How to hire a dining room captain

How to hire a dining room captain, step by step

Here's a step-by-step dining room captain hiring guide:

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

Post a dining room captain job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the dining room captain you need to hire. Certain dining room captain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a dining room captain to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a dining room captain that fits the bill.

   This list shows salaries for various types of dining room captains.

   Type of Dining Room Captain	Description	Hourly rate
   Dining Room Captain	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.	$12-20
   Busser	Busser, also known as dining room attendants or bartender helpers, is an entry-level position in the restaurant and dining industry. The bussers help in preparing the dining areas before guests arrive and decorating tables with a set of candles, napkins, linens, flowers, or other ornaments, especially if with a special theme for the day, usually when it's a national celebration or holidays... Show more	$8-15
   Bus Person	A Bus Person performs a variety of support while maintaining an active communication line with staff. They typically clean and set tables, unload ingredient deliveries, re-stock tableware and linen, prepare condiments and beverages, and maintain side stations... Show more	$7-17

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Wine
   • In-Room
   • Fine Dining
   • Cleanliness
   • Room Service
   • Food Service
   • Private Dining
   • Allergies
   • Meal Service
   • AAA
   • Upselling
   • Food Preparation
   • Customer Complaints
   • New Servers

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage inventory and payroll accounting.
   • Interact with patrons; present menu, advise on food preparation and recommendations, and consult on wine selections and pairing.
   • Fill in as acting wine steward when need, to help guest with knowledge and navigation of the wine list.
   • Maintain effective communication and leadership with production and service staff in quality food production environment.
   • Exceed expectations, exceptional organizational and bartending skills.
   • Monitor incoming calls on a high-volume, multi-line phone using proper telephone etiquette at all times.

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, dining room captains' average salary in mississippi is 55% less than in hawaii.
   • Seniority. Entry-level dining room captains earn 38% less than senior-level dining room captains.
   • Certifications. A dining room captain 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 dining room captain's salary.

   Average dining room captain salary

   $16.29hourly

   $33,889 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level dining room captain salary

   $26,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 31, 2026

4. Writing a dining room captain job description

   A dining room captain job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a dining room captain job description:

   Dining room captain job description example

   The In Room Dining Captain will manage the daily operations of room service while maintaining a high level of guest satisfaction. Keep in daily communication with room service manager through department tools.
   Essential Functions of the Job
   • Enforce and comply with all policies and procedures of the Food and Beverage Department, The Little Nell and The Aspen Skiing Company
   • Control Labor costs: Monitor ProfitSword and adjust staffing levels appropriately
   • Responsible for the safety and proper handling of staff and equipment
   • Supervise staff in their work, whilst maintaining high performance levels
   • Oversee table set-up, side duties and delivery times
   • Supervise the care of equipment; minimize waste, breakage and misuse
   • Take monthly inventories, recommend purchases to manager and ensure the accuracy of requisitions
   • Know all current IRD menus and food descriptions
   • Familiar with all current E47 and Ajax Tavern Menus
   • Well versed in all wine by the glass offerings
   • Communicate with both IRD and Culinary staff regularly. Seek out staff opinion for improving operations
   • Train all new hires to five star standards
   • Ensure room service area is clean and maintained. Keep back of the house clean and organized
   • Maintain a high level of guest satisfaction. Make immediate corrective action when a guest's needs are not met
   • Maintain professional appearance and conduct at all times. Ensure staff appearance and conduct is impeccable
   • Supervise the Mini Bar program: reduce wastage and suggest new products
   • Supervise the creation and delivery of interesting and attractive guest amenities
   • Demonstrate knowledge of safety and fire procedures
   • Assist in emergency and security procedures as directed by management and the established emergency plan
   • Enforce Local liquor and sanitation ordinances
   
   Additional Job Duties
   • Report to work in a neatly groomed and acceptable manner as outlined in the employee handbook and departmental rules
   • Report to shift on time
   • Complete tasks and projects delegated by your supervisor
   • Assist other departments as business volumes and staff levels demand

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right dining room captain for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your dining room captain job on Zippia to find and recruit dining room captain candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit dining room captains, 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 dining room captain

   Once you've found the dining room captain candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   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 dining room captain. 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.

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.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire a dining room captain?