bring everything with you.  Coffee shop owners want to hire amazing baristas. However, they are also often in a time crunch.

If you want to make the most of your barista interview, be on time, and bring a copy of your resume! Additionally, three things will help you stand out from the field of barista job candidates. Let's talk about them now.

So, what should you bring to your barista job interview?

1. Food Handler’s Card

The chances are that your county or city health department will require a food handler’s card for everyone working in the food industry. This card means that you passed a basic exam displaying your knowledge of the proper way to handle food, beverages, perishable food items, and understand basic hygiene.

But what if you don’t handle any food in your barista position? Well, the chances are that your café or coffee shop will serve at least some baked goods, sandwiches, yogurt, cookies, biscotti, pastries, cakes, muffins, fruit, soups, and much more. A food handler's card is intended to prevent food-borne illnesses.

Still, even if your coffeehouse doesn’t serve any food, your knowledge and possession of a food handler’s card will make you stand out among other barista candidates.

As I mentioned, many municipalities and county governments require food service workers to have basic food preparation and storage knowledge.

So is a food handler’s card required in your city? Your local health agency will most likely require some food handling card to work with food or drinks. Do a little research: Do a quick internet search for “state” or “county” programs and food handling preparation certificates or cards.

Usually, the cost of the county-sanctioned food handling course and exam costs $10 to $35. For example, King County in Seattle currently offers the course and exam for $10. It's easy, affordable, and important.

Being Prepared to Work in Food

Let’s say you are the manager of a café. You have three great barista candidates – but only one of them has a “food handler’s” card that can save you from potential disaster in the future. Which one would you choose?

The answer: The person with the food handler’s card. This demonstrates this barista job candidate is serious about working in the retail coffee and has the basic knowledge to keep my customers safe from food-borne illnesses.

2. Cleanliness

You will probably want to dress appropriately for your barista job interview. But, whatever it is you decide, remember to dress neatly. Clean and trim your fingernails. Men, trim your beards. Pull your hair back. Don’t wear too much cologne or perfume.

Being clean, neat, and put together nicely can go a long way to giving a positive impression. Remember, you coffee shop owner or manager understand that you will be the face of their business. Also, if you have never worked in coffee before, cologne or perfume is frowned upon that is because it impacts the taste of the coffee. As a barista you are constantly smelling and tasting espresso shots, smells can often negatively impact your ability to deliver the perfect espresso shot.

3. Bring a Great Attitude

You may have spent an hour looking for parking, you may have noticed your dog chewed your favorite shoes just as you head out the door, and you may have received an annoying phone call from an ex-girlfriend. Leave all that at the door! Don't bring your problems or private concerns to work – and especially to the barista job interview!

When you interview – you are not there so that the café owner can solve your problems. It's really the opposite. You are there to help solve the coffee shop owner’s problems.

Go to your job interview with a genuine winning attitude. Be sincere. Be respectful. And be yourself. The worst thing you can do is try to “wing” another personality that’s not your own.

What if you don’t have a great attitude or like to chat with strangers? Then, you probably need to apply for a different type of job. A huge part of being a barista is being social. Being social is often the core of the job.

Successful baristas are passionate, care about their customers, and always display a great attitude. It's okay to be a person who does not like to chat or make small talk. Conversations and chatty people often surround baristas. This is part of the job that you might want to consider before you start working as a barista.

 

What about barista training?

If you don’t have any barista training but show up with these three things mentioned in the article, the chances are still excellent that you’ll be hired as a barista.

Does barista training help? Yes. You want to be sure that you have the basic knowledge of coffee, espresso, and serving coffee. Barista training (an online course or a book you read on coffee) will help to increase your employment chances and give you the confidence you need to be successful.

If you are interested in getting a job as a barista, you want to be sure to check out our barista training guide.

Brought to you by Barista Training Academy, “The Beginning Barista,” Your Ultimate Prep Guide to Getting Your First Job as a Barista” is an ultimate resource available online and affordable for anybody looking to start a career in the coffee industry. For more information, visit our blog.