How to hire a food service manager

How to hire a food service manager, step by step

Here's a step-by-step food service manager hiring guide:

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

What does a food service manager do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a food service manager, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   A food service manager's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, food service 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 shows salaries for various types of food service managers.

   Type of Food Service Manager	Description	Hourly rate
   Food Service Manager	Food service managers are responsible for the daily operation of restaurants and other establishments that prepare and serve food and beverages. They direct staff to ensure that customers are satisfied with their dining experience, and they manage the business to ensure that it is profitable.	$13-31
   Shift Lead Manager	A shift lead manager is an employee who is responsible for supervising the daily activities of a store, particularly in creating schedules and assigning them to staff members. Shift lead managers are required to monitor the team's performance and manage the requests of employees... Show more	$12-21
   Banquet Manager	A banquet manager oversees the daily operations of banquet-hosting establishments, from planning to execution, ensuring events run smoothly and efficiently according to client requirements and preferences. They coordinate with the banquet director and head chef, working together to establish goals, guidelines, budgets, schedules, and strategies to meet the events' needs... Show more	$18-34

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Customer Service
   • Sanitation Standards
   • Cleanliness
   • Patients
   • Kitchen Equipment
   • Food Handling
   • Customer Satisfaction
   • Culinary
   • Employee Training
   • Cost Control
   • Employee Engagement
   • ServSafe
   • Food Service Operations
   • Inventory Management

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage all aspects of the human resources task, including hiring, training, payroll, and the negotiated contract.
   • Manage operations and provide support to a team of 245 union employees at various elementary, middle and high school cafeterias.
   • Manage inventory, ordering and delivery of groceries.
   • Train food & nutrition team in SERVSAFE, HACCP, knife skills and environmental safety.
   • Maintain all Intel, Aramark and ServSafe safety, sanitation and security guidelines.
   • Review and complete adequate weekly sales projections, with mastery of using POS system

   More food service manager duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, food service managers' average salary in kansas is 44% less than in rhode island.
   • Seniority. Entry-level food service managers earn 58% less than senior-level food service managers.
   • Certifications. A food service manager 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 food service manager's salary.

   Average food service manager salary

   $43,564yearly

   $20.94 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level food service manager salary

   $28,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 12, 2025

   Average food service manager salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New York	$56,354	$27
   2	New Jersey	$55,870	$27
   3	Nevada	$55,420	$27
   4	California	$54,193	$26
   5	District of Columbia	$49,166	$24
   6	Massachusetts	$48,770	$23
   7	Oregon	$46,892	$23
   8	Delaware	$46,802	$23
   9	Maine	$44,552	$21
   10	Pennsylvania	$44,221	$21
   11	Virginia	$44,016	$21
   12	Utah	$42,781	$21
   13	Colorado	$41,257	$20
   14	Mississippi	$40,858	$20
   15	Texas	$39,493	$19
   16	Illinois	$37,258	$18
   17	North Carolina	$36,564	$18
   18	Tennessee	$36,268	$17
   19	Florida	$36,227	$17
   20	Georgia	$34,536	$17

   Average food service manager salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Kern Community College District	$81,036	$38.96	4
   2	Cook Children's Medical Center	$67,518	$32.46	3
   3	Boston Public Schools	$67,087	$32.25	7
   4	American Bar Association	$61,191	$29.42
   5	Silver Diner	$58,920	$28.33
   6	Global Partners	$58,842	$28.29	19
   7	St. Jude Children's Research Hospital	$54,284	$26.10
   8	Massachusetts General Hospital	$53,944	$25.93
   9	Stanford University	$53,371	$25.66	8
   10	University of California	$51,389	$24.71	13
   11	Bering Straits	$50,713	$24.38
   12	St. Bernard Hospital	$50,230	$24.15
   13	Washington State University	$50,148	$24.11
   14	Kings Harbor	$50,092	$24.08
   15	University of California-Berkeley	$49,477	$23.79
   16	Ethica Health & Retirement Communities	$49,349	$23.73
   17	Columbia Property Trust	$48,645	$23.39
   18	Maxim Healthcare Group	$48,146	$23.15
   19	Petersen Health Care	$48,121	$23.14
   20	Bear Lakes Country Club	$47,977	$23.07

