The Top Three Qualities To Look For When Hiring A Craft Service Assistant

Got a huge craft service job coming up? Need to hire an assistant or two? Well there are certain “must-have qualities you should look for when hiring someone to help you. After all, it’s your name and reputation on the line. Why not be selective with whom you hire to represent you?

When I first started my craft service career I hired some folks that I probably wouldn’t hire today. Not because they are bad people but because they don’t possess the qualities I’ve come to expect from an assistant.

Here are the three must-have qualities I look for and you should too:

1. Strong Interest in Food Service
2. Customer Care Champion
3. Stamina

Strong Interest In Food Service

Whenever I place an ad for a craft service assistant, I inevitably gets lots of responses from people who have worked as production assistants, camera assistants or have provided snacks for their friend’s short film because they couldn’t afford to hire someone else.

While there’s nothing wrong with this you should look for applicants who have more food service experience than production experience. The reason being, production and camera assistants are more interested in making contacts who can further their production dreams than serving food.

you may also be interested in: 6 Tips for rocking your first craft service jobs

Customer Care Champion

Here is where hiring someone with food service experience, especially servers, really pays off. These people understand how important it is to go the extra mile to satisfy customers and will likely do the same for your cast and crew. 

Don’t be afraid to ask an applicant for an example of when they went above and beyond their duties to satisfy a customer request or issue and how they felt about it. After all, there will be many requests from cast and crew and it’s up to you and your assistant to make their wishes come true.

Stamina

Craft service jobs require lots of energy. The work days are long and physical. Your applicant must be able to withstand a 12 – 16 hour workday and be able to stand, bend, lift, and carry heavy equipment. Make sure you stress this to the applicants and watch their responses. Do they cringe, frown, or slouch? If so, this may not be the assistant for you.

Look for applicants with bright, enthusiastic personalities who understand customer service and show a genuine interest in craft services. When you find one or two people who fit the criteria, hire them and add them to your contacts. You don’t want to reinvent the wheel, so to speak, every time you need to hire a craft service assistant.

Lastly, taking the time to properly vet potential candidates can put your service a notch above your competitors who may not take the same care in hiring their assistants.

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