When you apply for a job at a restaurant, there are few things your potential hiring managers will be looking for. Make sure your resume includes the following information about your background. But don't just stop with your resume—you'll also have to back up these statements
in your cover letter, your personal presentation, and your interview when the time comes.
What Restaurant Mangers Need to Know
Here are a few questions hiring managers are guaranteed to ask themselves as they review your resume:
1. Can I trust this candidate to handle food safely and responsibly, even when nobody is watching?
This is a vital question for any responsible hiring manager in this field, and you'll have to prove yourself in some unexpected ways. For example, you might clearly state at the top of your resume: "I can be trusted to handle food safely and responsibly!" But if the rest of the resume is riddled with typos and embarrassing mistakes, your statement may not carry much weight. Safe food handlers are detail- oriented and they don't cut corners. Their resumes reveal this fact in more ways than one.
2. Do you understand the basic scale, mood, style, and intentions of this restaurant?
Is this is a lobster and steakhouse with three Michelin stars in the heart of Manhattan? Is it a burrito stand on a stretch of beach in New Jersey? Is it a fun, family-oriented burger joint in Toledo? Is it a bar and grill connected to a large hotel? If you can size up the restaurant's target audience at a glance and help your employer appeal to this audience, make this clear.
3. Do you have actual experience with this target audience?
In other words, have you worked at a roadside diner/ tapas bar/ Italian family-style restaurant in the past? If you have, great. Include the style and audience of your previous employer on your resume. If you haven't, be ready to explain how your taco stand experience will help you serve customers successfully at a fancy steakhouse, or vice versa.
4. Can you work well with a team?
Restaurant managers are usually looking for new employees who can get along well with a team. If you're an open communicator, a close listener, and you can both give directions and follow them accurately, let your manager know. On the other side of the coin, restaurant managers tend to shy away from out-of-control egos, one-way communicators, and those who are too shy to be heard in a busy kitchen and speak up for what they need.
5. Do you learn new things quickly and remember them well?
No matter the style and size of your restaurant, you'll probably be relying on a software system to handle inventory needs, order taking, and point of sale charges. And the system you'll be using may not be one you're familiar with. Managers like employees who face the unknown head-on and master new skills quickly. These new skills may cover anything from payment systems to food preparation. Let your managers know you're ready for anything.
Get Help As You Draft Your Resume
The restaurant business can be competitive, but at the same time, staffing a restaurant tends to be immediate and urgent, and hiring typically happens fast. That means a strong resume can launch your career while a weak one may not even get a second glance. Don't be left out in the cold because of a few simple, preventable resume problems. Visit LiveCareer and take advantage of our sophisticated resume builder. You'll make a lasting impression on hiring managers and improve your chances of securing the job offer.
