Résumé bullet points for a restaurant server
Running a section, taking and timing orders, upselling, and handling the room when it goes wrong. Restaurant systems record almost all of it, and the numbers translate unusually well to sales and account roles later.
What this job lets you count
Every résumé guide says to quantify your bullets and then leaves you to work out what a server is supposed to count. Here is the list, and where each figure is already being recorded, so you can go and get it.
| Count this | Where the figure already is |
|---|---|
| Covers per shift and section size | The POS and the floor plan. Tables covered is the scale figure. |
| Average check | Per-server reports in every modern POS. |
| Upsell or attachment rate | Wine, dessert and specials attach rates, tracked per server. |
| Table turn time | Seated-to-paid timestamps in the POS. |
| Tip percentage | Your own record. It is a customer-satisfaction proxy managers understand. |
| Guest review mentions | Named mentions in online reviews are external and quotable. |
4 bullets, before and after
Before
Served customers in a busy restaurant environment.
After
Ran a 6-table section through Friday and Saturday service, averaging 55 covers a shift in a 140-seat room.
Section size, covers and room size let a reader picture the pace, which "busy" never does.
Before
Upsold menu items to increase sales.
After
Carried the highest average check on the floor for 3 quarters, running about $12 above the team average on a $48 base.
A dollar figure against a base is the version of an upselling claim a manager can check in one report.
Before
Provided excellent customer service.
After
Averaged 22% in tips against a house average of 18%, and was named in 14 online reviews over two years.
Tips are a satisfaction proxy and named reviews are external evidence, which beats the adjective outright.
Before
Trained new servers and helped the team.
After
Trained 12 servers on the POS and the wine list, and covered as shift lead about 30 times when the manager was out.
Being trusted to cover the lead is a promotion signal that a "helped the team" bullet throws away.
The mistake this résumé usually makes
Writing service work as though it were unskilled and unmeasured, when a server is running six simultaneous timelines, carrying a personal revenue number, and being scored by customers in public. The résumé usually says "fast-paced environment" and omits every one of those.
Common questions
- What should I put on a résumé for a server job?
- Running a section, taking and timing orders, upselling, and handling the room when it goes wrong. Restaurant systems record almost all of it, and the numbers translate unusually well to sales and account roles later. Start from what the role can count: covers per shift and section size, average check, upsell or attachment rate.
- How do I quantify a server résumé?
- Covers per shift and section size: The POS and the floor plan. Tables covered is the scale figure. Average check: Per-server reports in every modern POS. Upsell or attachment rate: Wine, dessert and specials attach rates, tracked per server. Table turn time: Seated-to-paid timestamps in the POS. Tip percentage: Your own record. It is a customer-satisfaction proxy managers understand. Guest review mentions: Named mentions in online reviews are external and quotable.
- What is the most common mistake on a server résumé?
- Writing service work as though it were unskilled and unmeasured, when a server is running six simultaneous timelines, carrying a personal revenue number, and being scored by customers in public. The résumé usually says "fast-paced environment" and omits every one of those.
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Words to fix while you are rewriting
After the résumé
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