Waiter / Waitress CV: Example & Guide

You don’t just serve food, you help to create a dining experience. You can recommend the best wine to pair with duck and find space for an unexpected table of 8 during a busy Saturday night service. All while balancing a tray of champagne flutes with the grace of a ballet dancer.

Your waitress skills are second to none, you just need to serve them cooked to perfection. So make sure you write a waitress / waiter CV that stands out like a Gordon Ramsay restaurant next to a greasy kebab joint. It’s as easy as upselling a sticky toffee pudding.

Read on and you’ll see a professional waitress CV example you can adjust and make yours. Plus, you’ll learn an easy formula for writing a CV for waitressing jobs that will land you 10x more interviews than any other CV you’ve written in the past.

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Looking for other CV writing advice? Read more here:

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• How to Write a CV [Professional UK Examples]
• Skills Based CV Format [Complete Guide]
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Sample Waitress CV Template

Now, here’s the job-winning waitress CV formula:

1. Use the Best Format for Your Waitress CV

A waitress / waiter is responsible for taking orders and serving food and drinks to customers. They play an important role in customer satisfaction as they’re responsible for offering recommendations and advice and checking back on diners to ensure they’re enjoying their meals and correcting any problems.

So the purpose of your waitress / waiter CV is to showcase a smorgasbord of skills. From customer service, to multitasking, to conflict resolution, you’ve got to have it all in the waitstaff game. But you’ve only got 8 seconds to prove that to the hiring manager. 

To make sure they’re ready to order a “you’re hired” special, just follow these rules so they can find everything they need.

• Choose the right CV format. The best choice for a waitress CV is chronological format. It’s preferred by hiring managers as it’s the format they’re most familiar with.
• Get your CV layout right. Set your margins to one inch on every side, left align only (don’t use justification) and double space between sections. Aim to create plenty of white space to keep it easy to read and draw the eye like a magnet to the most important info.
• Choose a clear and professional CV font. Calibri, Times New Roman and Garamond are reliable choices.
• Don’t overdo it. Your CV length should be a maximum of two pages.
• Save your CV as a PDF file. It’s the best file format as it keeps your layout intact.
• Never include personal information on your CV like your photo, date of birth or marital status. It causes all sorts of problems in terms of discrimination and has no bearing on how well you can do the job.

Read more about CV Layout: How to Layout a Professional CV

2. Write a Waitress CV / Waiter CV Personal Statement

A CV personal statement, or personal profile is the introduction to your CV. It’s a short paragraph designed to grab the hiring manager’s attention. You’ve got to prove your worth for the role in just 3–4 sentences. Sounds scary I know, but all you need to do is answer 3 questions. 

1. Who are you? 
2. What can you offer to the employer? 
3. What are your career goals? 

The way you answer those questions will be different depending on how experienced you are. If you’re an experienced waitress then follow this approach.

• Take some time to make a list of all your selling points as a waitress / waiter. All of the professional experience, skills and abilities that make you great at your job.
• Then read the job description in the advert and match 3–4 points from your list to the skills and experience listed there.
• Use these points to write a personal profile targeted to the waitressing job you’re applying for. 

If you’ve got less experience in waiting tables,then do this.

• List any skills you already have. Think of your education and any other jobs you’ve had. Then list those that are transferable to a waitressing job, like customer service and interpersonal communication.
• Use a combination of those skills and show passion for the role, and knowledge about the employer to prove that you’re a good fit for the job.
• Put this all together into a personal profile targeted to the job.

Whatever your experience, you’ll find this section easier to write if you leave it until last. It’s much easier when you’ve got your experience, skills and education ready to refer to.

Now for the main course, your work experience section.

Check out this guide for even more tips on how to write your personal profile: How to Write a CV Personal Statement [20+ Examples]

3. Serve Up a Cordon Bleu Waitress Work Experience Section

Your work experience section is the most important part of your CV. Restaurant managers want waitstaff who can throw on an apron and a smile and get straight to work. Here’s how to show you’ve got what it takes.

• Put your most recent job first and work backward from there. 
• For each position, include your job title, the name of the employer, dates of employment (use “present” as the end date if you work there now), then up to six bullet points describing the job.
• Start your bullet points with a CV action word like created, completed or performed, to give them maximum impact.
• Write about measurable achievements, not just your duties. It’s not just about what you did, you’ve got to show how well you did it.
• Use the PAR (Problem Action Result) formula and accomplishment statements to structure your bullet points. 
• Target your CV work experience section to the job description. Pay attention to what skills and experience the hiring manager is looking for and match your experience to what’s required.

