You’ve tried everything but cannot find a job as a server?
Do you have exceptional interpersonal skills like communication and active listening?
Maybe you face aggressive competition?
Are you flexible at work?
Do you know tricks on how to get big tips and increase sales?
If the answer to all these questions is “Yes!”, then the problem is not you, but your approach.
You can solve this issue by building a compelling resume that will make recruiters call you!
Fortunately, we are familiar with writing server resumes that stand out and we will show it to you.
Follow the 2022 ultimate server resume guide and learn some tips and tricks.
To the customer, you are the company.
Shep Hyken, Customer Service and Experience Expert
Why this resume works
The following candidate is an example of a creative, skilled and motivated young person:
- The ability to multitask helped them excel in a dynamic work environment
- Well-listed skills combined with admirable Strengths section indicates knowledge and adaptability
- Strong references from previous employers prove that the candidate could bring value
- Resume sections are logically connected and leave an overall positive impression
The server job market
The median hourly wage for food and beverage serving is $11.60 in May 2020.
Overall employment of food and beverage serving is projected to grow 17 % from 2020 to 2030. This growth is the biggest among customer service occupations.
There will be 1,032,100 openings for food and beverage serving each year. They are a result of the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or retire.
How to write a server resume
Maybe, you think servers do not have many things to put in a resume.
Fortunately, this is not true and we will show you why!
Your server resume should focus on three vital skills:
- Communication and interpersonal skills
- Flexibility
- Sales objectives
It’s crucial to prove and support these skills in the Experience and Summary sections:
What was your customer satisfaction rate? Did you make any valuable relationships with colleagues?
Did interpersonal skills bring you big tips?
Did you go that extra mile to please your bosses and finish the work?
The recruiter would pay attention to facts and achievements, not to vague sentences.
Hard skills might bring you bonus points: basic math, data entry and understanding of restaurant machinery.
Did you meet your sales objectives? Did you utilize suggestive selling and increased tips and profit?
Do you know any foreign languages? Did you use them in a conversation at work?
Ask yourself these questions and put the answers in your resume!
Just one more thing, tailor your resume to the job description! It’s crucial!
Server resume formats
You can use resume formats such as:
The years of experience and industry you are in define the 3 resume formats:
- Reverse-chronological resumes are the perfect choice for professionals with some years of experience.
- Functional resumes are suitable for people searching for a job or career changers. It is important to note that they are not popular among recruiters!
- Hybrid resumes include the best characteristics of the two resume formats above. They can be used by entry-level employees and seniors.
Pay attention to the style and layout! Here are some resume tips:
- Choose 12p resume font size
- Use 10’ resume margins
- Professionals with under 10 years of experience should use a one-page resume, those with over 10 years- two-page resume
- Check your grammar and spelling so as not to miss the interview call
- Save your resume in a PDF format
To make your resume stand out, learn more about how to include References and Language skills!
Top resume sections
- A compelling Summary section that builds a good overall impression of you as a professional
- Experience bullet points that are backed up with quantitative data and proven facts
- Skills section that shows the balance between soft and hard skills
- References from your previous employers
- The strengths that helped you reach high-performance metrics
What recruiters want to see
- Provide well-structured experience bullet points that make your good qualities stand out
- Are you flexible at work?
- Do you communicate with clients properly? What is your customer satisfaction rate?
- Did you meet your sales objectives? How did you do it?
- What skills did you apply and acquire from your previous jobs?
Remember one crucial thing: every bit of your resume should show and provide value.
Thus, employers will know how you could contribute to their company!
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Nail the server resume summary
The summary is the introduction of your resume-it notifies the recruiter about your overall experience.
Some servers might consider this section useless and skip it.
However, this way, you would miss a huge opportunity and regret it later.
The summary helps you capture the employer’s attention with just 2-3 specific things about yourself.
Therefore, you should focus on giving the most valuable, accurate and extraordinary information.
Here are some tips for writing your summary:
- Use industry terminology and action verbs
- Add Courses or Languages to stand out
- Mention 2-3 specific tasks that you performed
- Emphasize communication skills/flexibility/sales and back them with examples
What to avoid in your server resume:
- Use of monotonous sentences without valuable data
- Starting the first sentence with “I”
- Too general or too specific data-find the balance
Follow these tips and nail the server resume!
Pro tip
Mention high-performance metrics that you achieved utilizing knowledge. Did foreign languages or suggestive selling help you increase your tips? Did flexibility help you get a promotion?
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Server experience that speaks volumes
The Experience section points out everything you've achieved in a professional aspect so far.
It is a crucial factor whether you get the interview call or not.
Therefore, you should pay serious attention when building this section!
