FORGET your usual stuffy job interview – one restaurant in Nottingham has found a more fun way to recruit its staff.
George's Fish and Chip Kitchen, due to open on Queen Street in September, drafted in theatre company Oddsocks to help it find bubbly, confident and approachable staff.
Yesterday, actors from the company put the candidates through their paces with a series of drama-based activities.
The restaurant's managing director, Andrew Constantinou, said the aim was to find the most appropriate staff for the jobs.
He said: "We decided to tailor-make our recruitment days so that we could find staff who fitted with our brand and our ethos.
"These different exercises will highlight who the leaders are, who the thinkers are, who the logical ones are and who the decision-makers are.
"In some cases, the tasks might identify people who perhaps hadn't thought of themselves in other roles."
Oddsocks' activities included tasks such as getting into groups of five which share a common similarity without speaking, as well as name games, presentations and performances.
The activities gave candidates the chance to express their personalities in a laid-back environment.
Kevin Kemp, actor and workshop facilitator with Oddsocks, said: "We were approached by the restaurant as they wanted to find energetic, maybe slightly eccentric and high-energy people to employ. We've manipulated the theatre audition process and we'll be playing some games which will hopefully bring out people's personalities.
"It's all about how they handle high-pressure situations and who can work together as a team."
A shortlist of candidates was invited to the recruitment day – but the activities were kept under wraps until they arrived.
Andy Packer, 25, of Ilkeston, was surprised to discover it wasn't a typical interview. He said: "I've been to interviews in the past, but never anything like this! It's definitely more relaxed, so in that respect it's great."
Ben Cosgrove, 19, of West Bridgford, added: "When I realised what the day would involve I was a bit nervous, but I've relaxed. I think this type of interview is better as it's really finding out what type of people we are."
