Hostess Resume Examples & Job Description [+Host Skills]

Want to show the waitstaff manager you’re the one for that hostess job? Make them feel you’re like the genie from Aladdin, fulfilling all their wishes before they even voice their requests?

That’s going to take one hell of a hostess resume. Competition is fierce. You must choose the right qualities to list, use the right layout… 

… or just follow a great hostess resume sample. Read our tips, and the interview will drop into your lap!

This guide will show you:

• A hostess resume example better than 9 out of 10 others.
• How to write a hostess resume that gets more interviews.
• Tips and examples of how to put skills and achievements on a host resume.
• How to describe your experience on a resume for a hostess to get any job you want.

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Not sure if you should write a hosting resume? Think you might want other restaurant jobs? For waitress resume examples and more, try our other guides:

• Waitress Resume
• Barista Resume
• Bartender Resume
• Barback Resume
• Food Service Resume
• Fine Dining Resume
• Restaurant Resume
• Banquet Server Resume
• Event Coordinator Resume
• Resume Examples for Every Career

Haven’t had a job yet? Need first resume examples? Try these guides:

• First Resume with No Work Experience Samples
• Entry-Level Resume: Sample and Complete Guide

Hostess Resume Example

1. What's the Best Format for a Hosting Resume?

Nightmare time.

The waitstaff manager—we’ll call her Tara—knew she wouldn’t hire you with a single glance.

How?

It’s the layout of your hostess duties resume.

If you don’t use the right hostess resume format, you’ll look sloppy and disorganized.

Tara doesn’t want to hire that.

Pass the first test with the reverse-chronological resume format. It serves your most recent achievements first.

Show Tara you’ll make her life a breeze. Use the best resume fonts, big headings, and plenty of white space so she doesn’t have to squint.

Check your spelling. Then re-check it. One typo can mean the difference between hired and in the food waste dumpster.

Last, save your hostess responsibilities resume as a PDF. Today’s PDFs are machine-readable. They won’t turn to spaghetti when you send them.

Check the job ad first to see if it says, “no PDFs.” If not, you’re in the door.

Hostess Definition: A front-of-house restaurant employee who meets, greets, and seats new guests. What does a hostess do? She may also handle phone reservations, bussing tables, and general dining room organization.

Pro Tip: Is this your first hostess job? Use the combination resume format. It welcomes experience from other jobs into your hosting resume.

Check the other options for your hostess resume format. See our guide: 3 Resume Formats: How to Choose the Best One [Examples]

2. Hostess Resume Summary or Resume Objective

Let’s get back to Tara, the waitstaff manager.

She’s got a stack of hostess duties resumes up to the sprinklers.

You need to stand out like a 40,000 candlepower Open sign.

Do that with a hostess resume objective or resume summary.

Not your first ribeye rodeo? Then use a resume summary. It uses your experience to make the manager want to hire you.

Is this your time dealing drinks? Use a resume objective. It makes your passion the centerpiece.

Here’s the secret:

Load either to the rafters with achievements.

These first two restaurant hostess resume examples clear the clutter.

Hosting Resume Examples [Resume Summaries]

The first of our senior host resume samples is messy:

That's not as bad as a dropped tray, but it won’t usher in a busload of interviews.

Instead, do like our next fine dining hostess resume example:

Mouthwatering. See those achievements with the numbers? They’ll make managers want to hug you.

But what if your experience is still out in the parking lot? See the junior host resume examples below.

Two Entry-Level Hosting Resume Objectives

If your hostess experience still needs setup, try a hostess resume objective.

That used to mean showing passion and excitement for hosting jobs. The next of our hostess resume objectives does that:

As long as you’re the only applicant, you’re hired!

But what if someone else’s hosting resume has passion plus experience?

Oh-oh.

Don’t run for the exit yet. You can still get the interview if your hostess duties resume shows achievements.

The next of our entry-level host resume examples does it right:

Pow. The manager just dropped her breadstick basket. Your stellar hosting resume objective blew her apron off.

Even though you’ve never had a hostess job.

Pro Tip: Don’t know what to put in a restaurant hostess resume summary or resume objective? Write it after the rest of your resume. It’ll almost write itself.

Creating a resume with our builder is incredibly simple. Follow our step-by-step guide and use content from Certified Professional Resume Writers to have a resume ready in minutes.

