Top Fine Dining sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers & results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
How to write a Fine Dining resume experience section
Checklist: Ways to Make Your Experience Section Stand Out
- Find balance: use 4-6 bullet points per position;
- Include positions that are relevant to the job you’re applying for;
- Use action verbs when describing your responsibilities and results;
- Highlight your achievements by adding numbers to them (e.g. instead of saying “achieved a steady increase in…”, say “achieved an X% increase in…”);
- Prove that you’re willing to work hard, both individually and in a team.
Looking for real-life examples of what a strong experience section looks like? Check out our suggestions below!
- Managed a section of the dining room serving up to 30 guests per shift with a focus on exceptional service.
- Suggested and served wine pairings resulting in a 15% increase in wine sales for the restaurant.
- Collaborated with the kitchen team to provide detailed knowledge of menu items and ingredients resulting in a 25% increase in menu item sales.
- Assisted in the training and mentoring of new servers to ensure seamless service and maintain high levels of customer satisfaction.
- Consistently received positive feedback from customers and management for professionalism and attention to detail.
- Managed a section of the dining room serving up to 20 guests per shift with a focus on exceptional service.
- Developed and maintained strong relationships with regular customers resulting in a 30% increase in repeat business.
- Trained and mentored new servers to ensure seamless service and maintain high levels of customer satisfaction.
- Collaborated with the kitchen team to provide detailed knowledge of menu items and ingredients resulting in a 20% increase in menu item sales.
- Consistently exceeded customer expectations and received positive feedback from customers and management.
- Managed a section of the dining room serving up to 25 guests per shift with a focus on exceptional service.
- Developed and maintained strong relationships with regular customers resulting in a 15% increase in repeat business.
- Collaborated with the kitchen team to provide detailed knowledge of menu items and ingredients resulting in a 20% increase in menu item sales.
- Trained and mentored new servers to ensure seamless service and maintain high levels of customer satisfaction.
- Consistently received positive feedback from customers and management for professionalism and attention to detail.
- Designed and implemented a new menu featuring 10 seasonal cocktails, resulting in a 25% increase in revenue.
- Created a training program that increased the team's sales skills by 30% within 3 months.
- Developed and maintained relationships with liquor and wine distributors, reducing costs by 10%.
- Received the 'Outstanding Employee' award for 2 consecutive years.
- Managed inventory and reduced waste by 20%, saving the company £10,000 annually.
- Created personalized cocktails for guests based on their preferences, resulting in a 15% increase in guest satisfaction scores.
- Implemented a system to track inventory and reduced loss from overpouring by 10%.
- Collaborated with the kitchen to create food and cocktail pairings, leading to an increase in overall sales.
- Received 'Employee of the Month' award twice.
- Trained new bartenders in the company's cocktail philosophy and best practices.
- Managed a section of 10 tables and up to 40 guests, ensuring prompt and attentive service.
- Trained new servers on menu items, wine pairings, and service techniques, resulting in a 30% reduction in training time.
- Handled difficult situations with tact and diplomacy, resulting in a 95% satisfaction rate among guests.
- Trained new servers on menu items, service techniques, and wine pairings, resulting in a 25% reduction in training time.
- Managed reservations and seating arrangements for up to 60 guests, ensuring efficient use of dining space and reducing wait times.
- Received numerous positive reviews and feedback from guests, resulting in a 98% satisfaction rate.
- Developed and implemented new training programs for servers, resulting in a 20% improvement in service quality.
- Managed reservations and seating arrangements for up to 80 guests, ensuring efficient use of dining space and reducing wait times.
- Provided expert recommendations on menu items and wine pairings, resulting in a 25% increase in wine sales.
PRO TIP
Check the Fine Dining job description for inspiration. Look for similarities between your employer’s values and your experience.
Action Verbs for your Fine Dining Resume
Recommended reads:
Impressing Recruiters with a Top Fine Dining Resume Skills Section
The Ultimate Fine Dining Skills Section Checklist:
- Balance between all kinds of hard skills – technical, analytical, etc.
- When it comes to technical skills, match them to the job description;
- Add keywords present in the job advert to pass ATS;
- Don’t forget to list transferable skills such as communication, teamwork, work ethic, and presentation skills.
Top skills for your fine dining resume
Knife skills
Food preparation and handling
Knowledge of ingredients and flavor profiles
Cooking techniques
Plating and presentation
Wine pairing and knowledge of beverage service
Menu planning and costing
Food safety and sanitation
Time management
Inventory management
Attention to detail
Teamwork and collaboration
Problem-solving
Creativity
Adaptability and flexibility
Customer service
Communication
Leadership
Stress management
Cultural sensitivity and awareness
PRO TIP
When describing your experience, don’t go too far from its terminology. Recruiters use ATS systems to filter resumes based on them having certain keywords, so make sure you use at least a few keywords mentioned in the job description.
Recommended reads:
Fine Dining resume header: tips, red flags, and best practices
Job-winning Fine Dining resume summary checklist:
- Mention your total years of experience in the field;
- Highlight one or two of your top achievements;
- Avoid getting into too much detail – you’ll do that in the experience section;
- Focus on short sentences that are easy to read and add value to your application.
Resume summary formula:
PRO TIP
Highlight specific past projects that you’re most proud of in your summary. It sets an excellent tone for the rest of your resume. You can talk about all of your former jobs in your work experience section later on.
Recommended reads:
The Best Format for Your Fine Dining Resume
Choosing the right format for your resume might seem difficult, regardless of whether you’re a newbie or a master. In short, there are three basic resume formats for you to choose from:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional skills-based resume format;
- Combination (or Hybrid) resume format.
The choice you make depends on your level of experience and the company you’re applying for.
The reverse-chronological resume format is great for you if you have at least 10 years of experience, no employment gaps, and are not looking for a career change. Here, you are expected to list all your previous jobs in a reverse-chronological format, starting from your most recent position and going back to the oldest one. It’s perfect for experienced individuals who are looking for a straightforward way to highlight their expertise.
The functional skills-based resume format, on the other hand, is great for recent graduates or professionals with large employment gaps. It focuses on skills and education, rather than experience. This makes it ideal for showing you’re the right fit without putting too much emphasis on your lack of (relevant) experience.
If you’re looking for something a bit more creative, go for the combination resume format. It’s a mix of the reverse-chronological and the functional skills-based formats, which makes it ideal for all types of applicants. What’s more, it’s considered modern and innovative, and isn’t this what you want your application to feel like anyway?
Fine Dining Resume Formatting Checklist
- Choose the resume format based on your level of experience and the company you’re applying for
- Go for a traditional 10-12p font
- Stick to 1-inch page margins to ensure high readability
- Match the length of your resume to your experience, but don’t go for more than two pages!
To take it a step further, check out how your resume can stand out without leaning too much on the creative side.
