Restaurant and Food Service Industry Resume Keywords and Skills (Hard Skills)

Here are the keywords and skills that appear most frequently on recent Restaurant and Food Service Industry job postings. In other words, these are the most sought after skills by recruiters and hiring managers. So try to include them on your resume where possible. Go to the Sample Templates ↓ below to see how to include them on your resume.

Remember that every job is different. Instead of including all these keywords on your resume, identify the keywords most relevant to the job you're applying to and include those. Use the free Targeted Resume tool to help with this.

Choose a category
  • Microsoft Access
  • Social Media
  • Teamwork
  • Hospitality
  • Adobe InDesign
  • Adobe Photoshop
  • HORECA
  •  Find out what your resume's missing
  • Adobe Illustrator
  • Public Speaking
  • Communication
  • Customer Service
  • Marketing
  • Cooperation
  • IBM SPSS
  • Leadership
  • Research
  • Food & Beverage
  • SketchUp
  • Photography
  • Teaching
  • Culinary Skills
  • Catering
  • Restaurant Management
  • Food Preparation
  • Menu Development
  • Food Safety
  • Hotel Management
  • Banquet Operations
  • Fine Dining
  • Hospitality Management
  • Event Management
  • Pastry
  • Mediterranean Cuisine
  • Tourism
  • Culinary Management
  • Restoration
  • Bartending
  • Cocktails
  • Sales
  • Management
  • Alcoholic Beverages
  • Organization Skills
  • Event Planning
  • Public Relations
  • Time Management
  • Marketing Strategy
  • Barista
  • Coffee
  • Flexible Schedule
  • Bar
  • Wine
  • Pre-opening
  • MICROS
  • New Restaurant Openings
  • Cooking
  • Food Service
  • Food Service Operations
  • Inventory Management
  • Cashiering
  • Food Service Sanitation
  • Military
  • Retail
  • Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP)
  • Hygiene
  • Baking
  • Recipe Development
  • Cake Decorating
  • Cakes
  • Chocolate
  • Desserts
  • Bakery
  • Chef
  • Revenue Analysis
  • Meeting Planning
  • Corporate Events
  • Customer Satisfaction
  • Front Office
  • Delphi
  • Negotiation
  •   Show full list

Resume Skills: Cooking Techniques

Resume Skills: International Cuisine

Resume Skills: Cooking Tools

Resume Skills: Culinary Software

Resume Skills: Food Service Management

Resume Skills: Customer Service

Resume Skills: Technical

Resume Skills: Health & Safety

  Does your resume contain all the right skills? Paste in your resume in the AI Resume Scan ↓ section below and get an instant score.

Compare Your Resume To These Restaurant and Food Service Industry Skills (ATS Scan)

Paste your resume below and our AI will identify which keywords are missing from your resume from the list above (and what you need to include). Including the right keywords will help you get past Applicant Tracking Systems (i.e. resume screeners) which may scan your resume for keywords to see if you're a match for the job.

Sample Restaurant and Food Service Industry Resume: How To Include These Skills

Add keywords directly into your resume's work experiences, education or Skills section, like we've shown in the examples below. Use the examples below as inspiration.

Choose a template
Your Name
Restaurant and Food Service Industry Professional
City, Country  •  (123) 456-789  •  [email protected]  •  linkedin.com/in/your-profile
EXPERIENCE
Resume Worded September 2020 - Present
Restaurant Manager
Grew revenues by $500,000 (20%) by redesigning menus and promoting higher margin items.
Improved turnover rate by 15% through redesigning the onboarding process and implementing an employee mentorship program.
Streamlined scheduling systems using Microsoft Access leading to a 20% increase in staff utilization rates and a decrease in labor costs by 10%.
Developed promotional strategies using social media leading to an increase of 30% in customer footfall.
Enhanced guest satisfaction by 35% through revamping our customer service procedures based on customer feedback and personal observation.
Olive Garden January 2018 - August 2020
Assistant Restaurant Manager
Orchestrated a staff team of 50+ ensuring high standards of customer service.
Trained new hires using efficient hospitality techniques which decreased service time by 15%.
Implemented Adobe InDesign Templates for menu redesign leading to a marked improvement in overall customer experience.
Developed strategies using marketing analytics, leading to a 25% increase in corporate event bookings.
Coached.com May 2015 - December 2017
Wait staff Team Leader
Managed team of 15+ wait staff leading to increased efficiency of 20%, reduction in food and drink errors by 15%
Implemented Leadership strategies leading to better team cooperation and improved service time.
Investigated customer complaints, ensuring they were properly resolved, which lead to an increase in customer return rate of 25%
EDUCATION
Resume Worded University June 2017
Master's Degree in Business Administration (MBA) - Hospitality Management
Concentration in Restaurant Management
Resume Worded Academic Center May 2015
Certification - Level 2 Food Hygiene and Safety
Completed while working Part-time at Coached.com
SKILLS
Food Service Management: Inventory Control, Staff Training, Restaurant Operations, Menu Development, Cost Control, Supplier Negotiations
Customer Service: Guest Relations, Conflict Resolution, Staff Supervision, Dining Etiquette, Upselling Techniques, Event Management
Technical Skills: POS Systems (Oracle MICROS, TouchBistro), Microsoft Office Suite, Reservation Systems (OpenTable, Resy)
Health & Safety: Food Safety Standards, Hygiene Regulations, Health and Safety Compliance, First Aid (Certified), Fire Safety Regulations, Allergen Awareness
OTHER
Professional Development: Attended National Restaurant Association Show (2019, 2020), Completed Leadership Training Program at Olive Garden (2019)
Languages: English (Native), Spanish (Fluent), French (Conversational)
Volunteering: Coordinated Local Food Drive (2017 - 2019), Volunteered at Local Soup Kitchen (Monthly)
Awards: Employee of the Month at Olive Garden (Multiple Times), Top Performing Manager at Resume Worded (2021)
Your Name
Head Chef
City, Country  •  (123) 456-789  •  [email protected]  •  linkedin.com/in/your-profile
EXPERIENCE
Resume Worded January 2017 - Present
Head Chef
Managed kitchen operations for high-volume, $2M food service operation.
Enhanced customer satisfaction ratings by 40% by integrating innovative and customer appetizing menu designs using Photoshop and SketchUp.
Cultivated strong relationships with food suppliers, negotiating contracts to reduce expenditures by 15%.
Implemented food safety and sanitation standards reducing kitchen accidents by 20%.
EDUCATION
Resume Worded Academic Center December 2016
Master of Science in Culinary Arts
Graduated summa cum laude, top 1% of the class
Resume Worded University May 2013
Bachelor of Arts in Culinary Science
Specialization in Western Cuisine
Recipient of the Gold Spoon Award for culinary innovation
SKILLS
Cooking Techniques: Braising, Frying, Roasting, Grilling, Baking, Sautéing, Sous vide
International Cuisine: French, Italian, Mexican, Mediterranean, Indian, Thai, Chinese
Cooking Tools: Chef’s knife, Whisks, Tongs, Charbroilers, Baking ovens, Saute pans, Mandolin Slicer
Culinary Software: PeachWorks, ChefTec, Nutritics, ReciPal, CostGuard
OTHER
Certifications: Certified Executive Chef (American Culinary Federation, 2018), ServSafe Certified (2019)
Awards: Winner of Kitchen Wars competition (2021), Best Innovation in Menu (Culinary Excellence Awards, 2020)
Continuing Education: Culinary Trend Seminar (2022), Flavour-building Workshop (2021)
Volunteering: Cooking for Charity (Lead Chef, 2018 - Present), Culinary School Mentorship (2019 - Present)

