How to hire a Fast Food Worker

How to hire a fast food worker, step by step

Here's a step-by-step fast food worker hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a fast food worker job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new fast food worker
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The fast food worker hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine Employee vs Contractor Status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A fast food worker's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, fast food workers from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list shows salaries for various types of fast food workers.

   Type Of Fast Food Worker	Description	Hourly Rate
   Fast Food Worker	Food and beverage serving and related workers perform a variety of customer service, food preparation, and cleaning duties in restaurants, cafeterias, and other eating and drinking establishments.	$5-24
   Crew Trainer	A crew trainer is responsible for training new staff with the overall tasks to ensure the success of daily operations. Crew trainers' duties include serving customers efficiently, assisting customers with their needs and special requests, facilitating the distribution of tasks, monitoring staff performance, managing orders, and adhering to the sanitation standards and safety procedures... Show More	$20-30
   Crew Member	Crew members assist in the overall daily operations of a business, including restaurants, hotels, resorts, and other industries needing a large workforce. Crew members' duties include attending on a customer's needs, processing payments, taking orders, and handling sanitation services... Show More	$10-17

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common Skills:

   • Food Handling
   • Basic Math
   • Drive-Thru
   • Safety Standards
   • Customer Service
   • Drink Orders
   • Food Preparation
   • Credit Card Machines
   • POS
   • Ice Cream
   • Customer Complaints
   • Food Service
   • Fast Food Restaurant
   • Front Line

   Check All Skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Operate ovens, deep fryers, grills, cash registers, and other appliances.
   • Operate large-volume cooking equipment such as grills, deep-fat fryers, conventional and microwave ovens.
   • Experience at POS, always give customer satisfaction and very persuasive with sales.
   • Landscape public parks utilizing a variety of heavy machinery including weed whackers, lawn mowers, leaf blowers, and trimmers.
   • Cook foods by baking, roasting, broiling, frying, steaming and grilling.
   • Brew coffee and tea, and fill containers with request beverages.

   More Fast Food Worker duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your fast food worker job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A fast food worker salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, fast food workers' average salary in georgia is 40% less than in new hampshire.
   • Seniority. Entry-level fast food workers earn 76% less than senior-level fast food workers.
   • Certifications. A fast food worker with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a fast food worker's salary.

   Average fast food worker salary

   $11.95hourly

   $24,860 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level fast food worker salary

   $12,000 yearly salary

   Updated March 29, 2025

   Average fast food worker salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. Salary	Hourly Rate
   1	New York	$32,633	$16
   2	Massachusetts	$31,795	$15
   3	Michigan	$30,728	$15
   4	Iowa	$26,957	$13
   5	Arizona	$26,186	$13
   6	Oregon	$25,524	$12
   7	Texas	$23,867	$11
   8	South Carolina	$23,067	$11
   9	Alabama	$22,826	$11
   10	Florida	$22,552	$11
   11	North Carolina	$22,486	$11
   12	Virginia	$22,391	$11
   13	Hawaii	$22,087	$11
   14	Illinois	$21,279	$10
   15	Georgia	$20,447	$10

   Average fast food worker salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Openings
   1	UC Merced	$47,573	$22.87
   2	University of California-Berkeley	$41,589	$19.99
   3	Wintergreen	$37,427	$17.99	2
   4	Chemung Arc	$36,266	$17.44
   5	University of California	$34,751	$16.71	13
   6	Compass Group USA	$30,218	$14.53	6,643
   7	University of Iowa Center for Advancement	$30,183	$14.51	43
   8	TPI	$29,965	$14.41
   9	Tufts University	$29,509	$14.19
   10	El Rio Community Health Center	$29,466	$14.17
   11	Legends Hospitality	$29,453	$14.16
   12	MSG Entertainment	$26,884	$12.93	1
   13	Bethany Village	$26,850	$12.91	1
   14	North Kansas City Hospital	$26,695	$12.83	1
   15	Legend Holdings	$26,562	$12.77	31
   16	Caliper Family of Companies	$26,047	$12.52
   17	Jonathan Club	$25,759	$12.38
   18	Papa Gino's	$25,710	$12.36	5
   19	PeopleReady	$25,634	$12.32	120
   20	PSEA	$25,471	$12.25	18

4. Writing a Fast Food Worker Job Description

   A good fast food worker job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a fast food worker job description:

   Fast Food Worker job description example

   Job DescriptionShake Shack
   HMSHost at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
   Terminal 3
   3400 East Sky Harbor Boulevard
   Phoenix, AZ 85034
   With a career at HMSHost, you really benefit! We Offer

   • Health, dental and vision insurance
   • Generous paid time off (vacation, flex or sick)
   • Holiday pay
   • Meal and Transportation Benefits
   • *401(k) retirement plan with company match or Pension
   • *Company paid life insurance
   • *Tuition reimbursement
   • Employee assistance program
   • Training and exciting career growth opportunities
   • Referral program – refer a friend and earn a bonus

   *Benefits may vary by position so ask your recruiter for details.

   Summary

   The Snack Bar Attendant is responsible for performing a variety of duties within a fast food / snack barestablishment which may include completing customer transactions, cleaning the food or stock areas, assistingin the kitchen area, and maintaining inventory; performing all other responsibilities as directed by the businessor as assigned by management. This is a non-exempt position and typically reports to the Store Manager.

   Essential Functions

   • Greets customers and takes food order; provides information about menus; looks for opportunity to “up-sell” products
   • Operates cash register and receives payment from customer in cash or credit card, accurately countsand provides change to customers as required, and follows all HMSHost customer service and cashhandling policies and procedures
   • Cleans and stocks work area
   • Assists in locating, reconciling, and verifying the accuracy of transactions and operate equipment withperipheral electronic data processing. Transfers supplies and equipment between storage and workareas by hand or cart
   • Assists with a variety of kitchen-related functions as needed
   • Receives inventory, moves and lifts food and beverage products and supplies; maintain a solidknowledge of product and services available in unit
   • Ensures proper food handling procedures are followed including wrapping, labeling, dating, stocking,storing, rotating and checking temperature of products
   • Cleans and sanitizes work station and equipment

   Minimum Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills, and Work Environment

   • Demonstrates the ability to interact with the public and coworkers in a friendly, enthusiastic andoutgoing manner
   • Requires the ability to bend, twist, and stand to perform normal job functions
   • Requires the ability to lift/push objects weighing over 40 lbs
   • Requires the ability to speak, read and comprehend instructions, short correspondence and policydocuments, as well as converse comfortably with customers
   • Cash handling and customer service experience preferred

   Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE) Minority/Female/Disabled/Veteran (M/F/D/V) Drug Free Workplace (DFW)

   Copy This Example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find fast food workers for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your fast food worker job on Zippia to find and recruit fast food worker candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit fast food workers, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new fast food worker

   Once you've selected the best fast food worker candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new fast food worker first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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