I was notified that a new Chipotle was opening nearby, applied online, and received a phone call several days later, which I missed, but was able to Google the phone number to find out it was from a Chipotle in Manhattan. I called back and the person I talked to told me that they always have interviews on Mondays at 5, so to come in the following Monday. Several days after that, I received a call from the GM at the new location, asking me to come in for an interview at a different location, so I just had to verify and make sure I was going to the correct place, which was also in Manhattan.
Before going to the interview, a friend told me that she had interviewed with them before and that they tend to ask questions about your knowledge of the company, so I figured I should be prepared and looked over their website and learned a bit about their goals and values. I also had learned about the Fair Food Program recently, so I was able to use that to my advantage.
I arrived at the interview and was greeted by the GM, who shook my hand and introduced himself. He told me to sign in on a sheet of paper, and take a seat and wait. After maybe 5-10 minutes, we were instructed to move to a longer table, to fit everybody. After myself, the GM, and the other hiring person, there were 6 other applicants at the interview. The GM started off by asking about us, what we're doing currently in terms of work and down time, what we like to do for fun. I was surprised to hear that asked, but it definitely loosened everyone up and made me feel less nervous. After that, they asked more questions like 1) Why do you want to work for Chipotle? 2) What do you know about the company? 3) What's the last job you held and what were your favorite and least favorite things about it? 4) What about you should stand out and make us want to hire you?
I was the only person in the group to have any real knowledge of the company to pull out of my pocket, so I think that worked to my advantage. I was also the only person to have the second hiring person ask them any questions. He asked about my role at my last job, at a pizzeria, in terms of the pace of the restaurant, what my responsibilities were, etc. I was happy that he asked em some follow-up questions, because I felt like I impressed them to some degree. Everyone else gave pretty vague answers about wanting to work as a team, so I think that also helped me to stand out. After the Q&A was over, they let us ask any questions we had, and I tried to engage the GM and ask about when the new location would be opening. He told us that we should look out for emails about a second interview. Two days later, I received a phone call from the GM and was invited to a second interview, this time at a location that was closer to me. He told me that he's bringing in 56 people and hiring the top 30, so he wants me to do my homework, learn about the company's goals and everything, and just to be prepared.