Restaurant Manager
Cover Letter Example

If you’re a strong leader who can manage a dining experience, your management skills are in high demand for running restaurants or dining establishments as they open up after COVID-19.

To prove you’re the right person to take over a busy restaurant, showcase your restaurant manager skills in a well-written cover letter.

Follow these three tips to write a restaurant manager cover letter that leaves a lasting impression on hiring managers:

1. Highlight restaurant manager skills

Restaurant managers oversee all operations in a dining establishment. So you need the right balance of hard and soft skills to take charge of various aspects of a restaurant’s inner workings to ensure everything runs smoothly.

Highlight key restaurant manager skills in your cover letter to show employers you’re their ideal candidate. For example, people skills and problem-solving skills are essential soft skills for managing staff, resolving customer issues, and negotiating contracts with suppliers.

Here’s a list of key restaurant manager technical skills:

• Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, and Excel)
• Recipe and menu software
• Budgeting
• Accounting software (e.g., Intuit QuickBooks and Food Services Solutions DayCap)
• Scheduling and time accounting software (e.g., Aestiva Employee Time Clock)
• Inventory management software (e.g., Food Service Solutions FoodCo and Army Food Management Information System)
• Project management software (e.g., Infor SCS and Microsoft Project)
• Point of sale (POS) systems

Additionally, here are soft skills you’ll need:

• Customer service skills
• Sales skills
• Communication skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Attention to detail
• Time management skills
• Organizational skills
• Collaboration
• Decision-making
• Critical thinking
• Adaptability
• Prioritization

2. Provide examples of your achievements (with numbers)

As a restaurant manager, you spend most of your time keeping track of budgets and analyzing figures to capitalize on profit margins. So show employers you’re results-driven and can make a positive impact on their numbers.

To show employers what you can contribute, provide examples of your accomplishments in your cover letter and use hard numbers to back them up. Doing so also shows how you can boost restaurant revenue.

Here are some examples of quantified restaurant manager skills:

• Hired, trained, and coached 47 staff members on customer service skills, food & beverage knowledge, and health & safety standards
• Reduced variable costs by 7% through tighter controls on overtime expenditure and inventory waste
• Consistently exceeded monthly sales goals by a minimum of 10% by training FOH staff on upselling techniques and by creating a featured food and beverage program

3. Emphasize your leadership skills

Leadership skills are vital for supervising staff, delegating responsibilities, and tracking the performance of individuals. Emphasize this skill in your cover letter to show employers you can successfully manage a large team of both front-of-house and kitchen staff, while providing the right training to help them reach their full potential.

For example, talk about how you implemented a new monthly training program for FOH staff members to identify areas of improvement and provide coaching on upselling techniques.

After highlighting your best qualifications in your cover letter, expand on these skills and experiences in your restaurant manager resume.