Line Cook Resume| Examples, Tips & Templates

However, to land a job as a Line Cook, you need to expertly craft a resume outlining the necessary skills and experience relevant for the job. A high-quality resume should be babies on the duties of a line cook on the resume.

Below is a guide to help you write a Line Cook resume that will give you a competitive edge over other applicants.

Want to make sure that your resume passes the applicant tracking system? Here is a line cook resume sample to guide you:

How to Make a Line Cook Resume?

There is a lot that comes with crafting a successful Line Cook resume. Here is a guide on how to make one.

Layout for Your Line Cook Resume

When writing your Line Cook Resume, it is important to follow a specific layout that will give your resume more credibility.

• Header
• Professional Summary
• Work Experience
• Education

Additional Sections

• Certifications
• Interests
• Languages

Format for Your Line Cook Resume:

• Layout- Chronological resume
• Fonts: Use simple resume fonts like Calibri
• Font size: 11-12
• Margins: 1-inch margin
• Line spacing: Single line spacing
• Subheadings: Use easy-to-read titles on each subheading

Additional Tips:

• Personalize the resume to the position you are applying for.
• Use the Chronological format if you have a lot of experience.
• Include the header, job title, and contact information.
• Use a functional resume format if you are getting started with your Line Cook career.
• Attach a cover letter with your resume.

Types of Resume Formats

There are different types of resume formats that you can use to write your resume.

This is a resume format that is more focused on your work history and lists your current or most recent job first followed by your previous jobs. This line cook resume format is ideal to use if you have several years of professional experience and don’t have employment gaps.

This format focuses on your transferrable skills over experience or work history. It is ideal to use if you are new to the industry, lack work experience, or have many gaps in employment.

With this type of resume format, you can combine your work experience and line cook resume skills relevant to the job. You should consider this format if you have changed careers and have not worked in the target industry, are a seasoned professional with a lot of experience, or are an employment gapper with extensive work experience.

How to Put “Line Cook” on the Resume? The Title

A resume header should be placed at the top of your resume. It should contain your name, Job title, phone number, email address, and lastly LinkedIn profile or other clickable social media profile.

You should always include the Job title as this will tell the recruiter the position you are applying for. You should include it right after your name, and it should be in smaller font. Besides, the job title you can also include any relevant certificate or license.

Demonstrate Your Culinary Experience

The experience section is where you highlight all the accomplishments that you acquired working in your previous job. This section allows you to sell yourself by showcasing the impact you left in each position to ensure the success and profitability of the business.

A resume that includes your culinary experience is more likely to capture the attention of the recruiter as it shows you have what it takes for the job. A good tip is to reword your experience so that it matches the job requirements you are applying for.

Also, to ace your resume, you need to include measurable achievements or results using hard numbers. This is a great way to show what you were able to achieve in your previous work as a line cook.

Try as much as possible to mention the number of guests you catered to, the amount of positive feedback you received, the amount of time and money you saved, the number of cooks you trained, and more.

For instance, you can say:

CORRECT

• Created weekly menus for about 300 guests and received 95% positive feedback from guests.
• Developed a new seasoned sauce, increasing monthly sales by 20%.
• Reorganized the cooking procedure, shortening the processing time by 25%.
• Ensured accuracy and focus to reduce product waste by 20%.
• Achieved over 90% on performance evaluations for more than 2 years consistently.

INCORRECT

The line cook resume example above is much better than just saying:

• Helped with ordering inventory.
• Used the right safety measures to serve food items.
• Stored food in the correct containers.

With such detailed, yet quantifiable information, you will give the employer insight into what you can do and what you bring to the table.

Unfold Your Formation in Gastronomy

Unlike culinary, gastronomy focuses on the study of food and culture and comprises nutritional facts, cooking techniques, food science, and palatability. It studies the effect of nutrition and involves discovering, experiencing, tasting, and understanding food preparation.

Ideally, gastronomy mostly focuses on gourmet cuisine. By getting a Certificate in Gastronomy, you will enhance your skills and knowledge and gain a better understanding of gastronomy. By applying science, cooks can save time and effort in the kitchen.