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When you’re done, our online resume builder will score your resume and our resume checker will tell you exactly how to make it better.

Want to bring in interviews like diners on a Friday night? Use the sample hostess resume up top and see our guides:

Professional Resume Summary: 30 Examples of Statements [+How-To]

20+ Resume Objective Examples - Use Them On Your Resume (Tips)

3. A Hostess Job Description for a Resume Like No Other

Got hosting experience? Great! But—

You’re not hired yet.

Showing experience the wrong way will make you blend in like a floor tile.

Fix that problem fast.

Use measurable achievements to get attention like Justin Bieber in an Applebee’s.

Put your most recent job first. Add 3-5 resume bullets.

Follow the next of our professional hostess duties resume examples.

Hostess Resume Examples [Experience]

These two sample host resume experience sections are as different as IHOP and Olive Garden:

Zing! The waitstaff manager just stopped watching Give ‘em the Pickle. Your professional resume for hostess jobs melted everything in the walk-in.

But trash those achievements, and:

Bland! That host duties resume example couldn’t get you a job at a lemonade stand. Why not?

Because it says you “did” things but it doesn’t say how well.

Now—what if you have no experience at hosting jobs?

See these entry-level hostess resume examples.

How to Write a Resume for Hostess with no Experience

It’s easy.

You don’t need hosting experience to get hostess jobs.

You just need to show accomplishments that fit hostess jobs.

Get them from:

• Non-hosting jobs
• Volunteer work
• School achievements

Do this right and your first resume for hosting jobs will turn heads like a 40-gallon chocolate sundae.

The next entry-level host resume samples lead the way.

Two Entry-Level Hostess Resume Samples [No Experience]

The first of these two entry-level hostess resume examples is like a pound of broken crayons:

Whoops. The waitstaff manager just tossed you in amongst the compost.

But add details and get this host resume example:

Wow. Looks like you’ll be busy Friday nights.

Pro Tip: A hostess should be cheerful and efficient. Can you show you’ve worked with the public in a friendly way? Even helping out at a festival or other event looks great on a resume for hostess jobs.

Don’t make the manager fall asleep in her shrimp salad. Energize her with action words. See our guide: 240 Resume Action Words & Power Words to Make Your Resume Shine

4. Is Your Education Section Undercooked? It Might Be

You’re a hostess. Why would you need education?

It’s simple:

Every resume needs education. Even hosting resumes.

The real trick?

Don’t just list it. Use it to prove why they should hire you.

If you don’t, it’s like having a comfy pair of Skechers and just wearing them to watch TV.

Start with:

• School Name and Location
• Years in School
• Degree

But add accomplishments that fit the job like a baby’s bottom fits a booster seat.

Our next host resume examples will get you where you need to be:

Hostess Resume Examples [Education]

Both these host resume samples are for a job that needs (1) customer service skills, (2) a strong work ethic, and (3) a positive attitude.

Pow. The employer’s picturing you making her life easy.

Now the children’s menu:

Yuck. That applicant could be anyone, including The Annoying Orange.

Pro Tip: Do you need a good GPA for a hostess duties resume? No, but if it’s high, show it. It can prove you’re a hard worker. Otherwise, scrape it in the food waste bin.

Make your hosting resume education section shine like a newly waxed floor. See our guide: How to Put Your Education on a Resume [Tips & Examples]

5. How to Put Skills on a Resume for a Hostess

“We’d love to hire you.”

If you convince the waitstaff manager you’ve got the skills, she’ll say those magic words.

So—how?

Not by listing a zillion hosting skills. That won’t impress her.

Pick the few she wants and prove them.

If you can, she’ll read your hostess resume and picture Diana Prince.

The professional host resume examples below show how.

Hostess Resume Examples [Skills]

Let’s say Tara put these skills in the hostess job description for resumes:

Required Hostess Skills: (1) Speed, (2) Customer Service, and (3) Cleaning Skills.

Put them in your hostess resume skills list. Add a couple so you’re not just pandering.

Then write bullet points like this:

Do that, and the interviews will roll in like baked potato orders at a Texas Roadhouse.

The host skills for resumes below will get you moving:

List of Skills to Put on a Hostess Resume

Need hostess resume skills and resume keywords to start?

