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What to Wear to A Starbucks Interview? #Interview Process #Sample Q&A

Recently, Starbucks has become the rage for all Millenials. They go there and chill, and have coffee. The aura in Starbucks is quite relaxing as many come to Starbucks to relax and boost up their caffeine. They try taking in more caffeine because of the excessive strain they had on their work. Starbucks has also been quite a rage as a job option. Because Starbucks is mostly a hangout spot for all Gen Zs and Millenials, you can chat and have a fun work experience.

So, Starbucks is based in Seattle, Washington and the coffee chain was started by three individuals Jerry Baldwin, Golden Bowker, and Zev Siegl. They opened their first shop in Pike Market, Seattle in the 70s. Now they have more than 20,000 stores all over the world, and their revenues are clocking at 22 billion (approximate) annually. So, you can imagine How much fun you will have working there. As the saying goes, not all glitters are gold. In the same manner, getting a position in Starbucks is extremely competitive. However, stay in this piece till the end to know more about tips to crack your Starbucks interview.

What to wear to Starbucks Interview?

 

What to Wear to a Starbucks Interview?

So, here is the thing: Starbucks requires a mix of both formal and casual. So, it will be completely your call, How well put you want to look for the interview. Make sure to first research the kind of positions Starbucks offers. If you want a barista requirements will be different. Let’s look at both these position requirements in terms of attire objectively.

Applying for a Barista Dress
  • Try to put on coloured trousers for both men and women.
  • You might not look good if you are too easy. You have to keep it casual, but remember this is a food establishment and cleanliness and finesse might be extremely required in the industry.
  • Tie your hair, do your nails, keep your hair short and wear a shirt with no creches.
Applying for a Managerial Position Dress
  • Starbucks offers a lot of managerial positions at a provincial/district level.
  • Try to wear formal clothes. If you are a guy a well put buttoned-down shirt/casual suit would look better coupled with long pants and a skirt for a woman.
  • Try to look structured and disciplined. Your appearance has to be top-notch if you yearn for the job.

What Shoes should I Wear to a Starbucks Interview?

For Starbucks, the main thing that matters is cleanliness as a leading chain that serves coffee around the world wants its employees to dress clean. In terms of shoes, as per the knowhow of the formal uniforms, it is appreciated if you wear black shoes. If you are part of a managerial position, try to include formal shoes. In case you are just a barista wear something casual but make sure it’s properly clean.

What Should a Girl Wear to a Starbucks Interview?

As far as I am concerned a girl should dress as per the demands of the position that she has applied for. For a managerial position, you will be expected to wear a proper well-ironed tailor shirt paired with a dark color skirt. You have to make sure that the skirt that you wear compliments your entire formal look. Just make sure that you do not show a lot of skin. As said, Starbucks can be relaxed but you can act lazy and sloppy. They want cleanliness and structure because organized coffee rooms are a testament to cleaner food.

Starbucks Interview Process

Starbucks interview process very well blends experience and your personality. Experience is usually the emphasis in the first two tiers. The first two tiers are generally known as the Selecting/Rejecting CV process, Phone Call Interview process and In-Person Interview process. Let’s look at all these levels objectively and place them in proper context and also discuss sequentially How you can prepare for all these processes without having a blowout.

Starbucks Interview Stages

Selecting/Rejecting CV
Supposedly you have sent your CV to Starbucks. The hiring team or rather the Human Resource team in Starbucks will assess all the applications and process the deserving ones to the next stage. How do you identify you are going to be selected? How do they choose a candidate? They will look at your CV and first look at your general knowledge and aptitude skills. This is generally done where your high school grades are put to test. They will try to look for a candidate with an average IQ for a barista or may try to look for someone with better grades for their managerial position. Let’s put these stages into proper context:

General Aptitude Assessment: A simple look at your grades in high school for a Barista, looking for more advanced grades if applied for a managerial position.

Work Experience: They will try to look at your CV and assess if you have worked in the industry. How much exposure have you had with the job? Is it a good experience? If possible, try to add some testimonials from previous work experience. That will play a positive role and a good overall stature of your CV.

Formatting of your CV: If you are applying for a managerial position, you will be put to test your sorting and framing skills. This is an essential part where you might have to deal with a lot of people and hence, you will have to organize all the aspects of your work-life systematically.

Phone Call Interview Process
You will be in a food industry business. You might have to take a few interviews and show your effective communication skills. In the telephonic interview, you will be judged based on your speaking skills. They will also try to judge your truthfulness and see if everything that you have written in your CV is true.
InPerson Interview Process
Now comes the time for judgment. They will try to ask you questions about your work experience and even ask you to perform some of the stuff as a Barista. For a managerial position, they will look after your management skills. How well you can manage a group of people and monitor their needs and aspirations.

