Taco Bell’s Answer to Low Unemployment: Hiring Parties | Eater
"A Cantina-style fast-food restaurant in Hell’s Kitchen that differentiates itself with digital ordering kiosks, an open kitchen and an alcohol-serving format hosted an early-morning hiring party featuring baskets of tortilla chips, all-you-can-drink soda, company-branded swag and on-the-spot applications and interviews. The event had a convivial, job-fair vibe—Mylar balloons, a selfie station, a CNBC camera crew and about 20 applicants that day, including walk-ins and a family filling out an application together—which underscored the chain’s bet on human connection as a hiring tool. Managers and long-tenured area coaches repeatedly touted “the people” and upward mobility—citing decades-long careers, a high rate of internal promotion to restaurant leadership and education support—while the company’s hiring slogan framed the promise of a steady, climbable career. That rosy picture sits alongside notable caveats: past legal findings about underpaid breaks, reports of sudden firings and persistent gaps in benefits between full-time versus part-time and corporate versus franchise employees, which complicate the narrative of long-term stability. Despite the PR polish, the event’s accessibility and casualness—allowing anyone to stroll in for an interview—felt appealingly egalitarian to job seekers simply looking for work or a summer role." - Jenny G. Zhang
