INDUSTRY STATS
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Line Cook positions are at a 26% growth rate, which is much faster than average. With that said, there are currently 2,281,400 jobs in the market right now. The total number of jobs is expected to increase by 594,600 to 2,876,000 in the period of 2020-30.
What’s more, the median annual wage for the Line Cook jobs was $27,250 in May 2020. The lowest 10% earned less than $9.13 per hour, and the highest 10% more than $18.71 per hour.
Our conclusion? The Line Cook job market is wide open for candidates.
Top line cook sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
How to write a line cook resume experience section
Line Cook Resume's Job Experience Checklist:
- Use 4-6 bullet points per job title;
- Don’t go further than a decade behind when describing your job history, unless you’re applying for an executive position;
- Combine job responsibilities as well as achievements with numbers in results when you describe your past work;
- Start each sentence with a power verb and avoid overused buzzwords;
- Use either C-A-R or S-T-A-R methodology, when describing your experience.
The work experience samples below come from real Line Cook resumes that got people hired at top companies. You can use them as an inspiration to build your own resume:
- Served breakfast meals(pancakes, toast griddles and fruits) and lunch dishes(Eggs Benedict, Game Burgers, Baked Specials and French Toast) on a daily basis
- Coordinated with the Managing Cook to handle the deliveries of food products
- Received two paycheck raises in the first three months of work at the restaurant
- Responsible for Preparation and execution of hot fish dishes during service
- Responsible for food safety and sanitation of station and all fish products for kitchen
- Responsible for preparation and execution of various dishes during on and off-site catering events
- Customer service
- Cafe opener/closer
- In charge of assuring strict product quality
- Responsible for training and supervision of PM preparation and menu execution
- Assisted CEC with large private six-course wine dinners, weddings, corporate evets, and nightly specials for full-service restaurant Cutlers and Bunch of Grapes tavern.
- Prepare ingredients then cook and assemble dishes as indicated by recipes
- Perform portion control and minimize waste to keep cost within forecasted range
- Ensure that all dishes are prepared in a timely manner by restocking ingredients at work station and meeting prep times to ensure smooth delivery
- Set up and clean station according to restaurant protocolMaintain a clean work station area, including kitchen equipment, tables, and shelves
- Comply with applicable sanitary, health, and personal hygiene standard
- Ensure quality and freshness of ingredients and productsPerform additional tasks as assigned by the line supervisor, sous-chef, or executive chef
- Set up stations and collect all necessary supplies to prepare menu for service.
- serve menu items compliant with established standards
- Keep the work area fresh through the shift
- Acquired culinary experience and skills
- Learned to work efficiently in a fast-paced environment
- Improved time management: worked up to 30 hours per week while attending school full-time
- Responsible for take away section tasks and duties/ mise en place
- Preperation
- Stock monitoring and control
- Work on larder, grill and pans
- Maintenance of clean and safe work station
- Applying safety regulations
- Took part in bar/floor work when short-staffed
- Responsible for take away section tasks and duties/ mise en place
- Preparation, grill work
- Stock monitoring and control
- Maintenance of clean and safe work station
- Compliance with safety regulations required in all kitchens
- Took part in bar/floor work due to FOH experience, and occasional staff shortages
- Ensure that the kitchen and storage areas meet cleaning standards
- Setting up and stocking stations with all necessary supplies
- Memorize and utilize serving portion sizes and all basic meal prep procedures used in the kitchen
- Create amazing guest experiences while multi-tasking and cooking guest orders with 100% accuracy in an open kitchen environment
- Maintaining station par and stock levels based on business projections
- Maintain quality control standards and follow recipes with zero deviatio
- Acquired culinary experience and skills
- Learned to work efficiently in a fast-paced environment
- Worked up to 30 hours per week while attending school full-time
- Made food to order in a high volume fast-paced environment while keeping the workstation clean and organized.
- Ensured high quality product left the kitchen every order.
- Learned and performed the roles of each station.
- Worked as a team to ensure all orders went out correctly and in a timely manner.
- Station Preparation: properly stock station with necessary food and equipment
- Food Preparation: cook food according to recipes, menu orders, and special dietary / nutrition needs
- Clean Up: always maintain a clean and sanitized workstation
- Storage: Properly label and store food, supplies, and materials
- Assist in training other employees
PRO TIP
Make sure to relate your experience to your job description, but never lie. That’s not tolerated and will show up in the face-to-face interview later on.
Action verbs for your line cook resume
Recommended reads:
Line Cook Resume Skills’ Tips & Tricks to Impress Recruiters
Resume skills section checklist:
- Ensure your hard skills section (including technologies) are exactly matching the job description.
- Don’t simply list your soft skills. Apply the “show, don’t tell” principle - let your job achievements speak for themselves.
- Find a way to showcase your skills beyond the skills section.
- Your resume’s skill section is important to ATS systems - so don’t skip it.
