This guide outlines how to build an in-person hiring event for a new store or restaurant opening, also called a new store opening (NSO). This use case is for hourly mass hiring with 1:1 interviews between a candidate and a hiring manager.

You can run the event on a single day or across several days, including a week or two weeks. The way you build the event is the same. You change the start and end dates, then add interview sessions for each day.

This article is for:

• In-person hourly hiring for a new store or restaurant
• 1:1 candidate-to-hiring-manager interviews
• Roles such as cook, cashier, maintenance, cleaning crew, and drive-through clerk

This article is not for:

• Virtual-only hiring events
• Superday or sequential interview events
• Campus events
• Orientation events
• Professional or salaried hiring

Recommendations for a new store opening

Use this list as a checklist. The sections that follow show how to set each item up.

Event setup

• Make the event public. New store openings need the widest candidate reach.
• Use one hiring event for one day or several days. Set the start and end dates to cover the full hiring window. Create interview sessions per day on the schedule. Use a recurring event only if every day is an identical copy.
• Host the event at a sister location if the new store is still under construction. If the new store is ready, use that address as the venue instead.
• Select an event reporting category such as New Store Opening when it is available. Categories are optional and help you filter event performance in analytics.

Jobs and team

• Add every hourly role you are hiring for, even if a job is currently off. Off jobs can still advertise the roles. Candidates can register and apply only for jobs that are on. Turn jobs on before the event if you want candidates to apply in the registration conversation.
• Keep at least one job on if you add jobs. If every added job is off, candidates cannot start registration from the event landing page.
• You do not need interviewers on day one. Candidates can be scheduled without an assigned interviewer. Add hiring managers later if the new store management team is still being hired.

Schedule

• Create job-specific interview sessions when you know headcount by role. Example: a 15-minute Cook interview and a 30-minute Cashier interview. This makes it clear which role each candidate is interviewing for, how many slots you have per role, and which interviewer covers which role.
• Use one large interview session if you expect frequent last-minute changes to start time, duration, or location. That setup is easier to edit, but it is harder to see how many candidates are interviewing for each role.
• Prefer job-specific sessions for a multi-day or two-week event if you interview different roles on different days.

Registration and promotion

• Use a dedicated pre-event registration conversation with job selection and job screening questions so candidates apply to a specific role.
• Map each assigned job to that role’s interview sessions with a registration outcome that registers the candidate and schedules them for an event interview.
• Plan for walk-ins. Let guests text a pre-event keyword or phone number, or enable on-site registration.
• Write two different landing-page descriptions. The event landing page should sell the opening, pay, and benefits. The candidate schedule page should cover parking, what to bring, and what to expect.
• Advertise with the event landing page. Use the link in social posts, or put a QR code, keyword, or phone number on a sister-location flyer, including in the drive-through.
• Keep registration open through the event if you want walk-ins. Close at the event end date and time, not 24 hours before.
• Keep screening light for hourly roles. Screen for true disqualifiers only so you do not block the volume you need to staff a new store.
• Keep the event visible on your upcoming event site. Hiding the landing page also prevents candidates from being auto-scheduled.
• Save an event template if you open stores often. Reuse the conversation, outcomes pattern, and landing-page structure. Change the venue, dates, and jobs each time.

Watch-outs

Avoid these common setup issues before you advertise the event.

• All added jobs are off. Candidates cannot start registration from the event landing page.
• Outcomes are not mapped to the matching job sessions. A cook can be offered cashier interview times.
• The event is invitation-only by mistake. New store openings should be public.
• A recurring event is used instead of one multi-day event. Recurring is for identical copies, not a hiring window with different sessions by day or role.
• Session names are internal jargon. Candidates see the session name when they pick a time.
• The landing page is hidden on the upcoming event site. That also blocks auto-scheduling.
• Promotional copy is reused on the candidate schedule page. Registered candidates need parking, what to bring, and what to expect.
• Registration closes 24 hours before the event when the team still wants walk-ins.
• Interview slots do not cover the hiring goal. Count slots before you publish.

Example: Riverside Cafe Westside opening

This fictional example is used in the steps that follow.

Create the same session and outcome pattern for Cleaning Crew and Drive-through Clerk.

Before you start

Decide these items before you open Event Builder:

• Location. Use a sister store or restaurant if the new location is still under construction. Use the new store if construction is complete and you can host interviews there.
• Roles. List every hourly role you need to hire, such as cook, cashier, maintenance, cleaning crew, and drive-through clerk.
• Hiring window. One day, several days, or up to two weeks. Build one event either way.

What you need first

• A hiring event registration conversation
• The hourly jobs you want to hire for
• In-person scheduled interviews available on your account
• A event phone number or keyword, if you plan to use one on flyers or in the drive-through

Create the event

Follow the steps outlined here to create an event. Keep in the mind the following as you work through creating your event.

Event Overview: Relevant logic

• Use a recurring event only when every occurrence is an identical copy of the same event. For a new store opening with different interview sessions by day or by role, use one single event and build the schedule per day.
• You can add jobs, interviewers, and interview sessions after you save. That is common when the new store management team is still being hired.

Event Jobs: Relevant logic

• Add jobs even if some are currently off. Inactive jobs can still be advertised as roles on the event.
• Candidates can register and apply only for jobs that are turned on/active in the system. They cannot apply for an inactive job in the event registration conversation.
• If you add jobs, keep at least one job enabled. If every added job is turned off, candidates cannot start registration from the event landing page.
• Turn jobs on before the event starts if you want candidates to apply for those roles in the registration conversation.

Event Team: Relevant logic

• You can add an unlimited number of event team members.
• You do not need to know every interviewer when you create the event. Candidates can be scheduled without an interviewer assigned. For many new store openings, the management team is still being hired when the event is created. Add those interviewers after they are identified.

Event Schedule: Choose job-specific sessions or one large session

For most new store openings, you will create job-specific sessions, but the below table outlines when to use job-specific interview sessions as well as large interview sessions.