The server CV: hospitality comes first
Restaurants hire year-round, especially during peak season. A server's CV needs to reassure on three points: you know how to welcome guests, you can keep up the pace, and you're reliable.
What restaurant hiring managers look for
- Service: taking orders, floor service, table setting, clearing, knowledge of food safety rules (HACCP).
- Guest relations: greeting, recommending, handling requests and complaints with a smile.
- Speed and stamina: handling the rush, keeping the pace, long hours on your feet.
- Versatility: bar, register, setup, helping in the kitchen depending on the venue.
- Languages: a real asset in tourist areas, so list your levels.
Tailor it to the type of venue
A CV for a brasserie, a fine-dining restaurant, a bar or catering events isn't the same: the pace, the level of service and the vocabulary all change. Use the venue type from the posting and adjust how you present yourself.
Good example: "Floor service in a brasserie (80 covers per service), order taking, register and running the bar solo during the dinner rush."
With or without experience
If you have no floor experience, highlight extra shifts, summer jobs, event work and volunteering (concession stands, banquets): anything that shows guest contact and reliability. See our guide to writing a CV with no experience.
Test your server CV
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FAQ
How do I write a server CV with no experience?
Highlight extra shifts, summer jobs, event gigs and volunteering (concession stands, banquets): anything that proves guest contact, reliability and the ability to keep up the pace. A well-described summer job is enough to reassure a restaurant manager.
What qualities should go on a waitress CV?
A sense of hospitality, speed, the ability to handle the rush, versatility (floor, bar, register) and languages in tourist areas. Back them up with a number (covers per service).
Should I mention HACCP on a server CV?
Yes, if you know it: knowing food safety rules (HACCP) is a real plus that reassures employers, especially in traditional restaurants.
Read next
- No-experience CV: nailing your first one
- Retail sales associate CV: the example that gets you hired
- CV mistakes that break ATS
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