Top skills for your line cook resume
Cleaning
Speed
Physical Mobility
Stamina
Food Recipes
Ingredient Combination
Patience
Multitasking
Listening
Attention to details
Communication
Memorization
PRO TIP
Don’t feel obliged to spend a separate section for your soft skills - you can weave them throughout your job experience or career summary. But, don’t just write empty words - back them with examples.
recommended reads:
Line cook resume header: Tips, red flags, and best practices
Checklist for your line cook resume header
- Your name and surname in a legible and larger resume font
- The job title you’re applying for or your current job title as a subheading to your name
- Link to your portfolio or online profile, such as LinkedIn
- Address (City and State for the US; just your city for rest of the world)
- Email address
- Headshot (required or welcomed in the EU; not required and sometimes frowned upon in the US)
Stick to popular email providers such as Gmail or Outlook. And use these professional formats to create your username:
- first.last@gmail.com
- last.first@gmail.com
- firstlast@gmail.com
- f.last@gmail.com
- first.l@gmail.com
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
Include a link to your portfolio in your Line Cook resume header. Most companies will require that you include one in your resume, and even if they don’t, it’s an excellent opportunity to directly show them your proudest projects.
Line cook resume summary best practices
Checklist: What to Include in Your Line Cook Resume Summary:
- Years of experience;
- Highlight top 3 skills and proficiencies;
- One big professional accomplishment you’re most proud of, that you can tie with the aforementioned skills;
- Use short, direct sentences - but no more than three - to keep the HRs interested.
Resume summary formula:
PRO TIP
Your summary section should act as a professional taster. Use it wisely. Effectively convey your professional profile and let the hiring manager know that if they hire you, they won’t be disappointed. Make sure to include keywords from the job description too! Elaborate on your abilities further in your experience section. Again, cater to the job description.
Recommended reads:
Listing your education, certifications and courses
Resume education section checklist:
- Ensure your hard skills section (including technologies) are exactly matching the job description.
- Don’t simply list your soft skills. Apply the “show, don’t tell” principle - let your job achievements speak for themselves.
- Find a way to showcase your skills beyond the skills section.
- Your resume’s skill section is important to ATS systems - so don’t skip it.
Top certifications for your line cook resume
Essential Cooking Skills
Cook like a pro, master the basic techniques used in the World's culinary industry! Key Techniques - Part 1
More Essential Cooking Skills
Cook like a pro, master the basic techniques used in the World's culinary industry! Key Techniques - part 2
INDIAN COOKING - RESTAURANT STYLE COOKING COURSE
Learn - Base gravies (Red, Yellow, Green, White, Yellow Non veg & Makhani gravy) Karahi chicken, Palak Paneer & more.
Indian Culinary World - Master the art of Indian Cooking
Secrets of cooking delicious Indian food, from SizzlingPots - join 8000+ students in 125 countries in this masterclass!
Cook Real Food: How to Make Simple Plant-Based Meals
Learn how to cook whole plant foods to make quick, easy, and healthy vegan meals for practical everyday eating.
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
There are dozens of certifications that you can claim as a Line Cook. But, some are more effective than others. That’s why you mustn’t include every certificate other applicants might have. Try instead to earn and list a few of the difficult ones.
How to write a line cook resume
There are three basic resume formats you can choose from:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional resume format;
- Hybrid (or Combination) resume format;
The most optimal format for your particular case will depend on your years of experience, as well as whether you’re switching industries or not.
Reverse chronological resumes are best suited for experienced individuals who are sticking to their industry. The experience section takes a central place, and its bullets contain your responsibilities and achievements, coupled with numbers and results.
Functional resumes are used by less experienced jobseekers or career changers. Note that it’s not a format that recruiters prefer, as most are used to the classic chronological alignment. Instead of a list of job titles, functional resumes focus on your skills, and through what experiences you gained them.
Hybrid resumes are great for both experienced and entry-level candidates, as well as career changers. They combine the best of both worlds - most often in a double column format, where one side of the content is focused on your experience, whereas the other - on your skills, strengths, and proudest moments.
Here are more resume tips regarding your layout and style:
- Clear and legible 12p resume font size;
- Use 10’’ resume margins - that’s default for a great resume design;
- Use a one-page template resume length if you’ve got less than 10 years of experience; otherwise, opt for a two-page resume;
- Save your resume as PDF before sending it to the recruiter.
To take it a step further, check out how your resume can stand out without leaning too much on the creative side.
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
Sometimes you’ll want to go after a job which requires more experience than you have. Instead of using a typical Line Cook resume layout, you can use a creative layout. Getting noticed is the most important challenge and a creative resume layout might help you get invited for an interview as most of other accountants have boring resume designs.
Other sections to include in your resume
Depending on the type of company (corporation or start-up; innovative or traditional), job seniority level and your location, you may want to include more sections to your Line Cook resume:
Line Cook Resume: How to Make Yours More Creative & Stand Out
When you send your resume to a potential employer, chances are it's the fiftieth one they've seen that day. That's why you need to make your Line Cook resume stand out for the right reasons. That means showing your personality, not just your professional experience. Employers are far more likely to remember a candidate who seems like a genuine person and not a robot. Do this by including your passions (which is also a great place to demonstrate skills on a resume), share your favorite books, or even what your usual day looks like.
What makes a great line cook resume: key takeaways
- Choose a resume layout that sends the right message across and fits your current career situation;
- Create a resume header that shows your desired job title, and easy to find contact numbers;
- Be specific about your experience, accomplishments and future goals in your summary;
- Feature detailed metrics and specific examples that show the impact you made in your previous roles when describing your experience;
- List soft skills backed by examples;
- Add all of your technical skills and certifications that you have and match the job description;
- Show off a dash of personality in your resume that will demonstrate your culture fit and the right mix of hard and soft skills.