Starbucks Interview Questions and Answers

The most important aspect of the interview will be your answers. They will put you to the test, and the best way to learn about Starbucks is to visit their official website and be prepared for all the questions that they can pose to you. Try to be very straightforward and forefront about some questions, if they ask you about your work experience, it’s better to say ‘no’ rather than to tell a lie. If you are asked to perform something and you can’t. It can be a huge embarrassment and it can be a situation where they ban you from applying for Starbuck interviews entirely. These sorts of scenarios can happen too.

List of Some Questions/Answers in Your Starbucks Interview

Tell us about you, and define yourself.

So, if questions like tell me about yourself comes up in the interview, try to keep it brief. Continue only when they engage with you about your personal information, living space and comfort living etc. The most amount of emphasis should be on How much work you have done for the role you have applied for.

What do you know about Starbucks?

So here, I would suggest keeping the answers brief and to the point. The most important thing shall be to find balance in your answer here. You put facts and What you see How Starbucks has contributed to society.

Here are some facts about Starbucks:

  • Starbucks started in Seattle in 1971.
  • They acquired many coffee companies since then, especially Seattle Best Coffee in 2003.
  • They also launched instant coffee for the first time in 2009.
  • They also have the Starbucks Reward Card which is only for frequent customers. You can avail things at a very nominal price and also get off on certain items.
  • They want to expand and they treat the service industry as an opportunity to nurture mankind.

Talk about your experiences with Starbucks

  • Talk about How to rejoice and be happy when they come to Starbucks.
  • Talk about your experiences when you came to Starbucks. How you bonded with people.
  • You can also mention How friendly the staff was. And how that motivation then pushed you to become a dutiful employee of the company.

Why do you want to work at Starbucks?

Now, this question might look easy to you but it can be tricky especially if you give a very generic answer. You have to play it smart here. What you have to say is How you have evolved as a person dreaming to be doing the job that you have always imagined. Once that is cleared, what you have to do now is to mention How Starbucks does things differently and How that caught your attention. How you saw the staff of Starbucks being helpful to people and that resonated with you something on similar lines.

Mention your strengths and weaknesses

For strengths try to look for strengths that will compliment your selection process. If you are applying for the District Manager position at Starbucks, make sure you mention your aptitude for managerial skills. It will be good if you can mention your work in the business departments of the customer service/food industry. Mention general attributes as well. On the weakness front, mention weaknesses as a person you are and How it affects your work life. Being specific works as well, try to pinpoint what attributes of yours create problems for you.

Why should the company hire you?

Here, you can use your assertiveness. And show why this job means so much to you? You have to state your reasons to do it and How it can help your profile in the long run? Make sure, to be honest here and mention all the things that mark your edge in the process. Do companies prefer people who are honest at least in terms of How experienced they are? Mention circumstances in your past year and How those experiences have shaped you into the person that you are?

If a customer is angry/sad, how will you deal with him/her?

Try to elaborate on this point in a rather subjective manner. Make sure that your answer has to keep ‘customer’ as the center of the attention and not you. Remember that you are part of the customer service industry and you will be required to state things in favor of them. Here is a list of things you can say:

  • Listen till the customer has completely vented out of their disappointment.
  • If the problem is something that you can contain/control, just connect them to the supervisor of that department.
  • Try not to make false promises, mention things that you will be able to do which can be done within the Starbucks setup.
  • Be patient with the person and make sure to help them realize that the establishment cares for them and wants their problem to be solved as quickly as possible.

What shall be your working schedule?

So, this is a trick question, since the question here focuses on your ability to customize yourself as per requirement. The straight answer shall be being flexible in your work.

How do I Prepare for a Starbucks Interview?

The preparation outline for your interview is fairly simple. All you need to do is go to their website and see what shall be the safety protocols. What are the essential services that they offer? What is the code of ethics they maintain? What color uniform does the Barista wear? For a managerial post, see What is the status of revenue affairs of Starbucks as a company.

What to Expect at a Starbucks Interview?

It’s better to prepare for every little possibility. You have to make sure you are completely ready to face the people who will recruit. What you can do is take a bottle of water and drink it before you go? Calm yourself down and practice a few of the work essentials that are mandatory for the workspace. Wear your confidence and this will surpass all expectations that are asked of you.

Final Say for Starbucks Interview Process

This piece tries to show aspiring Starbucks employees, How the scenario may look like when they are posed questions in an interview. Try to go through the piece and learn the tricks of the trade. But alas, best of luck, we hope you crack it.

About the author

Atish Ranjan

Hi there, I am Atish Ranjan! I have been into work and business for more than 11 years now; I have given and taken numerous interviews over the years.
Thus, I started TheInterview.top to share my knowledge & experience with you! Hope you enjoy reading here.

About the Author

Hi there, I am Atish Ranjan! I have been into work and business for more than 11 years now; I have given and taken numerous interviews over the years. Thus, I started TheInterview.top to share my knowledge & experience with you! Hope you enjoy reading here.