Assistant Manager
$15 Per Hour
There are two kinds of people in this world: SONIC employees and those who wish they were SONIC employees. This elite group gets to work with awesome people, earn great pay, and sport the cool uniform.
Being an Assistant Manager at a SONIC Drive-In restaurant is the cherry on top of a Strawberry Banana Split Molten Cake Sundae. You’ll assist the drive-in restaurant’s General Manager in managing drive-in operations. You will also be involved in training and supporting other employees to ensure we provide quality food in a clean, safe and efficient manner. We want every guest to have an enjoyable dining experience every time they come to SONIC.
Basic job duties for the drive-in restaurant’s Assistant Manager include:
Manages, trains, monitors and coaches Team / Crew Members, Carhops and Skating Carhops
Directs and assigns drive-in restaurant employees as needed to ensure all aspects of food service meet operational standards
Adheres to and monitors employee compliance of the drive-in restaurant employee handbook, policies and practices
Performs restaurant opening and/or closing duties
Monitors and makes appropriate adjustments to staffing levels, inventory levels and food cost control
Completes weekly inventory as needed
Assists in administrative duties including maintaining files, records and all required documentation
Reinforces a customer service mentality and ensures all employees are focused on serving the customer at all times.
Immediately and respectfully responds to guest requests. Reports guest complaints to immediate supervisor and assists in resolving such complaints.
SONIC Drive-In Assistant Manager Requirements:
Ability to work irregular hours, nights, weekends and holidays
General knowledge and understanding of the restaurant industry or retail operations required
Minimum of six months of restaurant management experience (QSR) or one year entry level retail management experience required. Experience running shifts without supervision
Effective communication skills; basic math, reading and computer skills
Ability to follow directions and work with autonomy once given directions; ability to multi-task and successfully solve problems
Willingness to abide by the appearance, uniform and hygiene standards at SONIC
Additional SONIC Drive-In Assistant Manager Qualifications…
Friendly and smiling faces that enjoy providing courteous food service to our guests!
Professional individuals who value people and demonstrate respect for others!
A team player willing to meet and exceed drive-in goals and objectives.
Strong leadership skills with the ability to motivate and lead team members.
Dedicated individuals with a proven track record of building sales, creative marketing, expense management and developing people into successful teams.
Sure, classic cars and vintage threads may be things of the past, but the Sonic Drive-In experience will always be groovy, right on, awesome, wicked, fab, the bee’s knees, cruisin’ . . . you get the picture! It’s downright sensational!!
All that’s missing is you, so APPLY TODAY!
SONIC and its independent franchise owners are Equal Opportunity Employers.
• Must be available to work weekends
• Must be energetic
• Looking for part and full time in all positions
• Health Benefits for full time employees
• We offer flexible hours and schedules for all positions
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How to hire an assistant night manager
Assistant night manager hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring assistant night managers in the United States:
- The median cost to hire an assistant night manager is $1,633.
- It takes between 36 and 42 days to fill the average role in the US.
- HR departments typically allocate 15% of their budget towards recruitment efforts.
- Small businesses spend $1,105 per assistant night manager on training each year, while large companies spend $658.
- It takes approximately 12 weeks for a new employee to reach full productivity levels.
- There are a total of 20,182 assistant night managers in the US, and there are currently 172,151 job openings in this field.
- Los Angeles, CA, has the highest demand for assistant night managers, with 11 job openings.
How to hire an assistant night manager, step by step
Here's a step-by-step assistant night manager hiring guide:
- Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
- Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
- Step 3: Make a budget
- Step 4: Write an assistant night manager job description
- Step 5: Post your job
- Step 6: Interview candidates
- Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new assistant night manager
- Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist
Identify your hiring needs
The assistant night manager 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 statusIs the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?An assistant night manager's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, assistant night managers 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 presents assistant night manager salaries for various positions.
Type of Assistant Night Manager Description Hourly rate Assistant Night Manager Lodging managers ensure that guests on vacation or business travel have a pleasant experience at a hotel, motel, or other types of establishment with accommodations. They also ensure that the establishment is run efficiently and profitably. $13-22 Manager On Duty A manager on duty's role is to oversee operations in a store or a particular department, ensuring efficient workflow and workforce performance. They mainly evaluate and delegate tasks among employees, arrange schedules, set goals and budget, handle issues and concerns, and impose disciplinary actions... Show more $12-25 Co-Manager A co-manager's role is to supervise business operations and perform administrative tasks as support to a manager. One of the primary functions of a co-manager is to delegate tasks of team members and arrange schedules... Show more $16-57 Create an ideal candidate profile
Common skills:- Customer Service
- CPR
- Cleanliness
- Pallets
- Payroll
- Back Room
- Store Operations
- Night Audit
- Front Desk
- Bank Deposits
- Guest Service
- Computer System
- Quality Customer Service
- Customer Complaints
Responsibilities:- Manage shipment, damages, charge orders, transfers, markdowns, seasonal floor sets, RTV and store supplies.
