I was invited to an interview online fairly quickly after submitting my application. The interview itself was very easy, with all the typical questions expected of such a position, and the interviewer was very welcoming and friendly. However, they frustratingly could not answer any questions I had about the actual nature of the job, which was incredibly vague on the application website and had no differences with the ‘Bar Staff’ position, advising me that I ask whoever is in charge of my trial shift on the day. I was then invited to the in-person Trial Shift, or ‘Practical Interview’, in the next few days. When I arrived the manager briefly showed me around the venue, unfortunately missing out the kitchen (which was bafflingly showed to me by another trial worker), and the only practical element they showed me was how to switch on the dishwasher. The sole instruction I was given by them was to ‘have a walk around’ and as someone who has never worked in hospitality before and is completely unsure of what is actually expected of me in the role, I was thrown aback but did my best to be helpful on the floor while feeling completely useless. I tried asking one of the barmaids if there was anything else I could be doing to help but she stated that it wasn’t her problem because she doesn’t work there, which was totally bizarre to me. I felt thrown to the wolves compared to the other trial that was taking place, as they were assigned a bar tender to shadow for the day, who would show them things behind the bar and tell them tasks that needed doing. To top it all off, the trial shift was only supposed to last an hour and forty five minutes, however me and the other person doing the trial were kept over an hour beyond our decided time slot, until we had to locate and prompt the manager to have a word with us, completely unpaid. I believe if we hadn’t piped up we could have been there all night, and we almost didn’t because we hated to seem like we were itching to leave. I never heard back from the company after my trial shift, despite being told I’d hear back in the next few days whether I’d been successful, which is rather concerning as they appear to be extremely understaffed for the capacity of the venue. Yet I believe I dodged a bullet as they seemed to be completely unorganised. The bar staff looked miserable and overworked, expressing their displeasure aloud, and the management were standing around, getting in the way of mine and the other’s, who were working themselves to death, tasks, and loudly gossiping about other team members who ‘won’t last long’ — setting an awful first impression for any prospective employees. While I don’t believe that my experience with this, relatively new, branch is reflective of all Young’s establishments, their staffing needs some serious attention if they wish to stay afloat.

The interview process was simple and reasonably quick. The questions were mostly about customer service, teamwork, and handling pressure in a busy hospitality environment, and the overall difficulty felt moderate.