Server Resume Example

As a professional server, you may currently be writing your resume in order to:

• Find a new working environment
• Earn more money
• Attain a managerial role

Read this resume writing guide to ensure you achieve your goals.

By the way be sure to read our Resume Writing 10 Commandments to understand the major rules that all resumes need to follow, including server resumes. If this seems difficult, you can always create a server resume in minutes with our widely praised resume maker.

#1. Include These Key Server Resume Skills

Here are the most essential server resume skills you need to include. Restaurant hiring managers will be looking for these traits to decide if you’re a worthwhile candidate.

Keep in mind that if you have any certifications, such as a Certification in Food Handling and Safety, you should place them at the top of your resume.

If you don’t have any, you can land more interviews and increase your salary by earning one. The National Restaurant Association offers certifications here.

#2. Write a Convincing Resume Objective

The first major section of your resume is called the resume objective (or career objective).

There are four reasons this example has a strong career objective. Pay particular attention to the bolded parts:

1st: It immediately states years of experience:

7+ years of experience in food preparation and service…

2nd: It indicates earned titles or certificates:

Certificate in Food Handling and Safety.

3rd: It emphasizes deep knowledge of the business:

Keen knowledge of wines, entrees, and the responsibilities of a successful restauranteur.

4th: It states the position she wants to fill:

“Aiming to…effectively perform a server position at your restaurant.“

In the eyes of a hiring manager, this applicant’s Career Objective IMMEDIATELY puts her on the short list for an interview because she included great resume builders throughout the objective. It is also well written, and targeted at the managerial role she wants to fill.

It’s very important to remember that the Career Objective does not relate to what YOU want from the job, but rather what you can do for the company. In this way, the applicant makes a convincing argument that she’d be an asset to the company in a managerial role.

Our step by step resume objective writing guide can give you concrete ideas about how to write your own.

#3. Describe your Server Experience with Numbers

Adding numbers to your job description bullet points will help the hiring manager grasp the size and scope of your responsibilities, and give them a clearer mental picture of your experience.

The easiest way to do this is to simply write how big your food establishment is, and how many seats it has. The applicant does this twice for the two establishments she worked in, as you can see from the bolded text below:

• Write patrons’ food orders on slips, memorize orders, or enter orders into computers for transmittal to kitchen staff in a 150+ seat restaurant

• Present menus to patrons and answer questions about menu items, making recommendations upon request in a 70+ seat restaurant

Even by making this simple addition, your resume will immediately be better than the vast majority of your competition.

If you really want to blow away the hiring manager, you’ll need to do more complex research, like this example:

• Memorized restaurant’s wine stock and the meals they should accompany, leading to daily wine sales averaging $150, fully 20% higher than company average

Do you know how much you make in sales daily or monthly?

Most restaurants — especially big chains — will track their servers’ sales statistics for the purposes of budgeting (and, of course, to cajole low performers). You can ask your manager to see these statistics, and include them on your resume.

Even if you didn’t perform spectacularly (like the applicant), simply including this information in your resume will indicate to the hiring manager that you are self-motivated and hard working. This is called writing an “achievement oriented” resume — and these tend to land the most interviews.

Here’s a step by step process for how to include accomplishments for resumes.

Bonus: Action Verbs for Your Server Resume

Need more ideas? View the longest action verb list in the universe.

#4. Include Relevant Additional Skills

Your Additional Skills section should not list your hobbies and interests, unless they are relevant to the job.

(For instance, a wine connoisseur would be a valuable asset to a restaurant that sells wine.)

Since you are a professional server, regardless if you are crafting a resume for a parallel position or one seeking a more supervisory role, you should definitely include these bullet points in your Additional Skills section to build a stronger resume:

• Familiarity with Point of Sale terminals
• Problem solving and communication skills

If you also happen to be bilingual in Spanish and English,  that also tends to be a valuable asset to have in a U.S. based restaurant — especially for a managerial position.