Use the host resume skills list below. Add to it from online hostess job descriptions.

Pro Tip: You can’t actually skills on a hosting resume. But you can prove employers ought to interview you. Don’t lie or they’ll catch you when you sit down for the interview.

Make your host resume skills section sizzle like an Outback steak. See our guide: +30 Best Examples of What Skills to Put on a Resume (Proven Tips)

6. Add these Things to Your Resume and Get Seated Fast

You’re great to work with.

Let’s prove it.

Add "other" sections to your hostess resume most people don’t know how to write.

See the two sample hosting resume sections below.

Restaurant Hostess Resume Examples [Other Sections]

The first of our host resume examples will make you wait forever:

Fun—but what does it have to do with hostess jobs?

The other sections on your hosting resume should make the employer’s arm hairs stand.

See that? Everything there shows you’d be the best hostess in the world!

Don’t have enough extras for your resume for hosting jobs? Take a couple online classes. Sound hard? It’s not!

Most are free. They take an hour or two. You watch a video, take a test, and the manager knows you’re motivated. Here are a few:

• Alison
• Lynda

Pro Tip: Don’t have many extras for your hostess duties resume? Tie unrelated hobbies to the job offer. For instance, don’t just say, “dancing.” Say, “Take dance lessons for focus and efficiency.”

Not sure what appetizers to add to your restaurant hostess resume? See our guide: +20 Best Examples of Hobbies & Interests To Put on a Resume (5 Tips)

7. What About a Hosting Cover Letter?

Do you need to send a cover letter with a hostess resume?

Only if you’d like the job.

Most hiring managers won’t read a host cover letter. But almost half won’t glance at your hosting resume without one.

Here’s how to do it right:

Don’t say, “Here’s my host resume—the end.”

Show you know the restaurant’s needs and that you’ll meet and greet them like a pro.

How can you do that in a hosting cover letter?

Do it like this short example hostess cover letter:

Always end a cover letter with an offer.Try, "Can we set up a time to talk about how I pitched in to raise customer satisfaction by 30% across our entire restaurant?”

Pro Tip: Follow up on your hostess resume and cover letter three times. Do the first in three days, the second in a week, and #3 in 2–3 weeks.

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:

Create my cover letter now

See more cover letter templates and start writing.

Want your hostess cover letter to whet the employer’s appetite? See our guide: How To Write A Cover Letter in 8 Simple Steps (+12 Examples)

8. Do This Before You Add Contact Info to a Fine Dining Hostess Resume

Isn’t it easy to add contact info to a hostess resume?

You just list:

• Full Name
• Updated Phone Number
• Professional Email Address

Like this:

Katie Limekiln, Hostess, katie.limekiln@gmail.com, 308-627-7083

Well, yes, but—

Check your online presence first. That’s as important as not seating someone in the restroom.

Why? That Mardis Gras pic on Facebook from three years ago might cost you the interview.

We’ve got you covered with our guide to check social media accounts.

Pro Tip: Should you put your picture on a restaurant hostess resume? Not in the U.S. Pictures mess with applicant tracking systems and can get your resume tossed out. Instead, have a LinkedIn profile and put it on your hosting resume.

Want your resume for host jobs to make ‘em drool? See our guide: How to Make a Resume: A Step-by-Step Guide (+30 Examples)

Key Takeaway

Here’s a recap of how to write a hostess resume:

• Write a host resume objective or resume summary. Garnish each with measurable accomplishments to give the waitstaff manager the hungries.
• Read the hostess job description for resumes closely. Match your hostess resume bullets to it to prove you’re the next Pepper Potts.
• Add other sections that show you’re more than just a pair of sneakers. List interests, volunteer work, fitness, or anything that gets ‘em nodding.
• Write a hostess cover letter. Make it passionate and personal. Use it to make the hiring manager stop slouching and read your hostess resume.

Do you have questions on how to write a great resume for a hostess? Not sure how to describe your skills or achievements on a fine dining hostess resume? Give us a shout in the comments! We’d be happy to reply.

Looking for a resume writing guide for a different position? Take a look at the ones here:

• Server Resume
• Flight Attendant Resume
• Grocery Store Resume
• Customer Service Resume
• Front Desk Resume

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