If you’re considering a job at your local fast food restaurant, then you’re in the right place! This guide, our resume builder and our resume examples will be very useful in helping you craft a professional resume that gets the hiring manager’s attention.
The perfect resume template or resume builder can also come in handy if writing a resume is a challenging task for you. These help you structure your resume and organize your thoughts to ensure you do not leave out any essential sections.
It is also important to note that crew members are also in other settings such as fashion events, aviation and cruise liners. However, today’s article will focus on crew members in the food service industry, and we’ll help you write a resume that allows you to beat the competition and get that job.
Throughout the 10-year period of 2019 to 2029, employment of food and beverage serving and related workers is forecast to grow much faster than the average for all occupations (U.S Bureau of Statistics).
Employers of those workers can be found in a wide range of industries, including restaurants and other eating places, traveler accommodation, special food services, kindergartens and secondary schools, and nursing care facilities.
The average salary for combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food at the entry-level, early-career, mid-career, and late-career level, is $9 per hour. An experienced worker gets $14 per hour, including tips, bonuses, and overtime pay (Payscale).
How to make a Crew Member Resume
As you perform various duties that require certain skills and experience. The best way to showcase these skills and prove to the hiring manager you are the best person for the job is by having an impressive and professional resume.
Writing a resume that stands out is not an easy task for most people, but you can use some crew member resume examples to help guide you with your resume. It is also important to check the job description and personalize your resume to suit the requirements of the job you are applying for.
Some of the ways you can personalize your resume include:
- Choosing the right format for your resume because it’s the first thing the hiring manager will notice.
- Using keywords and action verbs that are usually in the job description to beat the ATS systems.
- Constantly tailoring your resume to suit the job you are applying for to avoid using a generic resume for different applications
The layout of a Crew Members Resume
The layout of your resume should be one page long, have the right font and font size, and single or 1.5 spacing. Some of the fonts you should consider include Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman or Cambia, while the font size should be 10-12pt.
The structure of a Crew Members Resume
The best format for your resume is the reverse-chronological order. It focuses on experience and is a favorite of hiring managers since it is easy to scan on ATS systems.
The structure of your crew member resume should have the following:
- A header section
- Resume summary/resume objective
- Work experience
- Education section
- Skills section
- An additional section (awards/honors, certifications, interests, volunteer work, and languages)
Start with the Header of the Crew Member Resume
The header is the first section of your resume. It contains your personal information, including your full name, job title, contact information and a link to your LinkedIn profile, website or career blog (optional).
Example of a good header for Crew Members
Heather Bradley
Crew Member
785-211-347
heatherbradley@gmail.comElmsford, NY
linkedin.com/in/heatherbradley
Example of a bad header for Crew Members
Heather Bradley
Crew Member
785-211-347
heatherbradley@gmail.comlinkedin.com/in/heatherbradley
85 Dancing Dove Lane
House number 05
Elmsford, NY
Date of birth 02/01/1989
Is a photo required on the Crew Members Resume?
You don’t need a photo on your resume because most recruiters say that it increases the chances of discrimination and unconscious bias. Many U.S. companies revealed in a study that they would not consider an applicant with a photo on their resume.
Choosing your Crew Members Title
The title on your resume depends on the company and the job you are applying for. The mistake that some job seekers make is using one title for multiple applications. You need to personalize each title to match the job you are applying for. Otherwise, you’ll miss out on the job opportunity.
Professional summary for Crew Members
The professional summary introduces your resume by highlighting your top achievements, experience and skills. This section is vital because it also determines whether the recruiting manager will read the rest of your resume or not. It needs to be short but have all the information that will immediately get the recruiter’s attention.
Skilled Crew Member with eight years of food service experience. Able to efficiently take food orders, handle special requests, prepare specialty foods, use the cash register and perform cleaning duties. Excellent communicator with the ability to calmly multitask in a busy establishment and offer good customer service.
Dependable and accurate Food Service Worker with experience in safe food preparation, serving food and maintaining cleanliness in the establishment. Looking for a new job opportunity.