4. Writing a food service manager job description

   A food service manager 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 food service manager job description:

   Food service manager job description example

   Pilot Flying J is the 10th largest privately held company in North America with more than 28,000 team members. As the industry-leading network of travel centers, we have more than 950 retail and fueling locations in 44 states and six Canadian provinces. Our energy and logistics division is a top supplier of fuel, employing one of the largest tanker fleets and providing critical services to oil operations in our nation's busiest basins. Pilot Company supports a growing portfolio of brands with expertise in supply chain and retail operations, logistics and transportation, technology and digital innovation, construction, maintenance, human resources, finance, sales and marketing.
   
   Founded in 1958, we are proud to be family owned and consider our team members to be part of the family. Our founding values, people-first culture and commitment to giving back remains true to us today. Whether we are serving guests, a fellow team member, or a trucking company, we are dedicated fueling people and keeping North America moving.
   
   All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.
   
   Pilot Flying J is part of the Pilot Company family of brands that keeps North America's drivers moving, including E-Z Trip, Mr. Fuel, One9 Fuel Stop, Pride, StaMart and Xpress Fuel.
   Deli Shift Manager – Restaurant / Food Service Drive Your Future We are leaders in the retail and restaurant industries, allowing us to specialize in customer service and leadership development. It takes a lot to keep our units running smoothly. We serve a million customers a day in our locations and we need the most determined and innovative industry players on our team. Pilot Flying J is committed to making life better for Professional drivers. We have more than 650 retail locations and are the largest operator of travel centers and travel plazas in North America. With over 350 restaurants, we are one of the largest restaurant franchisees in America and proudly serve our customers 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. If you are customer-service driven and thrive in a fast-paced, high-energy environment, then you’ll love this opportunity. Position Summary Our Deli Shift Managers are responsible for supervising employees in the hot deli area and ensure Deli Team Members follow proper food preparation and food safety guidelines and standards. Deli Shift Managers consistently deliver and coach others to deliver fast service, friendly smiles and clean facilities to all of our customers.
   
   About This Opportunity · Provides customers with fast, friendly food and customer service in a clean environment. · Drives sales through appearance, maintenance and execution of the deli department. · Assists the Deli Manager by ensuring that food in the hot deli is fresh and the area is kept clean and well stocked. · Maintains the quality and appearance for all deli products and promotional signage. · Monitors deli supplies and kitchen equipment inventory.
   Basic Qualifications · Experience in a similar position, preferably with a restaurant, hospitality or food service background. Incredible customer service skills and the ability to help maintain a customer focused culture. Ability to maintain equipment according to food safety standards. Ability to work as part of a team and interact with different levels from hourly team members, customers, vendors and corporate representatives. Must be able to work a flexible schedule of nights, days, weekends and holidays. Benefits
   - Flexible Schedule - Flexible Spending Account - Weekly Pay - Tuition Reimbursement - Nation-wide Medical Plan/Dental/Vision - Adoption Assistance - 401(k) Pilot Flying J provides an extensive training program to help provide new hires with everything they need to succeed and thrive in our fast-paced environment Fuel Discount Nation-wide Medical Plan/Dental/Vision 401(k) Flexible Spending Accounts Adoption Assistance Tuition Reimbursement Flexible Schedule Weekly Pay
   By submitting your interest in this job, you agree to receive text notifications with additional steps to complete your job application. You will receive up to 6 messages from the number "63879". Message & data rates may apply. Please refer to our privacy policy for more information.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find food service managers for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any food service managers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level food service managers with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting food service managers 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 food service manager

   Once you've selected the best food service 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.

   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.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new food service 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.

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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