Many people open restaurants based on their big dreams for sharing their food or their concept with others as well as to turn out a large profit. But as many as 60% of new restaurants that open up fail within the first year and a whopping 80% tank in less than five years, according to Business Insider.For your best chance at success, you need to hire a restaurant manager who is capable of running the show. He or she should be able to manage the restaurant and staff so that it runs like a well-oiled machine. Finding the right manager for the job can be tricky, so follow this advice for ensuring you choose the right candidate to manage your restaurant.

1. Search Hospitality WebsitesFor a restaurant you need more than someone with management experience. You need someone with restaurant management experience. Someone who knows how to endure life in the hospitality market. So start looking for candidates in that area on hospitality websites. Recruitment companies that specialize in hiring for the hospitality industry are also great to work with. The experienced companies know to dig in to the details of what you are looking for while understanding what may be available in the marketplace.
2. Ensure you Interview a Large Pool of CandidatesEven if you truly find the first candidate to be what you’re looking for, don’t cancel the other interviews you’ve scheduled. You might find someone even more qualified or find someone else’s background to make them a better fit for the position. Remember, this person will be running your business on a daily basis so it is critical you choose the one that can do it the best.
3. Leadership SkillsStarting with fully understanding the level of manager that you need, the recruiter draws on one of two directions – to bring someone in with leadership experience from past employers OR a candidate who will be taught leadership skills from your involvement, your operation and the way that you would like them to lead your team. Styles of leadership differ greatly in this business – most important is what you need at your restaurant and for your staff.

4. Check up on Those ReferencesIt’s common in the restaurant business for people to pad up their resumes.So make sure to check out every reference of every potential restaurant manager you interview. You really need to make sure you hire someone who has the real experience needed for running your restaurant or this will all be a waste of resources when you find you need to restart the hiring process from scratch.

5. Ask a lot of QuestionsTo determine the best candidate for your restaurant manager position, ask as many questions as possible for each candidate you interview. How will you help my restaurant run well? How will you manage my staff? It’s all about how the candidate dealt with issues in their past. How do they handle restaurant problems, “people” problems and even profit problems? Make a list of questions like this, leaving space between to jot down your notes so you can reference them later when you need to decide on which candidate to hire.
6. Review QualificationsDid your candidate get a degree or even a masters in hospitality management? Certificates and qualifications also make the man or woman you choose to hire for the role of your restaurant manager. What you learn by the candidate achieving a degree is that they “know how to learn”. This can be very important to the growth of your business and your bottom line. Make sure you find someone whose credentials sync up with your business.

By taking care when going through the hiring process, you’ll be much more likely to find that person who will really fit into your restaurant as the manager. This person should be an extension of you with shared ideas about the success of the restaurant so be thorough and honest in what you want in order to find the perfect one for you.