5 Restaurant Resume Examples That Worked in 2023

Why this resume works

• Quantifiable metrics, or numerical summaries of your work experience, do more for you than words. Did you know that 70 percent of hiring managers won’t even look at your restaurant resume if it doesn’t contain specific numbers?
  • It can be difficult to think of valuable statistics. As a restaurant worker, you should list metrics for achieving or exceeding sales targets, where you boosted efficiency, customer reviews you received, employer reviews, the number of menu items you had command over, how much you increased revenue, health inspection ratings, reductions in staff turnover, the number of guests you cared for or the number of guests seated per night.
• If you opt for a resume summary, it should be a concise two to three-sentence snapshot of any specializations you've acquired in your many years (10+ for a summary) in the field.
  • Avoid vague statements, and customize it for each job to which you apply. For example, your summary might detail your 10+ years of experience, front-of-house experience, communication, customer service, and levelheadedness while also mentioning the target business by name.

Why this resume works

• Your restaurant server resume should keep things short and to the point. If you have a lot of information to include, make sure you quantify your experience in numbers and break it up into concise bullet points. Bullet points should all be under 200 characters.
• Did you know that 250-plus applicants may apply to a single job posting?
  • Undoubtedly, being a hiring manager and reviewing so many resumes is stressful. That's why they typically only spend six seconds reviewing each one. If you want to grab their attention, you’ll need to quantify most of your bullet points.
    • Numbers naturally draw the eye, making employers spend more time on your resume. 

Why this resume works

• It’s okay if you lack years of experience working in the restaurant industry, but it can feel intimidating to apply for a job without much work history.
  • Focus on demonstrating your job skills, rather than titles, as an entry-level worker. You can even include school projects, internships, or volunteer positions.
  • This is a good time to add a resume objective.
    • Your resume objective not only fills up space but offers a valuable snapshot of your best self when you take the time to customize it.
    • It's also best suited for entry-level applicants or those who are changing careers. Don't forget to customize your objective by mentioning the target business by name.
• Whether or not you’re an entry-level restaurant worker, you need to write your resume skills carefully. Unfortunately, many applicants fail to realize the importance of this section and have a difficult and disheartening job search.
  • If you omit a skills section, your entry-level restaurant resume may pass through automated scanners and into the trash before a hiring manager ever sees it.
    • Fortunately, skills sections are really easy to include.
      • We recommend listing six to ten skills specific to restaurant work. You can even specialize your skills section for each job you apply to by carefully reading job descriptions and picking up on their valuable skills.
      • Important restaurant worker skills include customer service, communication, time management, organization, sales, and flexibility.

Why this resume works

• When you have years of experience, it’s important to demonstrate growth and increased responsibility over time.
  • Formatting your resume in reverse-chronological style demonstrates this best with its natural progression of work history from most recent to oldest.
• Start your restaurant manager resume with strong action words.
  • It’s important to avoid words that take away from your ability to work independently or actively. For example, starting a bullet point with the word “helped” is much less impactful than the word “spearheaded.”
    • Your resume should include great action words like calculated, collaborated, negotiated, achieved, coordinated, crafted, supervised, built, cultivated, or outperformed.
  • If you’re having trouble structuring the perfect sentences, that’s okay. It’s not easy! That’s why we built our resume checker.

Why this resume works

• Aim to have two to four work experience sections and three to six bullet points for each work experience on your fast food restaurant resume. With so little space, include metrics and active voice while avoiding unnecessary filler words.
• When building your resume, write your work experience in a reverse-chronological style. State your most recent experience at the top of your resume and work backward.
  • This will help demonstrate growth throughout your career.
  • Additionally, only 20 percent of hiring managers say they read every single work experience. Keeping your most relevant experience toward the top will ensure employers see the most important information.
  • Finally, recruiters' automated systems (ATS) are formatted to look through resumes written in the standard (reverse-chronological) order.