
How to Make a Resume: Step-by-Step Resume Writing Guide
How to write a resume that will get the job done? This step-by-step guide will show you the best resume examples and how to make a professional resume in a few easy steps.
Whether in a 5-star establishment or the local grill, you have the personality and skills to make a Zagat-worthy waitress. Prove it with the best waitress resume on the menu.
You can wipe a spill with one hand, balance a precarious tray with the other, and take a 4-top’s order by memory without a glitch. But employers don’t know yet what you bring to the table.
Ready to write a waitress resume that works?
Read a waitressing resume example you can change to fit any waitress position you want. Get an easy recipe to write a resume for waitress jobs that’ll land 10x more interviews than any other.
Here’s a waitress resume example made with our builder:
Want to save time and have your resume ready in 5 minutes? Try our resume builder. It’s fast and easy to use. Plus, you’ll get ready-made content to add with one click. See 20+ resume templates and create your resume here.
Sample resume made with our builder—See more resume samples here.
Before we dig in, here are several other related resume examples and restaurant resume guides:
Also you can check Best Resume Examples for even more examples.
Linda B. Altieri
Experienced Waitress
907-344-0888
linda.b.altieri@me.com
linkedin.com/in/lindabaltieri
Summary
Personable waitress with more than 4 years of restaurant experience providing table service at busy dining establishments in the Anchorage business district. Achieved a 99.5% guest satisfaction score or above in each of the past 24 months. Seeking to leverage excellent order recall, friendly service, and the ability to handle multiple tables and groups to become the new waitress at Fabricio’s Fine Foods.
Experience
Waitress
John’s Fish & Chips, Anchorage, AK
September 2018–October 2020
Key Qualifications & Responsibilities
Key Achievements
Waitress & Busser
Jamie’s Bar & Grill, Anchorage, AK
April 2016–September 2018
Key Qualifications & Responsibilities
Key Achievements
Education
Majoring in Food and Nutrition
University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, AK
Anticipated Completion: 2022
Relevant Coursework: Nutritional Biochemistry, Food And Culture, Medical Nutrition Therapy, Microbiology, Food Service Management, Environmental Science, Nutrition Care Process, Nutritional Journalism, Nutrition and Exercise Physiology.
High School Diploma
Eagle River High School, Anchorage, AK
Completion: 2018
Skills
Courses and Certificates
Here’s how to write a waitress resume step-by-step.
Before you can seat guests and serve them food, you’ll set the table first. In a resume for waitresses, that means formatting correctly before you start. A badly laid-out resume is like a table near the bathroom. Nobody is interested, even at a glance. Good formatting is the first step to getting hired.
Here’s how to format a waitress resume template:
Include these resume parts:
Don’t start your waitress resume at the top. Instead, start with easy-to-write resume sections like your work experience. Then come back and add the garnish later.
Are there other resume formats? See our guide: Best Resume Structure
According to the BLS, waitress jobs should increase by 6% between 2018 and 2028. That’s great, but—too many of those will be at bottom-feeder chains. To beat the other candidates for the best waitress jobs, you need to wow the manager with a perfectly-seasoned work experience section.
What’s the recipe?
Here’s the best plan to make a work experience section for a waitress resume that works:
Here are two waitress resume samples to show those tips in action:
Right |
---|
Experience Waitress John’s Fish & Chips, Anchorage, AK September 2018–October 2020 Key Qualifications & Responsibilities
Key Achievements
|
Wrong |
---|
Head Waitress February 2018–June 2020 La Grenouille, Long Island City, NY Key Responsibilities
|
You don’t need Gordon Ramsey to explain what’s wrong with the second waitressing resume sample. It doesn’t give details, there are no quantifiable accomplishments, and it doesn’t show professionalism. The first example, however, is a feast for the eyes. It’s tailored, detailed, and uses numbers.
Pro Tip: Don’t wear yourself out by trying to write the perfect resume. If you customize it to the job like I showed above, the restaurant manager will give it rave reviews.
Now—
What if you’re applying for a first-time waitressing job? If you’re writing an entry-level resume with no experience (or little experience), don’t panic. You just need to show them you can take what you learned in your past job and use it as a great starting point. To do it, show transferable skills.
