What Skills To Put On A Resume For Waitress

How To Write A Good Waitress Resume

1. Find Out The Type Of Restaurant You Are Applying For

The restaurant industry includes fast-foods, casual and fine dining. These types of restaurants all need waitress services in different capacities.

Before writing your resume, find out the type of restaurant where you aim to get a job, then highlight the most relevant skills and qualifications in your resume.

Fast-food is generally self-service. However, some fast-food restaurants need servants, stationed on the floor to take orders for the line to move faster. They also take the time to assist diners and bus out empty tables.

Casual and fine dining restaurants offer a more formal, posh setting. Waiters are required to strictly adhere to restaurant guidelines. For example, utensils, plates, and napkins have specific ways to be set up on the table.

Waiters who work in casual and fine dining restaurant are typically expected to be more refined and conscientious in their functions. Fine dining restaurants prefer candidates who have completed some college or are presently enrolled in a related course such as Restaurant Management.

Fast-food restaurants are much more liberal in their selection of candidates. Most will consider your application if you are at least 18 years of age.

2. Learn As Much As You Can About The Menu And Service

Here are some tips to learn more about the menu and the service:

3. Carefully Review The Job Specifications

A typical restaurant job post would include details on the following:

How Do I Become A Waiter With No Experience

First-Time Serving Tips for Waiters

How To Describe Previous Server Experience On A Resume

There are several approaches you can use to highlight your serving experience on your resume. For instance, you might start with your most recent job first and provide details about the skills you developed and the positive effects you had in your past role.

You can refer to the following steps to help you include server experience on your resume:

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Working As A Waitress / Waiter

According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics , there were more than 2.6 Million waiter and waitress jobs available in 2016. The BLS expects demand for this job to remain stable over the next decade with job growth estimated at 7% per annum.

The average pay for a waiter and a waitress is $20,820 per year or $10.01 per hour. Of course, this does not include tips and other monetary benefits.

Although the pay is not high, becoming a waiter or waitress is a common starting point for people who want to land their first job.

Jennifer Aniston, Chris Pratt, and Mariah Carey are just a few famous people who worked as waiters or waitresses before they struck it rich. Waiting on tables is not easy. You are on your feet for several hours. You will be juggling tasks such as order-taking, serving, addressing complaints, and assisting customers.

However, there is more to becoming a good waitress and waiters than just serving food.

Owners and managers rely on waitresses and waiters to boost up the sales of the restaurant. Waiters and waitresses are often referred to as front line salespeople.

They are trained to do the following sales-related tasks:

What Should Include In An Objective Statement Of A Beginner Waiter

The objective statement is the best substitution for the resume summary which assists to show the value of entry-level waiters. However, the recruiters are fond of knowing how you can help to achieve the future goals of the restaurant by using your skills, talent, education, and training.

Therefore write a simple paragraph by using action verbs, keywords, percentages, numbers, years, and amounts to showcase you are very unique.

How about my future goals? May I add them here? You do not need to mention them in the resume. If you are selected for the interview they will definitely ask about your future plans. Create an impressive answer for that, but do not combine them with your objective statement.

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Server Skills For A Job Interview

During an interview for a server position, the hiring manager might ask you to describe your skills and how you apply them. Include examples of situations in which you have used these skills when answering common interview questions.

Example:Tell me how you handle difficult customers.

Demanding customers are part of working in the restaurant industry. I try to empathize with frustrated guests and come up with quick solutions so they leave satisfied. For instance, when a customer became unhappy because her meal was cold, I didnt question it and asked the chef to prioritize remaking her meal. We had a new, hot meal out to her within minutes, and I delivered a free dessert to her table.

What Does A Waitress Do

Probably almost all people think they know what waitresses do. And probably most people think its a pretty easy job if theyve never done it. Consider the following partial list of a waitresss duties.

Waitresses welcome customers to restaurants, offer them a table, give them menus, explain any specials and answer any questions about the menu. They bring drink orders and take food orders, keeping track of who ordered what and at which table. At finer restaurants, they may have to open a bottle of wine, tableside .

When transmitting food orders to the kitchen, waitresses explain any special requests to the cooks. When the food is ready, they pick it up and bring it to the table, sometimes acrobatically carrying four plates at once, and magically remembering who ordered what. They ask diners if they need anything else, perhaps glancing at their drinks to see if they should offer a refill.

