Waffle House Hiring Overview For 2023

Is Waffle House on the Ban the Box list?

Ban the Box encourages businesses to look at someone’s qualifications before looking into their background. Companies that “ban the box” remove the checkbox on applications that ask about criminal history.

The Fair Chance Business Pledge also encourages businesses to remove unnecessary barriers to employment. They promote giving second chances to those overlooked due to their criminal record.

Sadly, Waffle House does not officially participate in either of these programs. That said, their homepage mentions they follow equal opportunity employment practices.

Does Waffle House have special programs for hiring felons?

Waffle House does not have any special programs for hiring felons.

What are the odds someone with a felony will get hired?

We rate your chances of getting hired at Waffle House with a felony as high!

• No “criminal history” box on the application
• No background checks at any locations
• Lots of online evidence of former felons getting hired

What are some entry-level jobs?

Waffle House titles its jobs a little differently, so let’s take a look!

Salesperson: A salesperson is Waffle House’s version of a server. This is a tip-based position and Waffle House advertises its earning potential as higher than other restaurants.

Door Corps: This is a combination of a host/busser position. You seat customers and help keep the dining area clean when you aren’t doing that. A good place to start if you do not have as much work experience.

Grill Operator: This is your standard line cook job. If you have experience in it, Waffle House offers three different titles and pay scales to match your experience.

Tips to get hired here with a felony

To get started, head over to Waffle House’s job page and narrow down your search to jobs available in your area. Once you’ve found the best job for you, apply away and be confident.

While on the job page, make sure to look at important values the company has and use them to update your resume. You’ll use this to fill out the application, plus they’re useful when you get to the interview stage!

Since you’re applying online, a good way to distinguish yourself from the pack is to call the location you’ve applied at. If you apply online and haven’t heard anything in seven business days, consider calling the location for an update.

Even better, go in person during a slower time (after lunch, before dinner) and drop a copy of your resume off. If you’re up to it, ask to see a manager.

Be respectful and show you’re eager to get working. Doing that can help separate you from many people who apply online but don’t care as much. When showing up to the job, either to apply or interview, be sure to be presentable. Cover visible tattoos if possible and dress business casual to hammer home how serious you are.

If you land the interview, look again to the Waffle House job page for clues on how to conduct yourself.

There is a section titled “Who Are We” that gives some insight. They list out the traits Waffle House looks for in employees . To prepare for the interview, pick some of those traits that meet your personality. For example, two traits they list are “friendly” and “positive”. These are two traits very easy to show in the interview. Engage the interviewer with a warm smile. Make sure to put a positive spin on things you talk about. Do not complain or act negative.

To sell yourself, share examples of times you went above and behind. Why? Your great people skills would be perfect for Salesperson or Grill Operator positions. Also,if you’re a great independent worker who can organize well and work quickly, they’ll want you for a Door Corp position.

Restaurants are willing to teach people how to do the job, but you can’t teach a good attitude. Even if your skills are the best, they won’t hire you if they think you’re a bad apple.

If you can show you’re a great personality fit and are capable of doing the work, you should have a pretty good handle on how to get hired at Waffle House with a felony.

All signs point to Waffle House not doing background checks. However, it’s possible that some locations could apply a background check, so read further to know how that may affect you.

That said . . . we tested out one of their applications all the way through, and there were no questions about criminal history!

Here’s what you need to know about background checks:

Great news for former felons in the states listed below! The following states do not require background checks to report felonies more than seven years old:

• California
• Colorado*
• Kansas*
• Maryland*
• Massachusetts
• Montana
• Nevada
• New Hampshire*
• New York*
• Texas*
• Washington*

(* sometimes certain pay or salary bracket positions require one.)

Better than that, the states below do not require seeing convictions in which you were found not guilty:

• Alaska
• California
• Hawaii
• Indiana (limited check)
• Kentucky
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• New York

Sadly, the states listed below are pretty thorough with their background checks. They look at your entire record, including not guilty convictions and felonies from way back:

• Alabama
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• Connecticut
• DC
• Delaware
• Florida
• Idaho
• Indiana (extensive check)
• Iowa
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Nebraska
• New Jersey
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Oregon
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Utah
• Vermont
• Virginia
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming

Company ratings

Waffle House got a 3.3 out of 5 star rating on glassdoor.com, which is an average rating.

Employees liked that front-of-house employees get to leave work with cash every day. They also said they liked their co-workers and employees.

Other employees complained about difficulties in work-life balance and long hours because it’s a 24/7 restaurant.

A little over half of employees would recommend Waffle House to a friend.

What felonies Waffle House will not hire

There isn’t a specific charge that Waffle House will immediately turn you down for. However, our research showed there are charges that will make it harder to get the job.

What felony convictions might have a hard time getting hired here?

Violent crime felonies like robbery or assault could give you a harder time getting hired at Waffle House due to potential trust issues managers might have.

Property crimes could also pose problems. Restaurants have a lot of expensive equipment, so cynical managers might want to “protect their investments” by not hiring you.

A violation in liquor laws, such as sales to minors or drug trafficking crimes, could also be looked at unfavorably. In a fast food restaurant environment, there might be minors.

Additionally, the presence of minors could pose a problem if you have any felonies related to sexual assault on your record.

Does Waffle House hire sex offenders?

There’s a chance, but we don’t think it’s a very big one. We know they’ll be harsher about this kind of charge.

Does Waffle House drug test?

It does not look like Waffle House does pre-employment drug screening. Like always, however, we encourage sobriety. Restaurants that do not drug test for pre-employment can sometimes give reasonable suspicion or post-injury drug tests as well. Better to be safe than sorry.

Have you applied for a job or worked here? Share your experiences!

Has anyone been able to get a job at Waffle House with a felony? Tell us your stories, good or bad, in the comments!