If you haven’t got waitressing experience don’t worry. Other jobs involving customer service are a great way of showing you can excel at waiting tables. Also, consider getting some hands-on experience through one-off gigs. Large events like concerts and sports matches often hire staff for hospitality work with no experience needed.

Want an extra helping of good CV advice? Check out our guide: 20+ CV Tips and Advice for Job Application Success

4. Include an Education Section

I know, it doesn’t require an Oxbridge degree to be an amazing waitress / waiter, but this is a vital part of a properly structured CV and there’s certain information you have to include. Here’s how to do it:

• For school leavers, include the name of the school, its location, and the dates you attended. Mention individual subjects for your A-levels. But for your GCSEs you only need to mention Maths and English, many employers look for passes in these subjects as an essential minimum achievement.
• If you went to uni, list the university name, years attended, and the name of your degree. If you’re still studying include your expected graduation date.
• Got a certificate or diploma in hospitality? Then include the name of the institution, the name of the certificate including its NVQ level and the dates you undertook it.
• If you’ve just left school or graduated and don’t have much experience then change the order of your CV and put this section before your work experience section.

5. Show Off Your Waiter / Waitress CV Skills

It takes a lot of skill to be a good waitress. You need a great memory for orders, the ability to effortlessly carry multiple plates of burning hot food, and that’s just for starters. So how do you choose which skills to include on your CV? It’s easy.

• Read the job advert and identify which skills this particular restaurant is looking for. Look at the job description and you’ll see exactly what the hiring manager wants. Write those skills down in a list.
• Now make a list of all of your skills, refer back to your work experience and education sections for inspiration.
• Then compare the two lists, see what matches, and choose 5–10 of those to put on your CV.
• Include a mix of soft skills, hard skills and technical skills. 
• For each skill, add a single sentence showing how you demonstrate it. Don’t just show, tell. E.g. Teamwork: Worked efficiently with team members to ensure all tables received excellent service, providing assistance to colleagues when required.

These skills would make a great addition to a waitress CV.

Waiter / Waitress CV Skills

• Communication
• People skills
• Teamwork
• Customer service
• Interpersonal skills
• Food safety knowledge
• Wine knowledge
• Cash handling & POS
• Multi-tasking
• Problem-solving
• Sales skills

Read More: Best List of Skills to Put on a CV [Top Skills & Examples]

When making a CV in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building your CV here.

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6. Add Additional Sections to Your Waiter / Waitress CV

Your job is providing that little bit extra that makes a dining experience great. Great hospitality makes for a great meal. Make sure you go above and beyond with your CV too by adding some additional sections to really help you stand out from the competition. 

• Add a languages section. Foreign language skills are needed at all levels of the workforce and are a great choice for customer-facing roles like waitressing.
• Volunteering is also a powerful addition. 82% of managers prefer to hire people with volunteering experience.
• You could also include projects, achievements, awards and hobbies. Just make sure it’s relevant and helps to make you stand out as a candidate.

7. Consider a Cover Letter

Just like a juicy burger and piping hot chips, a CV and a cover letter complement each other perfectly. In fact, more than half of employers say they’re a must-have.

This is how to write a cover letter:

• Use the the correct cover letter format.
• Start your cover letter with a ‘hook’. Show passion for the role and the employer and include an impressive professional achievement.
• Prove your experience and skills will enable you to deliver efficient service and satisfied customers.
• Include a cover letter ending with a call to action asking to meet to discuss the role further or to do a trial shift.
• Stick to the right cover letter length.

Want a more detailed check list for your cover letter? Read more: What to Include in a Cover Letter for a Job 

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your CV 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:

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One last thing. Every good waitress / waiter does check backs, it’s an important part of good customer service. Do exactly the same thing with your job application. Follow up. If you haven’t got a reply after one week, check back with the employer by email or phone about the status of your application. It’s a great way of improving your chances of success.

And that’s it. Now you know how to serve up a delicious waitress CV.

Thanks for reading. Got any job hunting tips and tricks you’d like to share? Is there anything you’d like me to explain in more detail? If you’ve got any questions about how to write a waiter CV, please use the comments section below. I’m looking forward to hearing from you.