How do I add skills to a Restaurant and Food Service Industry resume?

1
Review the job posting closely.

Go through the Restaurant and Food Service Industry posting you're applying to, and identify hard skills the company is looking for. For example, skills like Adobe Photoshop, Social Media and Adobe Illustrator are possible skills. These are skills you should try to include on your resume.

2
Add industry skills like Teamwork and Hospitality.

Add other common skills from your industry - such as HORECA, Adobe InDesign and Microsoft Access - into your resume if they're relevant.

3
Add skills into your work experience.

Incorporate skills - like Meeting Planning, Culinary Skills and Cooking - into your work experience too. This shows hiring managers that you have practical experience with these tools, techniques and skills.

4
Emphasize your communication skills.

Communication is often an important component of the role of a Restaurant and Food Service Industry, so when writing your resume, include examples of how you communicated with stakeholders, team members or customers, or produced content.

5
Use the exact job title.

Try to add the exact job title, Restaurant and Food Service Industry, somewhere into your resume to get past resume screeners. See the infographic for how to do this.

Restaurant and Food Service Industry Resume Templates

Here are examples of proven resumes in related jobs and industries, approved by experienced hiring managers. Use them as inspiration when you're writing your own resume. You can even download and edit the resume template in Google Docs.

Resume Example
Customer Service Representative


Resume Example
Customer Service Manager


Resume Example
Customer Service Supervisor


Resume Example
Entry Level Customer Service Representative


Resume Example
Field Service Technician


Resume Example
Environmental Service Technician


Word Cloud for Restaurant and Food Service Industry Skills & Keywords

The following word cloud highlights the most popular keywords that appear on Restaurant and Food Service Industry job descriptions. The bigger the word, the more frequently it shows up on employer's job postings. If you have experience with these keywords, include them on your resume.

Top Restaurant and Food Service Industry Skills and Keywords to Include On Your Resume

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Frequently Asked Questions

What hard skills should you include on a Restaurant and Food Service Industry resume?

Some popular Restaurant and Food Service Industry hard skills are Microsoft Access, Social Media, Teamwork, Hospitality, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, HORECA and Adobe Illustrator.

Depending on the job you apply to, skills like Meeting Planning, Cooking, Fine Dining, Culinary Skills and Cooperation can also be good to include on your resume.

What are the differences in resume skills between a Pastry Chef and a Banquet Manager?

If you are writing a Pastry Chef resume, try to emphasize skills like Pastry, Baking, Menu Development, Catering, Recipe Development, Food & Beverage, Cake Decorating and Cakes.

Similarly, if you are writing a Banquet Manager resume, emphasize skills like Banquet Operations, Hospitality Management, Hotel Management, Restaurant Management, Event Management, Hospitality, MICROS and Pre-opening.

What are good resume skills to include for different Restaurant and Food Service Industry roles and job titles?

Depending on the specific role you apply to, you may need to emphasize different skill sets. Here are a few examples:

  • Banquet Manager: Banquet Operations, Hospitality Management, Catering, Food & Beverage and Hotel Management
  • Pastry Chef: Pastry, Baking, Menu Development, Recipe Development and Cake Decorating
  • Caterer: Cooking, Customer Service, Sales, Event Management and Food Preparation

Target your Resume to a Job Description

While the keywords above are a good indication of what skills you need on your resume, you should try to find additional keywords that are specific to the job. To do this, use the free Targeted Resume tool. It analyzes the job you are applying to and finds the most important keywords you need on your resume.

It is personalized to your resume, and is the best way to ensure your resume will pass the automated resume filters.

Start targeting your resume


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