INDUSTRY STATS
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Waiter positions are at a 20% growth rate, which is much faster than average. With that said, there are currently 2,023,200 jobs in the market right now. The total number of jobs is expected to increase by 407,600 to 2,430,800 in the period of 2020-30.
What’s more, the median annual wage for the Waiter jobs was $23,740 in May 2020. The lowest 10% earned less than $8.42 per hour, and the highest 10% more than $20.46 per hour.
Our conclusion? The Waiter job market is wide open for candidates.
Top waiter sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
What to write in your waiter experience section
Perfecting Your Waiter Resume Experience Section:
- Focus on results, not responsibilities;
- Use 4-6 bullet points per position;
- List only positions that are relevant to what you’re applying for;
- Include at least some form of quantitative data – it can be linked to the number of people you’ve managed or the - percentage decrease in costs that’s followed from your work - you decide;
- Choose action verbs over buzzwords.
We’ve collected some of the top resume experience sections from real Enhancv users. Check them out when drafting your own Waiter resume!
- Delivering outstanding food and beverage service to customers.
- Taking orders from guests and offering advice on the menu.
- Keeping the Place of Work and surrounding area clean and organized at all times.
- Taking orders from customers and serving food or beverages.
- Preparing hot, cold, and mixed drinks for clients, and chill bottles of wine
- Collecting payments from customers and assuring everything runs smoothly
- Greeting new customers and escorting them to their tables
- Presenting menus and answering questions about the cuisine, making recommendations upon request
- Cleaning tables and other areas as needed
- Communicate to the guest and provide assistance with their queries, inform them about the special items for the day.
- Observes guests and ensure their satisfaction with the food and service.
- Co - ordinate with the busperson, kitchen staff, bar staff to ensure smooth operation and guest satisfaction.
- I started as a cashier, but promoted to waiter due to excellent performance.
- Providing great customer service and having a lot of happy clients.
- Managed 17 hour long shifts without making mistakes, excuses or appearing tired.
- Customer service - Greeting new customers
- Presented menus and answered questions about the cuisine, making recommendations upon request
- Recommended wines and other drinks to customers.
- Wrote customers’ orders and conveyed to kitchen staff.
- Took orders from customers and served food, drinks and deserts.
- Prepared bill/receipts and collected payment from customers.
- Making alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages
- Inventory management
- Cleaning glasses, utensils, and bar equipment
- Greeting customers and presenting them with menus and beverage lists
- Setting and arranging tables
- Taking orders and relaying them to kitchen and bar staff Serving food and beverages
- Clearing tables and returning dishes and cutlery to kitchen
- Greeting arriving guests and representing the restaurant
- Taking orders and serving food/beverages
- Work in the kitchen
- Advising guests about the features of the restaurant dishes and drinks.
- Taking orders from a customer of the restaurant.
- Control of timely preparation of dishes.
- Submission ordered dishes to guests.
- Preparation and control of payment of accounts.
- Good knowledge of the last wines each week
- Great people skills with a warm and outgoing personnality, and capacity to remain and look calm under pressure
- An ability to multitask and organize my environment to work more efficiently
- Provide Excellent customer service
- Coordinated with restaurant manager and performed all service
- Work well under the pressure in busy day with turn over 1500 customer visiting on busy day
- Provide Excellent customer service
- Taking orders for food and beverage items
- Coordinated with restaurant manager and performed all service
- Sound knowledge of all food and wine available in restaurant
- Ability to maintain optimal standard of service at all times
- Handle pressure in a fast paced restaurant
- Working here has allowed me to work closely with customers, which enhanced my knowledge on customer needs, satisfaction and behaviours.
- Development of customer service skills
- Cash handling (including EFTPOS)
- Hospitality basics
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 waiter resume"
Recommended Reads:
Waiter resume skills section to impress recruiters
Checklist for a perfect waiter resume skills section:
- Make sure to include most if not all essential skills for the job;
- Check the job description and add some keywords to pass ATS;
- List both hard and technical skills;
- When it comes to soft skills – elaborate on them in other sections of your resume (e.g. the experience section).