Good waitresses will check back on the table after a few minutes to see if everything is alright, or if anybody wants anything else. If a menu order displeases someone, the waitress may have to pick up the meal and take it straight back to the kitchen, explaining to the chef that the customer wanted the steak cooked medium-well, not bloody.

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Is An Education Section Important To A Waiter / Waitress

Why not? Though a high school diploma is the minimum educational qualification to be a waiter, you should mention it in the education section. Because being an educated waiter is as important as being a skillful and experienced waiter.

At the same time, If you have followed a course or training which covers the fundamentals of restaurant management you can mention that qualification in the resume. That will be an added advantage for your eligibility to be a waiter.

As the above image represents you should mention the type of diploma, course duration, high school name, and location as proof of your educational background.

If you have done any task that can prove your talent and uniqueness in your high school, you can mention them in bullet points. For example Cleaned and assisted to clean the classroom every day, Engaged with more than 500 students and 50 teachers in a friendly manner, awarded as the most popular student of the year in 2005 etc.

Example from an Expert

High School Diploma 2014/Jan to 2016/JanTownsend Harris High School, New York

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What Skills Do Waitresses Need

• the ability to work well with others.
• the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure.
• to be thorough and pay attention to detail.
• excellent verbal communication skills.
• a desire to help people.
• active listening skills.
• a good memory.

Besides, How do you put waitress on a resume?

Add a section to your resume titled, specialized skills, where you can play up the various customer-service aspects of your role as a waiter. Example: Exceptional, personalized customer service. Attention to detail.

As well as Do pretty waitresses get better tips? A new study published in the Journal of Economic Psychology found waitresses whose customers deemed them as attractive tended to tip more. Over the course of a year, servers who diners considered more strikingly beautiful could expect to earn roughly $1,261 more in tips than a homelier server.

Furthermore What qualities make a good waiter?

Top Qualities of a Great Restaurant Waiter!

• Appearance: Waiters are the face of a restaurant.
• Punctuality:
• Inspect the item before serving:
• Observant & attentive:
• Tip accepting manners:

What makes a good waiter or waitress?

Communication. Waiters and waitresses must be attentive listeners and engaging communicators. Customers may ask questions about menu items or other details, and a good waiter or waitress should be able to converse with the customer in such a way as to answer questions and meet their needs simply and thoroughly.

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Waiter/waitress Skills And Qualities To Succeed On The Job

1. Communication Skills: The waiter or waitress needs the ability to communicate effectively with kitchen staff, make provision for orders to customers, receive cash, and keep up proper accountability for orders and funds.

2. Active Listening: It is expedient for waiters and waitresses to pay full attention when other people are talking. This will enable them to get the points being made in order to ask questions as appropriate without interruptions.

3. Physical Ability: The physical stamina of a waiter or waitress is very important, as they have to spend almost the whole day standing up and carrying heavy items such as trays, food, high chairs, supplies, child booster seats, and performing other activities that involve physical strength.

4. Customer Service: You need customer service skills as a waiter or waitress to smile, greet in a friendly way, and make eye contacts when necessary with customers. This skill also enable waiters or waitresses to pay attention to requests for drinks, understand when a customer hints for a reduction in order, and answer any question the customer has to ask with clear and complete expressions. With good customer service skills, waiters and waitresses can take note of orders quickly and deliver them accurately to each customer. They also maintain proper eye contact with customers to know when they are needed at the table, to avoid making uninvited appearances around the table.

How To Arrange The Resume Header Of A Waiter

Full name is not needed:- It is better to mention only your first and last name. But do not mention a shortened form of your name or your nicknames in your resume header.

Add a descriptive job title:- First, check the job position mentioned in the job advertisement. It may be a Waiter / Waitress, Food & Beverage Waiter / Waitress, Server, Restaurant Server, etc. Then add the exact same title as your job title. That will really impress the recruiters.

Do not list all contact numbers:- Mention only one contact number which is very personal to you.

Why a professional Email:- If you add an email address with fancy words the recruiters will create a bad image of you. So, use the same professional email to send the resume and mention it in the resume.

Social media URLs:- There should be a purpose to mention social media URLs in your resume. Do not mention them just because others mention them. If you can reveal that you are a social worker, friendly and active person, your talent in sports or other matching fields for a waiter, exactly mention them. If not, leave them.