See these entry-level waitress resume examples:
Right |
---|
Barista February 2018–November 2020 Cafe Sashay, Brooklyn, NY Key Qualifications & Responsibilities
Key Achievements
|
Wrong |
---|
Barista February 2018–November 2020 Cafe Sashay, Brooklyn, NY Key Responsibilities
|
As you can see, this applicant was a barista in her past life. But in the right waitress resume example, she tailored her job responsibilities in a way that’s super-relevant to a restaurant server job. The wrong example might as well read “I’m a barista with no waiting experience.” It all comes down to adding the right resume achievements.
Pro Tip: Should you ever write a 2-page resume? Not for a waitress job. If you can’t describe your career in a single page, the restaurant manager won’t read your resume.
When making a resume in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building a professional resume template here for free.
When you’re done, our free resume builder will score your resume and our resume checker will tell you exactly how to make it better.
You don’t need a fancy-shmancy degree to get a job waiting tables. But—you do need to document your education effectively. Otherwise they won’t take your restaurant waitressing resume seriously. When you have plenty of experience, just list your school, degree, and completion date.
See this waitress resume example:
Right |
---|
Diploma and Certificate in Culinary Arts The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL Completion: 2017 |
But—
If you have little waitressing experience, dig deeper in your resume education section, like this:
Right |
---|
Education
Bachelor of Arts in Food Service Management University of Massachusetts - Amherst, Amherst, MA Anticipated Completion: 2021 Relevant Coursework: Culinary Nutrition, Culinary Arts, Restaurant Management and Operations, Hospitality Management, International Cuisines, Advanced Food Service Operations, Food and Beverage Strategies and Logistics, Culinary Fundamentals. Minor: Culinary Arts Leadership: Vice President, Student Activities Committee |
If you’ve got a completed culinary school certificate or college degree, leave your high school off the restaurant resume. Otherwise, add it as a secondary entry below. Also—do you have little or no waitressing experience but a legit education section? Move the education above your work history.
That way, your waitress resume gives them the tastiest dish first.
Read up more on adding smarts to your resume: How to List Education on a Resume
Whether you can spin a tray of cocktails on one finger or you have the memory of a dolphin, you’ve got the restaurant skills to be a fine waitress. But—you can’t list every ability you have. You must include the best waitress skills for a resume to work.
Which skills should you add to a resume for waitresses to make your application tempting? To help you get inspired, see this list of skills for waitress resumes:
But—
Here’s how to select the best resume waitress skills:
See this waitress resume example:
Say the waitress job posting mentions register operation, friendly service, and efficiency.
Then prove your skills like this:
Right |
---|
|
Experienced? Not experienced? How you’ll list your waitressing skills is very different based on how long you’ve been serving food. See these examples:
Right |
---|
|
Right |
---|
|
As you can see, there are certain waitress resume skills you can pick up anywhere, such as hygiene or conflict resolution.
Read more about adding skills to resumes: 99+ Skills to Add to a Resume (List & Examples)
Imagine you’re serving up a plate of pancakes. You won’t just deliver that fluffy stack as is. It’s the same with your waitress resume. Extra resume sections are the maple syrup, blueberries, and whipped cream on top. They add flavor to your job application and get the manager excited.
Here are a few examples of delish additional sections to add on a resume for waitress jobs:
Food service certifications and food handling licenses show any restaurant manager you’re worth your salt. Here are a few of the best in the industry:
Have any volunteer experience under your apron? Though unpaid, it can be a great way to show work experience, especially when you don’t have much other real-world working expertise.
Do you know another language? Adding your proficiency in a foreign language to a waitressing resume makes a strong impression, especially if it’s particularly relevant to the restaurant (knowledge of French in a French restaurant, Spanish in a Latin American neighborhood, etc.).
Don’t think your hobbies and interests belong on a waitress resume? Think again. When they relate to restaurant servers, such as your passion for food blogging, add it to your wait staff resume.
