By Mike Simpson
When you’re looking for a new position, getting a job at Wendy’s might seem like the perfect option. The company has been dealing with a fast food labor shortage for some time, so pay rates are rising, and opportunities are plentiful. Still, that doesn’t mean you won’t face competition, which is why you need to make sure you’re ready to tackle Wendy’s interview questions correctly.
Luckily, it isn’t too hard to set yourself up for success. With the right techniques and information by your side, you can shine. If you want to make sure that you’re ready, here’s what you need to know about Wendy’s interview questions.
How to Answer Wendy’s Interview Questions
Before we dive into our top 15 Wendy’s interview questions, it’s essential to spend a moment discussing your strategy.
First, it’s important to understand the type of worker Wendy’s wants to hire. Wendy’s has a vision statement and core values that give you some clues. Quality, honesty, wholesomeness, kindness, and respect are all vital to the company. Plus, it’s a team-oriented environment, and it’s often quite fast-paced.
Knowing that, you can make sure that your answers align with that vibe, increasing the odds that you’ll look like a stellar match. However, you also need to go further if you want to stand out when answering Wendy’s interview questions.
Ideally, you want to spend some time really drilling down into the job description. There, you’ll find a list of must-have skills and experience. Plus, you might see tidbits about the culture or traits they want to find, all of which you can use to craft standout answers.
Spending some time on the Wendy’s website is also a smart move. Along with allowing you to review the vision and values statements, you can explore the career page for more insights into the culture. Plus, it’s smart to familiarize yourself with the menu a bit, as you might get asked about it.
After that, head to social media and view Wendy’s profiles. You’ll see information about new menu items, tidbits about the culture, and details about recent achievements. That gives you more information that can help you create awesome answers.
Once you wrap up that research, it’s time to familiarize yourself with a few techniques that make creating outstanding answers easier. First, you’ll need to know how to deal with traditional interview questions.
Most traditional interview questions are straightforward, as the hiring manager is mainly asking whether you have a particular skill, trait, or experience. If you do, say, “Yes,” then follow up with an example from your past that shows it in action.
If you don’t, that’s okay. Admit you don’t have it yet, and then talk about your willingness to learn. Many people start at Wendy’s without any prior experience, but demonstrating some enthusiasm about acquiring new capabilities works in your favor, increasing the odds you’ll get hired.
For behavioral and situational Wendy’s interview questions, you’ll need a different technique. With those, you either need to describe an example from your past experience or outline how you’d approach a hypothetical scenario, so the answers are a bit more involved.
Thankfully, the same strategy works well in both cases. First, you’ll want to use the STAR Method to ensure your answer is thorough and has great flow. Next, you’ll take advantage of the Tailoring Method to make your answers as relevant as possible.
By bringing those two techniques together, you end up with compelling answers to the Wendy’s interview questions that touch on all of the right points. As a result, you’re far more likely to impress the hiring manager, increasing your odds of moving forward in the hiring process and, hopefully, securing a job offer.
Top 3 Wendy’s Interview Questions
Most candidates believe that practically every Wendy’s interview will be alike. However, that isn’t necessarily true.
In total, there are around 6,500 Wendy’s restaurants worldwide. Additionally, Wendy’s has corporate offices. As a result, the company actually hires a wide array of professionals, ranging from front-line crew members to marketing professionals to top-level managers.
During an interview, most of the questions are targeted to the role. That means hiring managers are mixing things up a bit. Why? Because the jobs require different skills.
As an example, a corporate account doesn’t need to know how to make the menu items to do their job. Similarly, asking crew members about balance sheets or net profits doesn’t make sense. Since that’s the case, the hiring managers ask different questions depending on the role you’re trying to land.
However, most people start their Wendy’s careers as crew members. These are the most common positions inside the restaurants themselves and are generally entry-level. As a result, opportunities are relatively plentiful, and you don’t always need prior fast food, restaurant, or customer service experience to qualify.
Since that’s the case, we’re going to focus on questions crew member candidates may need to answer. Here’s a look at the top three Wendy’s interview questions, along with sample answers.
1. Wendy’s is a team-oriented environment. What does teamwork mean to you?
Most fast food restaurants are highly team-oriented, and Wendy’s is no exception. With this question, the hiring manager wants to learn about your perspective, specifically what you think teamwork means in the context of a food service environment.