Work Experience in the Crew Member Resume
The work experience section is a vital section of your resume that showcases your previous experience and expertise in the food industry. Recruiting managers use this section to determine what you can do based on your previous work history. If you have years of experience under your belt, you can use the reverse chronological format to showcase your experience and make it easy for the recruiter to see it on your resume.
Describe your professional experiences on your Crew Member Resume
Jobs do not always require experience because you can easily learn on the job. However, if you have relevant experience, you should add it to your resume to increase your chances of getting the job. If you don’t have the required experience, you can add any other experience and show the transferable skills you gained that you can use in your new position.
You can check out our resume templates that will help you organize your previous experiences in a way that helps you stand out. When listing the work experience, you will start with the name of the previous workplace, the job title and the years spent at each workplace.
Examples of professional experiences for a Junior Crew Member
Pete’s Saloon and Restaurants
Crew Member
June 2017-July 2020
- Took stock of food products and supplies, including garbage containers, food trays and food warmers so they could be reordered as needed for fast food restaurants.
- Helped other crew members and co-workers cook food, serve food, take any special food orders from customers and do other extra tasks at special events.
- Prepared the food required by customers using specific methods and ensured the restaurant seating area was clean and ready for guests.
- Cooked and packaged large batches of food such as fried chicken and hamburgers.
Examples of work experience for Senior Crew Member
Rini’s Restaurant and Wine Bar
Senior Crew Member
August 2014-May 2017
- Assigned tasks to other employees and trained new employees to ensure they conducted themselves in a professional demeanor, upholding the company standards.
- Scheduled duties and led performance reviews to ensure the crew members gave friendly customer service to the clients.
- Read food order slips and directed crew members to receive verbal instructions from the drive-thru windows and cater to all clients in a timely manner, even with changing customer volume levels.
Education in the Crew Member Resume
The job does not always require formal education because you can get some on-job training. However, if you have any educational qualifications, you should add them to this section. This can help you a great deal, especially in an industry that is so competitive.
Every job has different educational requirements, so you need to check the job description and add the required qualifications.
Should you start with education or work experience for a Crew Member Resume?
You can start with education or experience. If you choose the reverse-chronological format, which focuses on experience, you will start with experience. However, if you choose the functional resume format which focuses on your skills, you can start with education and skills.
How to properly list your education in a Crew Member Resume?
You will start with your most recent educational qualifications, and you can leave out the high school diploma if you have a Master’s degree. When listing your education, you will start with the name of the degree, name of the school, location, and graduation year. You can also add the GPA if it’s impressive and will help your resume stand out.
Example of the education section of a Crew Member Resume
Bachelor’s Degree in Hospitality Management
Pace University
May 2014
High School Diploma
Alexander Hamilton High School
December 2010
Skills to put in the Crew Member Resume
Every job requires specific skills to perform the duties efficiently and this position is not any different. If you check the job description, you will probably find some of the required skills and add them to your resume. This can also help you beat the ATS systems.
What are the main skills sought for in a Crew Members Resume?
Some of the skills you should have on your resume include:
Hard skills- Inventory management
- Basic knowledge of various food items
- Proper food handling methods
- Food preparation
- Table setting arrangements
- Point of Sale (POS) system operations
- Effective sales techniques
- High-volume dining
- Time management
- Team work
- Interpersonal skills
- Excellent customer service
- Communication skills
- Multitasking skills
- Attention to detail
- Organizational skills
- Professional demeanor
What skills for Junior Crew Members?
- Menu memorization
- Safe food handling
- Food safety understanding
- Effective customer upselling
- Seating assignment preparation
- Dish preparation
- Conflict and dispute resolution
- Prompt table clearance
- Operating the cash register
What skills for qualified Senior Crew Members?
- Creative problem solving
- Special dietary requirements
- Taking food orders
- Training new employees
- Leadership skills
- Customer satisfaction
- Service prioritization
- Regulatory compliance
Write the Ideal Resume Hook for a Crew Member Resume
A resume hook can be a quote, testimonial, personal description or achievement that you add to your resume to set you apart from the other applicants. It highlights your top achievements and shows your value proposition to your future employer.
