How to find staff for your café or restaurant in Thailand

Short answer: write a short job ad that answers the first questions (role, hours, pay and place), post it where people near you look for work, screen with two or three questions, meet the best candidates within a few days, and put what you agreed in writing. The steps below take you through it.

1. Decide exactly who you need

Before you write anything, answer four questions. Which role: barista, server, cook, kitchen helper or cashier? Which days and hours: full-time, part-time or only weekends? What must they already know, and what can you teach in the first week? And which languages do your guests speak: Thai only, or English as well?

The answers become your job ad, and they save you from interviewing people who were never going to fit.

2. Write a job ad that answers the first questions

Most applicants decide in seconds. A good café or restaurant job ad says:

• The role, in the words people search for: barista, waiter or waitress, cook, kitchen helper.
• Where: the area, and the nearest BTS or MRT station or landmark if that helps.
• When: the days and hours, and whether shifts change from week to week.
• The pay: per hour, day or month, and when it is paid. An ad without pay gets skipped.
• What comes with it: meals, a uniform, tips or service charge, training.
• What a day looks like, in two or three sentences.

For example: “Part-time barista in Nimman, Chiang Mai. Saturday and Sunday, 8:00 to 16:00. Paid per hour every two weeks, with a staff meal. No latte art needed: we train you in your first week.”

3. Post it where people near you look for work

Start with what you already have: a sign in the window, your Facebook page, your LINE Official Account and Instagram reach people who already know your place. Job apps reach the people who don't. In JobsJai you can write the ad with AI, paste one you already have or fill it in by hand, and nothing goes live until you publish it. Jobseekers see jobs closer to home first, which matters for shift work.

4. Screen with two or three questions

Ask only what decides the hire: “Can you work every weekend?”, “Have you worked as a barista before?”, “When can you start?”. In JobsJai you add screening questions to the job and read the answers next to each applicant, in order of job match for the vacancy.

5. Meet the best candidates quickly

Good staff often have more than one offer, so reply within a day or two and plan the interview while they are still interested. A short chat, a call or a meeting at your place is usually enough. If you want to see someone at work first, agree on a trial shift up front, including the hours and the pay.

6. Put what you agreed in writing

Write down the role, the pay, the hours, the start date and any probation period, and have both sides sign. In JobsJai you send the offer in the chat and the candidate signs on their phone. The signed contract and the start date go straight into their employee file.

7. Make the first week easy

Plan their first shifts, show them how to clock in and out, and collect the documents you need. In JobsJai Work, your new employee sees their schedule, clocks in with one button and answers your document requests from their phone.

Questions and answers

What should a café job ad include?

The role, the area, the days and hours, the pay and when it is paid, what comes with the job (meals, a uniform, tips) and two or three sentences about a normal day. Those are the first things applicants look for.

How quickly should I reply to applicants?

Within one or two days. People looking for café and restaurant work often apply to several places at once, and the employer who answers first usually gets the interview.

Can I hire part-time staff for weekends only?

Yes. Say so in the ad, with the days, the hours and the hourly pay. In JobsJai you set the job to part-time, and once you have hired someone you plan their weekend shifts and approve the hours they clock.