Restaurant careers are exciting and challenging and offer advancement potential. The varied hours and shifts found within food service establishments make waiter, host, dishwasher, line cook, and chef jobs attractive to students, part-timers, and full-time professionals as well. It’s an industry that continues to thrive, even in times of recession – and there are plenty of jobs available. If you have yet to find one, consider these five reasons restaurant employers may be rejecting you.

1. You don’t follow directions

Whether you want to be a waitress, a bartender, or a short-order cook, the ability to follow directions is essential. If the job listing asks for a resume and cover letter, make sure you include both. If the sign says ‘apply within,’ fill out that application on-site – don’t send a resume by mail. Pay attention to the details and the hiring manager will be more likely to pay attention to you.

2. You lack enthusiasm

Maybe you’re applying for a part-time cafeteria job while you’re in school, or a dishwasher job to earn a little extra cash. To you, the position is merely a means to an end, but to the hiring manager, it represents a cog in a much bigger machine and one that can impact the bottom line of the business. You need to be enthusiastic whether you’re submitting an application, dropping off a resume, or interviewing with the big boss. The laid back can read as disinterested.

3. You’ve had too many jobs

Employee turnover in restaurants is notoriously high, but this doesn’t mean industry hiring managers won’t reject chronic job hoppers. Training new employees cost establishments money – and they don’t want to waste their resources on job seekers who may not stick around. If you’ve worked for more than two restaurants in the first five years of your career, they may not view that history favorably.

4. You have poor interview habits

We’ve all heard the saying “You only have one chance to make a first impression.” While your resume or application may be the first contact a restaurant hiring manager has with you, your behavior at the interview will make, or break, the deal. Show up late, chew gum, dress inappropriately, fidget, or appear disorganized and the interviewer may write you off before the first question.

5. Your online presence is grimy

Let’s imagine inappropriate posts are rats and your social media page is the restaurant. If the health department would shut you down, it’s time to clean up your social networking presence. A recent survey of hiring managers conducted by a major employment site found that 40 percent screen the social media pages of job candidates – and many reject them as a result. Provocative or otherwise inappropriate photos and comments accounted for 49 percent of rejects while drinking and drug use resulted in 45 percent. Poor communication skills, bashing of former employers, and discriminatory comments were also high on the rejection list.

While the reasons for rejection are many and varied, you can address and eliminate most of them with a little time and effort. If you’re not making any of these mistakes, contact the hiring manager and ask for feedback – you may learn exactly what you need to fix to land your next position.