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I spent a good part of last week interviewing prospective employees. One of my bread bakers wanted to drop two of his shifts, so I needed to find a replacement. Interviewing ranks pretty high on my list of least-favorite parts of my job, but there really isn't a way around it. I understand that larger co-ops have their own HR departments, and managers never see their new employee until they show up for training. I'd hate that--I want to meet my employees first, and make sure we won't instantly take a dislike to each other.
Another, more pressing issue is that unless HR had a person who had worked as a bread baker I'm not sure they would recognize what it took to be a good bread baker. Bread bakers are called upon to do a complex job at odd hours of the night without a manager or fellow bakery employees to fall back on, and not everyone can do that. All of my successful bread bakers have had a certain quality about them.... I don't have a name for it, which is odd considering how vital it is. After a few years of hiring and training I got pretty good at spotting it during an interview, and so after my interviewee leaves I'll frequently have a conversation with our assistant general manager that goes something like this: "So, how are they?" "Well, they'd make a good employee but not a good bread baker". More rarely I'll announce, "Definitely bread baker material."
Also, the most important thing about bread bakers is that they have to love bread. If the thought of leaving the bakery cooling racks filled with brown, gold, fluffy, dense, braided, round, pan loaves of bread at the end of your work shift doesn't make you excited then you don't have what it takes. You would think this was obvious, but apparently not. Over the years I've had lots of interviewees go on and on about how much they love the co-op and how much they want to work here and never say one word about bread. These people generally end up on my 'do not hire' list. If you do not love bread you will not care if you bake good bread, and if you do not care about the quality of your bread I don't want you in my bakery. I'm harsh that way.
Another, more pressing issue is that unless HR had a person who had worked as a bread baker I'm not sure they would recognize what it took to be a good bread baker. Bread bakers are called upon to do a complex job at odd hours of the night without a manager or fellow bakery employees to fall back on, and not everyone can do that. All of my successful bread bakers have had a certain quality about them.... I don't have a name for it, which is odd considering how vital it is. After a few years of hiring and training I got pretty good at spotting it during an interview, and so after my interviewee leaves I'll frequently have a conversation with our assistant general manager that goes something like this: "So, how are they?" "Well, they'd make a good employee but not a good bread baker". More rarely I'll announce, "Definitely bread baker material."
Also, the most important thing about bread bakers is that they have to love bread. If the thought of leaving the bakery cooling racks filled with brown, gold, fluffy, dense, braided, round, pan loaves of bread at the end of your work shift doesn't make you excited then you don't have what it takes. You would think this was obvious, but apparently not. Over the years I've had lots of interviewees go on and on about how much they love the co-op and how much they want to work here and never say one word about bread. These people generally end up on my 'do not hire' list. If you do not love bread you will not care if you bake good bread, and if you do not care about the quality of your bread I don't want you in my bakery. I'm harsh that way.