Technically, there’s no right or wrong answer. However, it’s usually best to focus on supporting your team members, remaining collaborative, and doing your part to ensure everyone succeeds.
SAMPLE ANSWER:
“In my opinion, teamwork means coming together and supporting one another to achieve a common goal. Whether that involves simply doing your part or stepping up when someone needs help, it’s all important in a team-oriented environment.
Solid communication is also an essential part of the equation. Along with making the environment collaborative, communication ensures everyone is fully informed about what’s occurring, allowing people to learn details or relay information to customers in an efficient manner.”
2. What do you hope to get out of your time at Wendy’s?
Here’s one of the Wendy’s interview questions that catches candidates off-guard. While it’s a bit unexpected in many cases, it’s also an easy enough question to answer.
Generally, you’ll want to discuss what you hope to learn or how you’d like to grow while working in the position. You can also tap into the benefits of the environment, particularly when it comes to working with a team.
SAMPLE ANSWER:
“What I’d like to get out of my time at Wendy’s is a chance to hone my customer service skills and work in a fast-paced environment with a capable team. I’m also interested in gaining experience when it comes to cooking, as I feel that’s incredibly valuable.
If given the opportunity, I would like to advance into higher-level positions, as well. I believe that Wendy’s could be a great place for a long-term career, so I’m interested in how far I could potentially go as I gain new skills, earn more experience, and otherwise provide additional value to the company.”
3. If a customer got their order from the drive-thru and then came inside claiming an item was missing, what would you do?
In fast food restaurants, things can go awry. As a result, it’s not uncommon for the occasional drive-thru customer to come into the restaurant saying that an item was missing from their order.
With this question, the hiring manager wants to know that you’ll use sound judgment and ensure customer satisfaction.
SAMPLE ANSWER:
“Generally speaking, if a customer came in after going through the drive-thru saying one of their items was missing, I would follow company policy regarding how to handle the situation. Likely, that would start with an apology for the inconvenience. Next, I would look up their order – if possible – to confirm the missing item should have been included.
If so, then I would move forward with getting an immediate replacement, suggesting that was within my capability to offer. If it isn’t, then I would speak to a manager, outlining the situation and requesting their input about how to proceed.”
12 More Wendy’s Interview Questions
Here are 12 more Wendy’s interview questions the manager may ask:
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- What’s your main reason for wanting to work at Wendy’s?
- Which restaurants are Wendy’s main competitors in this area, and how does Wendy’s set itself apart?
- Can you describe your previous fast food or customer service experience?
- What’s your availability? Along with the hours you can work, can you tell me if you are available on weekends or holidays?
- How would you deal with a rude customer?
- What do you know about Wendy’s?
- What’s your favorite menu item at Wendy’s?
- Do you have any cash-handling experience?
- Wendy’s often experiences a rush at lunch and dinner. What would you do to remain calm and focused when it gets busy?
- Do you have a current food handler’s card?
- Are you able to purchase any of the required uniform items, such as non-slip shoes?
- Tell me about a time when you were faced with an unhappy customer and were able to address the situation.
5 Good Questions to Ask at the End of a Wendy’s Interview
At the end of your Wendy’s interview, the hiring manager will typically give you an opportunity to ask a few questions of your own. This is an incredibly critical moment. By asking smart questions, you showcase your enthusiasm for the role. Plus, you can find out more about the job, company culture, and team.
During your interview, it’s always possible that some questions will come to mind. However, in case they don’t, you always want to prepare a handful in advance. With that in mind, here are five good questions to ask at the end of a Wendy’s interview:
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- Did anything surprise you when you first started working for Wendy’s?
- Can you describe the current team dynamic?
- What shifts are available, and how many hours will the new hire work?
- Are there opportunities for growth and advancement at Wendy’s?
- What do you enjoy most about working at this Wendy’s location specifically, and what do you enjoy least?
Putting It All Together
At this point, you should have a pretty solid idea of how to approach Wendy’s interview questions. Use all of the information above to your advantage, ensuring you craft (and practice) amazing answers that will catch the hiring manager’s attention. That way, you’ll be well on your way to landing a new job.
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Co-Founder and CEO of TheInterviewGuys.com. Mike is a job interview and career expert and the head writer at TheInterviewGuys.com.
His advice and insights have been shared and featured by publications such as Forbes, Entrepreneur, CNBC and more as well as educational institutions such as the University of Michigan, Penn State, Northeastern and others.
Learn more about The Interview Guys on our About Us page.