Featured Food Service Resume Examples
Three more top-searched resume examples are for barista, restaurant server and busser. If you’re looking for other job titles in food service, we have many more below.
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Food Service Resumes by Job Title
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Bar and Restaurant Roles (60)
Cafe Roles (5)
Cafeteria Roles (4)
Food and Beverage Production Roles (8)
Grocery and Retail Roles (10)
Private Events and Catering Roles (24)
Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Roles (1)
Cover Letter Examples for Food Service Jobs
Job Outlook for Food Service
The restaurant industry alone provides 15.6 million jobs as of 2020 according to the National Restaurant Association (NRA) making the industry the second-largest employer in the U.S. An additional 1.6 million jobs are expected to be added by 2029 according to the NRA’s report.
Good news for you: That means there are and will be plenty of roles available in the food service industry.
Yet, in order to secure a job, it’s going to help a lot if you have a resume that sets you apart from your food service competition. Use our writing tips below to ensure that your resume is the cream that rises to the top of the resume pile.
3 Tips for Writing Food Service Resumes
Choose the right format for your food service resume
In the restaurant industry, you use the term ‘mise en place’ to refer to keeping everything in its right place. In the resume-writing business, we call it a resume format.
A resume’s format just refers to the way that its information is organized and there are three main kinds: chronological, functional and hybrid.
In order to best present yourself, it’s essential to pick out a resume format before you write.
The number of years of experience you have for the role to which you’re applying determines which type of resume format you should use.
For instance, if you have five or more years’ experience, you should use a chronological format. A chronological format is favored for people with years of experience because it puts its emphasis on your work history.
Note that in order to use a chronological format, that five years experience should be doing the same role that you’re applying for. For example, if you spent three years as a busser and only two years as a server, you should not use a chronological format to apply for a server position.
This format gives a good indication to employers of what you’re capable of because chances are if you did it before, you can do it again.
However, everyone has to start somewhere and some people are entering the food service industry with little to no experience. If this applies to you, it’s advised that you use a functional format.
A functional resume format focuses on your skills — the things you’re good at — rather than on your work experience. The effect is that it covers up your inexperience and makes you more appealing as a job candidate.
Next, if you find yourself with a couple years’ experience, but less than five, you should use what’s called a hybrid format.
As you might guess, a hybrid format is a mixture of a chronological format and a functional format. It gives a more even balance to your work history and skills section, thereby giving you the perfect size frame to present yourself.
Based on that information, choose the resume format that best suits your work experience.
Promote your food service skills
While each role in food service may require its own unique skills, there are certain skills that are universally desired across the industry.
It’ll serve you to include some of these high-demand skills in your resume if they apply to you and your work style.
Commonly sought-after skills for food service employees include:
- Teamwork
- Customer service
- Positive attitude
- Attention to detail
- Oral communication
- Food knowledge
- Classic cocktails
- Wine knowledge
- Allergy awareness
- Anticipating guest needs
- Calm under pressure
- Rapport building
- Timeliness
- High-volume service
- Ringing accuracy
- Efficiency
- Multitasking
- Public speaking
- Cleanliness
- ServSafe Certification
- TIPS Certification
- Familiarity with [Point of Sale systems] e.g., Aloha, Breadcrumb, Square, etc.
- Fine dining service
- Upselling
- Station maintenance
- Clearing four-tops
- Coursing and firing
- Regular cultivating
- Guest satisfaction
- Cash handling
- Pouring accuracy
- Cost control
- Guest-forward approach
Sprinkle some of these skills into your resume where they’re applicable to your food service experience and specialty.
Also, here’s a pro tip: Pay close attention to the language used in the job posting or ad, and try to reflect back some of the phrasing the employer uses — the keywords and language used in the job posting are your best indicators of what an employer wants.
Use a template to make sure your resume dazzles
A resume template is a tool that helps you produce a great-looking resume in a short amount of time.
Templates are preformatted documents created by a professional designer so that you don’t have to worry about columns, borders, fonts or margins.
All you have to do is pick a template you like and start putting in your information.
JobHero has loads of resume templates that you can use to create your own resume in just a few minutes.
If you’re looking for an even better option, one with a cherry on top, JobHero features an automated resume builder that allows you to choose from a selection of templates.
Our builder provides you step-by-step guidance on what to include in each resume section. It even auto-suggests phrases about your work history that are tailored to the job title you are applying for.