Example of a tagline for Junior Crew Members
Dedicated crew member with two years of experience engaging with customers and providing excellent customer service in the restaurant industry. Proven ability to increase restaurant sales, promote menu items, and upsell 18% of customers served to increase revenue and staff tips.
Sample tagline for Senior-level Crew Members
Motivated restaurant professional with ten years' experience in FOH and BOH functions. Communicator and leader who pays attention to details, enjoys upselling, and is passionate about service excellence.
Additional Headings for your Crew Member Resume
Job hunting can be challenging, but one thing that can make it easier is having a professional resume that gets the hiring manager's attention. An additional section helps your resume stand out by showing the recruiting manager what other qualifications make you a unique candidate. Some of the sections you can add to your crew member resume include volunteer work, interests, certifications, awards/honors, languages and computer skills.
Let's look at some of these sections in detail.
Computer skills and certifications in a Crew Member Resume
Most resume samples list the computer skills in the skills section, and while this is okay, there is a high chance of the hiring manager missing these skills. It is always better to list them in their section to make it easy for the recruiting manager to see them, even when they only take a glance at your resume. Some of the computer skills that will look good on your resume include proficiency in Microsoft Office and proficiency in the POS system.
If you have any certifications, you should list them under this section instead of the education section. This is because it makes it easy for the hiring manager to see them. A valid driver's license is an added advantage for a crew member’s resume because some jobs may require deliveries made to clients. Some of the certifications that will help your resume look good include:
- ServSafe training and certification programs
- Foodservice Management Professional certification.
Interests in a Crew Member Resume
Every hiring manager wants a diverse candidate, so don't leave out your interests, especially if they fit the profile. Your interests can help set you apart from the other candidates and allow you to beat the competition. Some of the interests that can help your resume include blogging, podcasting, and sporting activities that help you build your physical stamina and socialize with other people. Ideally, they should be directly related to the position in some way.
Languages in a Crew Member Resume
A bilingual candidate always stands out, especially for this position as it can involve interacting with customers of different nationalities. If you can speak multiple languages, you should list this skill separately to ensure the recruiting manager does not miss it. When listing the languages, you will use the official language reference as follows:
- Germany's Goethe-Zertifikat (70%) or higher is required.
- TOEFL for English
- DELF for French (with a score of 60% and above)
Summary: Key Points for Writing a Perfect Crew Member Resume
Let's look at a breakdown of the main takeaways from this article:
- The right format is key because it's the first thing the recruiting manager sees when looking at your resume.
- The right keywords and action verbs help ensure your resume is not filtered out by the ATS systems.
- You need a resume summary/objective that will interest the recruiter in reading the rest of your resume.
- Your crew member resume should be one page long because some recruiters toss out resumes that are longer than a page. If you have a lot of work experience, you can add an extra page, but it shouldn't be more than two pages.
- Any additional qualifications should have their section to ensure the recruiting manager does not miss them.
Write a Cover Letter That Goes With Your Crew Member Resume
A cover letter allows you to summarize some of your top achievements and express your passion for the job. While most recruiting managers do not ask for cover letters, it is important to accompany your resume with one as this helps your job application stand out. It is important to keep it short and avoid repeating what is already in the resume.
Frequently Asked Questions for a Crew Member Resume
Your resume should be divided into sections, including the header, resume summary/objective, work experience, education, skills and an additional section. All these sections should showcase your qualifications to help you get the job.
The job has various duties, including welcoming guests to the establishment, serving them in a timely manner, using the cash register, working with co-workers to meet specific sales goals for each shift, cleaning and arranging the establishment to ensure the guests are comfortable, among many others.
Yes it is, however, as we mentioned earlier, there are other settings such as aviation, cruise liners and film production sets, so it is necessary to specify the title and personalize it for each position you apply to.
Some of the skills of a service crew include time management, excellent customer service, communication skills, problem-solving, proper food handling methods, interpersonal skills, multitasking skills and food preparation.