Anyone who's ever worked in customer service knows it's not an easy job. You're on your feet all day, constantly multitasking, and singlehandedly responsible for keeping customers happy. But how do you translate all of that to a resume?
In this guide, we'll cover everything you need to make serving sound good on a resume, including:
- What to put on a waitressing resume
- How to come up with measurable, resume-worthy bullet points
- Tips for highlighting transferable skills
- Ready-made resume templates
- Sample bullet points you can copy and paste
Want to dive right in? Here's a quick-start guide.
How to put waitressing or server on a resume
- Look at the description of the job you’re applying for.
- Make a list of the key skills and responsibilities they're asking for.
- Brainstorm your own skills and accomplishments — everything from "fantastic at conflict resolution" to "turned over 100 tables on our busiest night without a single complaint."
- Now try to match up the two lists. It's okay to think outside the box on this one — for example, if a job requires event planning, think about how many functions have been held at your restaurant, or how you handled overlapping reservations.
- Work each of these examples into a bullet point focusing on what you accomplished.
- If possible, add a number or metric to show measurable results.
- Once you're done, upload your resume to our free ATS resume scanner for more tips and personalized suggestions.
Waitressing resume template
Here's an example of how to put waitressing accomplishments on a resume:
To get a headstart on your own resume, download one of our free ATS resume templates.
Tips for how to make serving sound good on a resume
Want to really level up your customer service resume? Here's how to:
- Consolidate your waitressing experience
- Highlight transferable skills
- Come up with concrete metrics
- Target your resume
Consolidate your waitressing experience
The nature of hospitality, waitressing and similar gig work means that you may have held several similar positions over a relatively short amount of time. Instead of having to find new ways to describe waiting tables for every job on your resume, consider using a single job heading that covers similar serving jobs at different restaurants.
How To: In your work experience section, create a single heading like “Professional Wait Staff” and group all your related positions underneath.
Example:
Professional Wait Staff, [Dates]
Company #1, Location, Dates
- Bullet point
- Bullet point
Company #2, Location, Dates
- Bullet point
Company #3, Location, Dates
- Bullet point
Here's how it might look on a resume:
More Tips: Read our guide on how to list work experience on your resume for a detailed breakdown of what your work experience section should look like and when it’s appropriate to bundle different positions together.
Related: How To Put DoorDash or Uber Eats on Your Resume
Highlight transferable skills
The good news is, serving jobs require a lot of in-demand skills you can use in other industries, like teamwork, adaptability, strong communication and interpersonal skills. But before you list “excellent customer service skills” on your resume, you should know that these are soft skills — not hard ones.
What does that mean? When it comes to soft skills, self-assessments are basically meaningless. To show a hiring manager that you have what it takes, you need to prove it.
How To: Instead of listing soft skills outright, choose accomplishments that demonstrate those skills in action.
Example:
DON'T: “Demonstrated excellent customer service skills.”
DO: “Recognized as employee of the month on 10/2020; awarded to one person out of 50 employees.”
More Tips: Read our guide on how to include soft skills on your resume for all the do’s and don’ts when it comes to highlighting transferable skills.
Use metrics
Metrics are the key to making any resume look good. The trick is to quantify everything — even things you’ve never thought about in measurable terms.
How To: Use numbers to describe the number of customers you served, the size of your team, or the scale of the work you did.
Example:
Before: “Served food and drinks to customers in popular establishment.”
After: “Served 100+ customers daily in 20-table restaurant.”
More Tips: Our guide on how to quantify your resume has 50+ examples you can choose from on how to add meaningful numbers to your resume.
Target your resume
The first step to writing any successful resume is to tailor your resume to the job you’re applying for. If you’re looking for professional jobs with a hospitality background, this may seem like a stretch, but it’s easier than it sounds.
What hiring managers are really looking for is somebody who will be successful in the position. That doesn’t have to mean that you have experience in a similar role — instead, match your accomplishments to the job you’re applying for and focus on highlighting relevant skills.
How To: If a job description lists “planning and scheduling meetings and appointments” as a key responsibility, think about a time when you had to plan or schedule something as a waitress or waiter at work. This might be organizing a weekly roster, suggesting extra staff to cover a holiday weekend, or organizing a staff function.
Example:
If the job description says: “Planning and scheduling meetings and appointments.”
Your resume could say: “Scheduled 20+ staff on weekly roster to ensure full coverage on all shifts.”
More tips: For extra help in creating a targeted resume, use the tool below to get a list of skills and keywords relevant to the job you’re applying for.
Polish it to perfection
Once you’re done updating your resume, upload it to the tool below to check if you’ve shown enough relevant skills and quantifiable accomplishments. It’ll also identify any mistakes and give you suggestions for improvements.
Waiter and waitressing resume bullet point examples
If you’re ready to get started, here are some sample bullet points you can use to make serving sound good on your resume — no matter what job you're aiming for next.
Training others
- Trained 6 new waiters and developed repeatable onboarding process; reduced onboarding time of new staff by 15%.
Training new employees is an in-demand skill in just about any profession. If you've ever helped out with training — whether that's showing a new hire around the restaurant or creating onboarding materials — highlight that accomplishment in your bullet points.
Scheduling and planning
- Scheduled 20+ staff on weekly roster to ensure full coverage on all shifts, including extra coverage at short notice.
Scheduling is another transferable skill that you'll use in just about any industry. If you created rosters, handled shift changes, or arranged coverage for other staff, use a bullet point like this to emphasize those skills.
Business operations and development
- Part of core team involved in transition to delivery/takeaway options to help restaurant survive during Covid-19; increased customer base by 10%.
- Reduced unnecessary inventory and maintained a 3 percent over/short ratio, reducing waste by almost 4 percent.
Ultimately, what employers care about most is whether you can contribute to the bottom line. Highlight accomplishments that you can tie to measurable results like revenue growth and cost savings.
Sales and marketing
- Collaborated with marketing team to redesign menu and increase revenue by 10%.
- Spearheaded initiative to gain new customers; handed out 400+ promotional materials and grew revenue by 20%.
Looking to pivot to a different industry? Pick out examples of accomplishments that show different types of skills, like this one.
Financial handling
- Balanced all transactions daily with credit card machines, cash registers and check scanners.
Even the smallest tasks can become resume-worthy accomplishments with the right spin. Focus on exactly what you did and any tools you used to emphasize technical skills as well as soft skills like attention to detail and trustworthiness.
Going above and beyond
- Recognized as employee of the month in 10/2020; awarded to one person out of 50 employees.
As a server, you're probably used to going above and beyond — so don't let that go to waste. Even better if you can point to something concrete, like a major award or promotion.