You might consider adding:
- Soft and hard skills that you acquired and applied
- Action verbs and quantitative data to support your statements
- High-performance metrics
- Your tasks/duties you excelled
- Extraordinary achievements
Tailor the experience bullet points to the job description!
When writing them, focus on your flexibility, communication and sales skills.
How did proper communication increase your customer satisfaction rate or sales?
Did suggestive selling help you get big tips?
How did your soft and hard skills help you excel at daily tasks and achieve objectives?
Did you go the extra mile? Did your boss acknowledge you?
Answer these questions and write down a job-winning server experience!
Server resume experience examples
02/2000 - 11/2004 
- •Served a lot of clients
- •Had polite attitude
- •Met sales objectives
- •Worked in a dynamic environment
Scattered, vague and too general.
These bullet points bring no value and tell nothing about you as a professional!
They lack quantitative data and extraordinary achievements.
This way, you do not leave a positive impression about yourself and won’t make it to the interview.
02/2000 - 11/2004 - •High-volume server sales; averaged $1,500 in food sales per night (5-hour shifts)
- •Delivered exceptional, friendly and fast service to guests in a 24-person section
- •Served hundreds of customers per day, up to 40 at the same time
- •Trained an average of 2 new employees per month
The following candidate has a way better approach that will impress recruiters.
The experience proves high-performance metrics, training skills and multitasking.
Their performance brought value to the company and demonstrated a strong work ethic.
How to describe the duties of a restaurant server on a resume
Focus on the following restaurant server responsibilities:
- Provide thorough knowledge of the menu items and make recommendations
- Resolve conflicts between clients and maintain a positive atmosphere
- Ensure health, safety and hygiene procedures and standards are met
- Serve meals in a dynamic environment
- Train additional servers and bartenders to ensure their professional levels
- Close interaction with the kitchen staff
Pay close attention to the job description when building your resume.
Write down only those duties that could have a huge impact on the recruiter.
To fill up the gaps in the resume, you could:
- Mention courses to emphasize additional knowledge you could apply at work
- Include languages as an advantage if you work in a multicultural environment
- Add references-they prove that you have something valuable to offer to the company
- Add a “My Time” diagram to provide evidence for time management skills
Go that extra mile. It’s never crowded.
Unknown
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Admirable server resume skills
Many candidates might decide to emphasize soft skills in their resumes.
Servers should know basic math and have a strong memory for menu items.
Therefore, it’s vital to balance soft and hard skills to get the interview call.
Also, it’s crucial to tailor your server resume to the job description. This approach will help you impress the recruiters.
10 soft skills to include on a server resume
- Communication
- Flexibility
- Interpersonal Skills
- Time Management
- Attention to Detail
- Organization
- Customer Service
- Training
Remember to mention only those skills that are relevant to your job.
Resume sections should be logically interconnected and support the candidate’s experience.
8 hard skills to include on a server resume
- POS
- Computer Literacy
- Languages
- Strong Memory
- Restaurant Machinery
- Data Entry
- Basic Math
- Food Safety
Key takeaways
- Mention specific, measurable and valuable data backed up with numbers and action verbs
- Emphasize communication, sales and flexibility to stand out from the competition
- Logically connect soft and hard skills in all sections of the resume
- Use keywords from the job description to list skills, strengths and experience bullet points
- Add languages and references to impress the recruiter
Server resume examples
Explore additional server resume samples and guides and see what works for your level of experience or role.
By Experience
Senior Server
By Role
Banquet Server
Catering Server
Similar to a Product Manager, a Catering Server also plays a pivotal role in their industry for managing client satisfaction and ensuring smooth operations.
When applying for jobs in this field, here are some points to consider for a more successful outcome:
- Exhibit your skills in handling different types of events and catering services to showcase your flexibility, such as buffet-style, family-style, or formal plated services.
- Highlight your experience in event planning or management. This ties directly with the role as it often requires understanding the specifics of the event itself.
- Focus on your customer service skills and ability to accommodate guests' requests on your resume. Effective communication, empathy, and patience are crucial to accomplish this task.
- Don't just list your previous roles. Make sure to explain what you did in each role and the impact it had on the event, for instance, “improved event efficiency by…”, “increased client satisfaction by…” etc. Stick to the “skill-action-results” pattern.
Cocktail Server
Fine Dining Server
Food Server
Head Server
Ice Cream Server
Restaurant Server
Lead Server
Server-Bartender
The following candidate is an example of a creative, skilled and motivated young person:
- The ability to multitask helped them excel in a dynamic work environment
- Well-listed skills combined with admirable Strengths section indicates knowledge and adaptability
- Strong references from previous employers prove that the candidate could bring value
- Resume sections are logically connected and leave an overall positive impression
