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Mission/Values
Community
About CKE

Do you thrive in a fast-paced environment? You’ll certainly find one here.
Do we work hard? Sure, because everyone here wants to help the company grow.
Are you always looking for something new to learn? If yes, you’ll fit right in.

From the top of our organization on down, our employees take pride in doing their jobs well. You’ll find there are opportunities to do well everywhere you look. For instance, if you have experience or interest in property management or acquisition, take a look at our real estate department. If you have a talent for developing new products, you might find a rewarding career in our marketing department. Or if you have expertise in computer technology or programming, our IT department may be the best fit for you. For a full list of our positions, review our Career Choices page.

What’s it like working at the company offices of CKE, Carl’s Jr. or Hardee’s? Here’s a small sampling of what some of our employees say:

“At age 16, I began my career as a Crew Person, cooking and washing windows. The job was fun, fast paced and challenging, but I never gave this business much thought as a career choice until I began to see people just like me getting promoted from crew person to management. I would often see the District Manager and Regional Vice President visit our restaurant. They were professional, well dressed and drove a company car. I thought to myself... that’s the kind of job I want. Over time, I worked my way up through the ranks to become Executive Vice President US Restaurant Operations for Hardee’s. I am now the Executive Vice President of Training for Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. The restaurant industry provides unlimited potential for those willing to work for it.

When it comes to making career decisions, you will receive plenty of advice from friends, family, coaches and guidance counselors. You may feel overwhelmed at times with so many choices and so many people trying to tell you what you should do. The best advice I can offer is to think for yourself and consider the following: Choose a career that excites you. Life is too short to work at a boring job! Choose a career that is fulfilling. People who are passionate about what they do tend to be good at what they do. Lastly, make sure your career choice provides you the potential to earn a good wage. Never mind your starting pay. Do your job better than anyone else and your pay will take care of itself. I believe a balanced approach to these three things provide a good measure of success.”

“There are moments in all of our lives which cause us to reflect upon our past. For me that moment was the day I left home (Gambia, West Africa) to pursue the ‘American Dream.’ Indeed, I am living the American dream with the help of Carl’s Jr.

I began my career with Carl’s Jr. as a Crew Person, cleaning the dining room and serving guests. I loved the job and loved the people I worked with and it was truly a great atmosphere. Most importantly, with this job, I was able to pay the bills and managed to pay my college tuition and sent a few dollars back home to help my parents. I worked very hard and I was dedicated to the job and with the hard work and patience, I was promoted to a Shift Supervisor. After earning my Associate degree, I transferred to the Anaheim Distribution Center as a Customer Service Representative where I processed food orders for the stores and generated invoices. After earning a degree in Managerial Accounting, I was promoted to a Restaurant Auditor and, after a few years, I was promoted to an Internal Auditor and was part of the audit team that implemented departmental controls throughout the organization.

Today, I am the Manager for the IT Purchasing/Asset Management department that oversees procurements of IT assets for the entire company. I loved it when I worked as a Crew Person in the stores and I am sure loving it now as a Manager. This is truly an Equal Opportunity company.”

“I started at Carl’s Jr. working a couple of hours a day while I was in High School. I was planing on being a pilot and got a job offer but the company went bankrupt before I started. I stayed with Carl’s Jr. and became a Regional Trainer and then a General Manager. I was then transferred into Payroll. After being promoted to Payroll Supervisor I was offered a position as Franchise Accounting Supervisor. The more you learn the better you are and the more opportunity you have for advancement. CKE is a great place to learn and grow.”