How to hire a fast food cashier

How to hire a fast food cashier, step by step

Here's a step-by-step fast food cashier 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 cashier job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new fast food cashier
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The fast food cashier 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

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a fast food cashier 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 fast food cashier that fits the bill.

   Here's a comparison of fast food cashier salaries for various roles:

   Type of Fast Food Cashier	Description	Hourly rate
   Fast Food Cashier	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.	$12-18
   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
   Crew Person	A crew member is responsible for performing various support tasks in accordance with project or workplace guidelines. Although a crew member's duties vary depending on the industry or company they work for, their responsibilities often include following manager directives, completing physical tasks, keeping records, engaging with clients, and producing progress reports as necessary... Show more	$10-17

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Cash Handling
   • Basic Math
   • Math
   • Customer Service
   • POS
   • Cleanliness
   • Customer Satisfaction
   • Food Service
   • Cash Drawers
   • Credit Card Transactions
   • Safety Standards
   • Groceries
   • Food Products
   • Drink Orders

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Insure the cleanliness of the food line and the restaurant front line area to include the lobby and entry way.
   • Cook, clean, take orders on the cash register and drive-thru, handle monetary transactions and provide customer service.
   • Work with accuracy and quick math skills.
   • Used math and language skills daily at cash register
   • Prepare food in accordance with Wendy's corporate guidelines.
   • Collect monies due or apply charges to credit card or guest account using POS terminal.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your fast food cashier job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A fast food cashier can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, fast food cashiers' average salary in louisiana is 36% less than in new hampshire.
   • Seniority. Entry-level fast food cashiers 33% less than senior-level fast food cashiers.
   • Certifications. A fast food cashier with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a fast food cashier's salary.

   Average fast food cashier salary

   $15.34hourly

   $31,913 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level fast food cashier salary

   $26,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 13, 2025

4. Writing a fast food cashier job description

   A job description for a fast food cashier 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 a fast food cashier job description:

   Fast food cashier job description example

   Providing superior customer service, the cashier/clerk processes customer orders in an efficient, accurate, safe and courteous manner and stocks general department shelves, including grocery, non-foods, HBC, frozen food, liquor, dairy and frozen shelves, refrigerated merchandisers and displays.
   Job Responsibilities
   
   * Maintaining a positive and friendly attitude towards customers and fellow team members.
   * Engaging with customers through smiles and greetings, offering product information, providing selling suggestions and always giving a genuine thank you.
   * Focusing on providing fast and friendly customer service.
   * Accurately processing cash register transactions, inputting product costs, giving back change, processing checks, debit and credit cards, EBTs, WIC checks, refunds, product coupons and gift certificates.
   * Understanding the importance of and monitoring product pricing, signage, and placement and the use of product shelf tags and accompanying UPC codes.
   * Keeping clean, neat, and orderly check stands and work areas.
   * Ordering and stocking general department (grocery, dairy, frozen food, liquor, HBC and non-foods) products, rotating them as necessary to ensure quality and safety.
   * Helping maintain merchandise displays, including end-caps, floor displays and aisle displays.
   * Bags or packages customer purchases according to established company policies and procedures; properly bag groceries using proper weight distribution, product type for a total weight of 7 to 15 lbs. per bag (6 to 8 items) to optimize bag capacity and reduce environmental waste.
   * Greets all customers and provide them with prompt and courteous service, assistance, and finalize the transaction by handing the customer their receipt, thanking them and asking if they need any further assistance.
   
   Performs other duties as needed or assigned by management. Must be at least 18-years old.
   
   Nothing in this job description restricts management's right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time. This description reflects management's assignment of essential functions; it does not proscribe or restrict the tasks that may be assigned. This job description is subject to change at any time
   
   Employer provides reasonable accommodations to a qualified employee that does not impose an undue hardship on the employer.
   
   Job Qualification
   
   * With both customers and team members, remain helpful, tactful and courteous at all times.
   * Work quickly and efficiently, sometimes with little direction, to accomplish assigned duties.
   * Add, subtract, divide, multiply and perform other basic business math calculations.
   * Learn to use check stand register, scales, scanners and debit/credit terminals.
   * Learn to use UPC codes, store signage, and pertinent company policies and learn and memorize produce codes, plu and rdm codes, product department assignments and locations.
   * Read UPC codes, product labels, checks, shelf signage, register forms, and posted company policies/procedures.
   * Memorize locations of products sold within the store.
   * Be dexterous enough with hands and fingers so as to be able to use necessary equipment.
   * Openly and professionally communicate through body language, facial expressions and speech.
   * Listen to and understand verbal and non-verbal communication of customers and fellow members.
   * Stand for long periods of time, bend and twist, and frequently lift and/or maneuver merchandise and supplies.
   * As a cashier lift up to 30 lbs. and maneuver 50 lbs. and as a clerk lift 50 lbs. and maneuver 100 lbs.
   * Work in walk-in coolers and/or freezers.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find fast food cashiers 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 cashier job on Zippia to find and recruit fast food cashier candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting fast food cashiers requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates 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.

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

   Once you have selected a candidate for the fast food cashier position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is 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.)

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