- End of day deposits, computer work and end of week payroll.
- Prepare, maintain, and distribute statistical financial, accounting, auditing, or payroll reports and tables.
- Answer switchboard phones to effectively communicate answers to questions, correctly entering data for reservations and stating hotel policy.
- Complete all require training ServSafe certification.
Make a budget
Including a salary range in the assistant night manager job description is a good way to get more applicants. An assistant night manager salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.
For example, the average salary for an assistant night manager in Alabama may be lower than in California, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level assistant night manager. Additionally, an assistant night manager with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.
Average assistant night manager salary
$36,746yearly
$17.67 hourly rateEntry-level assistant night manager salary$28,000 yearly salaryUpdated December 8, 2025Average assistant night manager salary by state
Rank State Avg. salary Hourly rate 1 Utah $41,773 $20 2 California $41,433 $20 3 Wisconsin $40,269 $19 4 New York $40,216 $19 5 Colorado $39,825 $19 6 Connecticut $38,642 $19 7 North Carolina $38,216 $18 8 Ohio $37,247 $18 9 Minnesota $36,561 $18 10 Idaho $35,821 $17 11 Michigan $35,542 $17 12 Kentucky $34,631 $17 13 Iowa $33,488 $16 14 Arizona $33,402 $16 15 Tennessee $32,701 $16 16 Georgia $32,156 $15 17 Texas $31,309 $15 18 Florida $30,523 $15 Average assistant night manager salary by company
Rank Company Average salary Hourly rate Job openings 1 Abbott $49,217 $23.66 4 2 Alere $49,011 $23.56 3 Maxim Healthcare Group $41,070 $19.75 4 Price Chopper Supermarkets-Market 32 $37,617 $18.09 5 Goodwin Recruiting $37,353 $17.96 6 Hyatt Hotels $37,261 $17.91 32 7 P&S Surgical Hospital $37,072 $17.82 13 8 Manhattan Beer $36,840 $17.71 9 REI $36,318 $17.46 11 10 ABM Industries $36,129 $17.37 28 11 Hy-Vee $35,850 $17.24 72 12 Sharp HealthCare $35,557 $17.09 13 Kaiser Permanente $35,367 $17.00 7 14 LKQ $34,273 $16.48 1 15 Council Bluffs Community School District $33,337 $16.03 1 16 Trinity Health $32,823 $15.78 10 17 Atrium Health Floyd $32,725 $15.73 1 18 Sonic Drive-In $31,441 $15.12 1,109 19 Kneaders Bakery and Cafe $28,187 $13.55 7 20 Domino's Pizza $27,433 $13.19 4,980 Writing an assistant night manager job description
A job description for an assistant night manager role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's an assistant night manager job description:
Assistant night manager job description example
Post your job
To find the right assistant night manager for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:
- Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
- Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with assistant night managers they would recommend.
- Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit assistant night managers who meet your education requirements.
- Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.
- Post your assistant night manager job on Zippia to find and recruit assistant night manager candidates who meet your exact specifications.
- Use field-specific websites.
- Post a job on free websites.
Interview candidates
To successfully recruit assistant night managers, 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 to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.
The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.
Send a job offer and onboard your new assistant night manager
Once you've selected the best assistant night manager 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.
After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new assistant night manager. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.
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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How much does it cost to hire an assistant night manager?
Before you start to hire assistant night managers, it pays to consider both the one-off costs like recruitment, job promotion, and onboarding, as well as the ongoing costs of an employee's salary and benefits. While most companies that hire assistant night managers pay close attention to the initial cost of hiring, ongoing costs are much more significant in the long run.
You can expect to pay around $36,746 per year for an assistant night manager, as this is the median yearly salary nationally. This can vary depending on what state or city you're hiring in. If you're hiring for contract work or on a per-project basis, hourly rates for assistant night managers in the US typically range between $13 and $22 an hour.