A resume builder is the easiest and fastest way to create a resume. It’s like having a seasoned restaurant pro looking over your shoulder to guide you step-by-step as you write your resume.
Food Service Resume FAQ
What should I put on my resume for food service?
Like any resume, you’ll need to include the resume basics like your contact information, education and a professional summary or objective statement.
However, for most jobs in food service, the important part of your resume will be your work experience and skills.
The most helpful thing to do when you talk about your work experience is to include quantifiable numbers and statistics that will give employers a better sense of what you’re capable of as an employee.
For instance, if you’re a server, instead of just saying something that paints a general picture like, “Served guests food and drinks in a timely fashion,” add some numbers. You could say something like this, “Accommodated an average of 42 guests per night” or “Rang a nightly sales average of $1,400.”
Those numbers give a very concrete sense of how you could help an employer’s business which makes them more likely to take you seriously as a candidate. Without sounding forced, it’s in your best interest to include as many of these numbers as possible.
How do I list education on a food service resume?
Most food service jobs don’t require college education. More important than that is having the prerequisite industry courses many employers legally require you to have completed in order to handle food such as a ServSafe certificate or a TIPS certification for alcohol service.
If you don’t have these certifications already, check the local requirements for your city/state to see what is needed. You may be able to get hired without one, but your employer will probably demand that you have one by a certain date, so you may want to complete the required course(s) before you apply.
If you have any required certifications, it’s a good idea to list them so that an employer knows you’re ready to go on day one.
For your education section, if you’re going to list any schools you attended the following is essential to include: The name of the school that you attended, its city and state location, the years you attended, and, if applicable, the degree(s) you obtained. Typically, if you’ve graduated from college, you don’t need to list your high school education.
In the case of recent college graduates who studied discipline under the hospitality umbrella, but don’t have actual work experience yet, it’s acceptable to include a high GPA, mention any notable instructors you worked with or list any specific coursework that you took that may be related to your craft.
What kind of work experience should I put on a food service resume?
If you can, you should try to keep all the work experience you include in a resume focused on food service jobs you’ve held.
Especially be sure to include any notable places that you’ve worked or any places that were similar to where you’re applying. That kind of experience will resonate with potential employers.
However, if you don’t have experience in food service yet, it’s still a good idea to include other jobs that you’ve had, and emphasize the responsibilities and skills that you performed that are in common with what’s expected in a food service role.
If you can perform those similar duties in another industry, it makes sense that you’ll be able to perform them in a food service role. The main takeaway: Make sure the experience that you include on your resume is related to the role to which you’re applying.
How do I write a professional summary for a food service resume?
A professional summary lives at the top of your resume just underneath your contact information. As such, it’s the first real chance to market yourself as a desirable food service employee.
It’s brief: It should be a two-to-three sentence summary that features your most notable food service achievements or strongest skills. In it, you may want to mention any notable or award-winning establishments you have worked for, or just list the top skills that you bring to the table.
To keep it attention-grabbing you should use active language. Make sure what you say is full of active verbs and gets straight to the point.
Here’s an example of a summary statement for a bartender position that doesn’t use enough active and engaging language, “I’m a bartender with more that six years of experience. Hospitality is my strong suit and in my role I bring a professional level of service.”
See how that example comes off a little slow and sleepy? It doesn’t provide a lot of information or enthusiasm in those two sentences.
Here’s a good example of a more active professional summary: “Seasoned bartender with 6+ years experience brings a wealth of craft cocktail knowledge and a guest-forward approach to high-volume service. The key to my success has been a combination of anticipating guest needs, my ability to multitask and my ability to build rapport and cultivate regulars.”
You can see how much more the language is energetic and jam-packed with verbs, skills and keywords that provide a much more specific and tangible idea of how this candidate performs their bartending role.
For more specifics on how to craft an engaging professional summary, JobHero has an in-depth guide that will give you all the tools you need to make sure that your resume is outstanding.
Should I include a cover letter with my food service resume?
Yes, a cover letter should be included with food service resumes.
If anything, a cover letter is going to give you more space to tell a story about yourself, your skills or your work experience in the food service industry.
Any window of opportunity you get to impress a hiring manager is worth taking.
If you’d like to check out some great food service cover letter examples to get started, JobHero has a well-curated selection that will help you create your own great letter.