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How To Select A Suitable Template For A Waiter

There is no exact template type related to a waiter or other positions in the restaurant industry. Nowadays, so many creative templates are available online. You can try one of them. That means do not limit to the traditional resume template. However, there are some factors that you have to consider when you select a template.

• Applicant Tracking System friendliness of the template

Usually, there is a proven fact that resumes with heavy graphics are less-ATS friendly because they disturb the ATS readability. So consider whether you have chosen a resume with simple graphics.

• Cool and calm colors

Some luminous colors may hurt the recruiters eyes and they will not be able to read your resume with ease. If they feel uncomfortable reading it then they will reject your resume. Therefore try to choose cool and calm colors for your resume.

• A clear font type

You have to focus on your content more than everything. Also, the restaurant owners or hiring managers should be able to scan your resume quickly. Therefore we suggest choosing a template with a perfect resume font style like Open Sans, Calibri, or Georgia will be a great decision.

• The ability to manage all sections in one-page

The hiring managers tend to scan a resume within just 6-7 seconds. Also, they are a little bit lazy to go through a lengthy resume. Therefore try to limit your resume to one page. But if you have experience as a waiter for more than 5 years you can keep a two-page resume based on your heavy content.

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Are You A Social Worker

The waiter should be able to assist people kindly. If you can reveal that you usually treat people in a kind manner even in your personal life, that will be a great opportunity to enhance the uniqueness of your resume.

If you are wondering how I can showcase my kindness, remind yourself. Have you ever helped people by engaging with a charity organization, child care association, or elders homes? If yes, you could earn more marks.

List the names of the associations that you have got the membership. Briefly explain how did you spread your kindness among the people and how did you donate your time for them. Then the recruiters will understand your passion to be a waiter.

Here are some famous organizations in the United States.

Charity organizations

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How To Write A Good Objective For A Waitress Resume

If you want to prove to the restaurant owner that you can sell, the best proof that you can do so is in the resume objective. Think of your objective statement as your sales pitch.

What would make the restaurant owner want to hire me?

Wondering what you can put on a waitress resume objective? Here are some suggestions:

• Have you read the job ad? If you are sure that you have the required skills, indicate them in the objective statement. For example, if the job specifically requires someone who has at least 1-year experience working in a fine dining restaurant, start with that and include the name of the restaurant:

From July 2018 to June 2019, I worked at Chez Magnifique. 6 months as fine dining crew before I was assigned as a Cashier for 3 months then as a bartender for another 3 months.

The Beef Bourguignon was very tender, succulent, and well-seasoned. I would recommend that a customer pair it with a glass of Shiraz.

This statement will convince the restaurant owner that you have initiative and can sell the menu items.

Waitress Resume Layout And Design: The Visual Story

Whether youre new to waitressing or youve got a few restaurants under your belt, a clean and attractive layout sends the message that you are a professional. Its not necessary to include color, pictures or more creative elements, since a manager is looking for someone who can do the job efficiently and with a smile. Our resume buildertool and wide-ranging template styles allow you to find just the right balance between a resume thats straightforward and attractive.

Try using a Simple templateto highlight your skills in an easy-to-read format. These layouts are proven to get attention while maintaining a minimalist feel. For more unusual or thematic restaurants, you can also check out our Modernor Creativetemplate categories.

Since youll most likely be handing the resume to restaurant owners in person , download your resume as a PDF. This will allow both for optimal printing and for clear, concise formatting that doesnt change on different computers. The resume builder makes it easy to do in just a few clicks.

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How To Make Waitressing Sound Good On A Resume

You have a few waitressing jobs under your belt. That’s great, but how do you stand out from the crowd?

And how do you spin your waitressing experience not just as a positive thing, but also as a way to add value to your future job?

In this article, I will teach you how to write a resume that not only impresses hiring managers but actually gets you the job you want. Read ahead.

Notice: these tips will work whether you want to continue waitressing or pivot to a different career.

What Makes A Good Waitress

Communication. Waiters and waitresses must be attentive listeners and engaging communicators. Customers may ask questions about menu items or other details, and a good waiter or waitress should be able to converse with the customer in such a way as to answer questions and meet their needs simply and thoroughly.

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