Top skills for your waiter resume
Serving Food
Food & Wine Pairing
Knowledge of Dining Styles
POS Operation
Food Safety
Knowledge of Common Allergies
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:
Waiter resume header: tips, red flags, and best practices
Checklist for your waiter 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
Some companies, states, and countries have non-discrimination policies about what kind of information can be included on your Waiter resume. This might include a photo (which is often included in a resume header and might be on personal web pages you link to). You can always email the company’s HR department to ask about their policies before you apply.
Writing an effective waiter resume summary
Impressive waiter resume summary checklist:
- Point out the achievements that make you a valuable applicant;
- Mention the total years of experience you have;
- Highlight the things you believe make you the best fit for the position;
- Keep it short: aim at having no more than 3-5 sentences.
Resume summary formula:
PRO TIP
You’re not going to get hired simply because of a good summary or objective. However, your recruiter can bump you up in front of similarly experienced candidates who didn’t demonstrate such passion and drive.
Recommended reads:
Drawing the attention to your waiter resume education section
Crafting a job-winning education section.
- Use the reverse-chronological format when listing your degrees;
- Tailor the classes you’ve taken to the position you’re applying for if you’re an entry-level candidate;
- Mention the awards and honors you’ve received;
- Add your certifications (but only those relevant to the position).
Top certifications for your waiter resume
How to become a professional waiter
Earn more tips by learning these techniques
Restaurant Waiter Training - An Outstanding Waiter
A customer service training course for a restaurant waiter for better performance at work.
Be A Better Waiter - Give Better Service
Learn How To Maximize A Customer's Experience
How to start your restaurant and make a profit in 8 weeks!
Updated 2019 with live class training videos
Bartending Mastery - Cocktail & Bartending Masterclass
Become a skilled, knowledgeable and confident bartender that venues will want to employ
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
There are dozens of certifications that you can claim as a Waiter. 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.
Choosing the best format for your waiter resume
The content of your Waiter resume is what will get you hired, right?
But even when your content’s amazing and you’re a true over-achiever, recruiters might not think you’re a good fit if your resume looks messy or is not formatted the right way.
In general, there are three basic resume formats we advise you to stick with:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional skills-based resume format;
- Combination (or Hybrid) resume format.
Deciding which one to use depends on your experience, the industry, and the company. In short — you need to know what your applicant profile is.
For instance, reverse-chronological resumes are great for people with over 10 years of experience and no employment gaps. Here, you need to list all your relevant experience in a reverse-chronological format, starting from the most recent and going back to less recent positions.
Functional skills-based resumes, on the other hand, are great for entry-level applicants, graduate students, or people who have different kinds of experience. It focuses on skills, education, and character traits, rather than experience.
If none of these work for you, and you dream of adopting a more creative approach that makes a difference, the combination (or hybrid) resume format is exactly what you’re looking for. It allows you to focus on both your experience and your skills, making it a ‘best of both worlds’ format. It’s also suitable for those who want to spice things up by adding different creative sections (e.g. ‘life philosophy’ or ‘what my day looks like’).
Here are some additional tips on perfecting your resume layout and style:
- Go for a traditional resume font sized 12p;
- Use standard 1-inch resume margins for increased readability;
- Make sure your resume fits on a one-page template. In case you’ve got 10 years of experience or more, your resume’s length can reach two pages;
- Avoid unwanted editing and plagiarism – save your resume as PDF before sending it to the recruiters.
Want to take it a step further? Learn how to make your resume stand out without relying too much on creativity.
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
Test your draft Waiter resume by sending it out to peers and mentors in your circles. Ask them to review it as if they are hiring you for a project and implement the feedback afterwards.
Want to include something more to your waiter resume?
So you’ve already listed details about your education, experience, and skills. You’ve also crafted an amazing summary.
But now you feel a creative urge to showcase your personality and not just your expertise.
We’ve got you! Thanks to our modern templates, you can now include a chart of what your typical day looks like or even a word or two about your life philosophy. All this without sacrificing your Waiter resume’s professional feel.
Some non-traditional sections for your resume include:
Making your waiter resume stand out
You want to make a strong first impression to all recruiters that get a hold of your resume. Sure you do! But how?
Well, the easiest way to stand out is by adding a bit of creativity to your Waiter resume. You could do this by going for a colorful layout or adding a creative section or two. It all depends on the industry and the position you’re applying for!
For instance, a position in design would allow for a more colorful resume, while a position in finance would probably not.
What makes a great waiter 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.