Adding your membership in a waitstaff or food service association shows the restaurant supervisor you’re a professional choice. Take a look at these examples:
See these waitress resume samples:
Right |
---|
Courses and Certificates
|
Wrong |
---|
|
For more possibilities when it comes to additional parts of a resume, see this guide: What to Include on a Resume: 20+ Top Examples
Let’s take it back to the top. An effective specials board stands just outside the restaurant and lures in hungry guests. Likewise, the right heading statement attracts the restaurant manager and makes her hungry to read more. But there are two flavors: summary or objective.
Go over what you’ve written in your waitress resume so far. Locate the most scrumptious morsels—those sure to stand out to a restaurant supervisor that are relevant to this waitstaff job. Select 2 or 3 of the top achievements and skills and use them to construct your heading paragraph.
So—
Do you have blisters from years on your feet serving food?
Here’s how to write a career summary:
See these waitress resume summary examples:
Right |
---|
Friendly head waitress with over 3 years of experience in French cuisine and fine dining restaurants. Expert knowledge of French wines and wine pairing. 2020 waitress of the year and consistently responsible for over $150,000 in sales every month. Seeking to leverage professional serving skills and native proficiency in French to become the lead waitress at La Sirène. |
Wrong |
---|
Head waitress with plenty of experience in French cuisine, knowledge of French wines, and fine dining professionalism. Seeking a similar position at any French restaurant in the New York City or northern New Jersey areas. |
The second one will make them frown like there’s a hair in their pasta. It isn’t tailored to one particular restaurant. It doesn’t give details. Finally, it does not provide numbers to give the restaurant manager an understanding of just how well you performed your waitress duties.
Now—
What if you’ve never served tables before?
An entry-level waitress resume needs a career objective. Back before credit cards, that meant talking about your hopes and dreams for the job. Don’t do that. Instead, delight the restaurant manager with relevant accomplishments from non-waitressing jobs, from school, or from your life at large.
See these waitressing resume examples:
Right |
---|
Friendly barista with 2 years of experience serving customers at a busy midtown café. Current bachelor's degree student majoring in food service management. Rang up more than $5,000 in sales per day and awarded the BDP Service Recognition certificate for March 2020. Looking to leverage customer-centric attitude and café skills to become the next waitress at Vaucluse Restaurant. |
Wrong |
---|
Having just completed a bachelor’s degree in food service management, I’d like to get my foot in the door by starting as a server somewhere in town. I also have experience as a barista, and my customers all are happy with the service I provide. |
Just like in the waitress resume summary, tailor your objective to this particular restaurant. Give a numbered win to make them hungry for more.
Looking for the full recipe on starting a resume correctly? Look no further: Best Resume Introduction Examples
Does your waitress resume need a cover letter? Yes. The cover letter is as important as the tables in a restaurant—and our HR statistics report shows why. Nearly half the hiring managers out there trash resumes without them. Why? An application without a letter looks like job search spam.
To write your waitress cover letter:
Read more: How To Write A Cover Letter in 8 Simple Steps and How to Make a Resume: A Step-by-Step Guide
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:
See more cover letter templates and start writing.
Here’s a recap of how to write a waitress resume:
That’s it! Now, we’d love to hear from you:
Let’s chat below in the comments, and thanks for reading!
This article has been reviewed by our editorial team to make sure it follows Zety's editorial guidelines. We’re committed to sharing our expertise and giving you trustworthy career advice tailored to your needs. High-quality content is what brings over 40 million readers to our site every year. But we don't stop there. Our team conducts original research to understand the job market better, and we pride ourselves on being quoted by top universities and prime media outlets from around the world.
How to write a resume that will get the job done? This step-by-step guide will show you the best resume examples and how to make a professional resume in a few easy steps.
A professional restaurant resume sample that will land you the job. Plus, a complete guide on writing a sizzling resume, restaurants resume templates, 20+ examples, and expert tips that will catapult you on a new career path.
A complete guide to writing a food service resume. Get actionable food service resume examples and tips from HR pros! See the best food service resume samples and use them today! In no time, you're going to have a resume for food service jobs better than 9 out of 10 others. Read on and land your new job quick!