Skills for a Line Cook Resume

You should update your skills section in the resume as this shows employers that you have the expertise and knowledge of a line cook. It is highly recommended to include both hard skills and soft skills.

Hard skills are learned from schooling, training, and experience and can increase your chances of getting interviewed by restaurant owners.

Some of the relevant hard skills that you can add to your cook line resume include:

• Food presentation skills
• Kitchen sanitation and safety
• Product knowledge
• Speed and accuracy
• Stocking & ordering
• Meal presentation and plating
• Strong knife skills
• Knowledge of operating kitchen equipment
• Food testing & inspection expertise

While knowledge of different cooking methods and excellent knife-handling skills are some of the most important line cook skills, you still need intangible skills. Soft skills are necessary for interacting with others in the workplace.

These are character traits that you need to work effectively and cohesively in a fast-paced restaurant. Some of the necessary soft skills for a line cook include:

• Teamwork
• Communication
• People skills
• Problem-solving skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Adaptability
• Accepting feedback
• Multitasking
• Time management
• Deadline driven
• Adaptable to innovation
• Good management skills
• Keen learner and detail-oriented

As a Line Cook, you still need digital skills to use and communicate through digital devices. Some of the essential digital skills include:

• Using technology to communicate
• Handling information
• Social media

Professional Summary

A professional summary is important for line cooks with lots of experience in line cook jobs. It helps to highlight relevant experience, skills, and accomplishments to grab the recruiter’s attention and make them focus on you.

Most recruiters use just 8 to 10 seconds of looking at your resume to decide whether or not they will interview you. Therefore, the importance of writing a relevant professional summary cannot be ignored. Usually, a professional summary usually appears at the top of the document.

CORRECT

Driven line cook with 5+ years of experience, executing high-quality cooking and prep work. Delivered 98.5% of orders on time and received 99% positive ratings, with 96% customer satisfaction. In-depth knowledge of the health and safety regulations. Enthusiastic team player and proven ability to work effectively under pressure.

INCORRECT

Qualified line cook with six-year experience. Would love to get the position of cooking and prep work in your company. I have expert cooking, prep, and knife work skills.

Resume Objective

If you don’t have much experience being a line cook, then you need to write a resume objective. For instance, if you have never palated a dish, you can include the skills that make you suitable for the job.

Unlike a professional summary that focuses on your professional experience, a career objective focuses on highlighting your skills. You may also want to include your education, hobbies and interests, volunteer work, and any other jobs you had.

An example of a good resume objective for a line cook includes:

CORRECT

Energetic prep cook with a strong background in culinary. Seeking to deliver high-quality food at the Tousled Table. Have volunteered as a cook and did prep work in Taidy’s kitchen. As a volunteer, increased customer retention by 25%.

For more of this, don’t hesitate to check out our resume examples.

Additional Sections for Your Line Cook Resume Sample

Having extra sections in your resume allows you to point out additional skills and achievements that you had not included earlier. You should take advantage of this section to make your resume stand out from that of other applicants.

Besides, placing these skills in the resume skills sections can make them invisible. That is why you need to include the skills in their own section under additional sections.

If you have earned certification, this is the best part to include it. Earning a certification gives you the added advantage of expanding your knowledge and skills for the advancement of your chosen career.

You can also include online certifications in your resume as long as they are relevant to the job you are applying for. Under the Certifications sections, include your certifications in a reverse-chronological manner, starting with the most recent certification.

Some useful certifications that you can include in your line cook resume include:

• Seasonings and Spices (2016) - ICE Online
• Classic Cooking Principles (2014) - ICE Online

Do you speak a second language? If you do, then don’t hesitate to add a language section to your resume. By including your language skills in a chef resume, you are proving that you are more valuable and a better candidate than other applicants.

In this section, list the languages you speak and your level of proficiency. It is highly advisable, to begin with, the language that you are most proficient in. For instance:

• English (Native)
• Italy (Fluent)
• Portuguese (Intermediate)
• German (Beginner)

Everyone, even cooks, has stuff that they do outside work. This is unless you consider yourself a super line cook and everything for you involves food.

Interests are things that intrigue you and you would want to learn and discover more about. In most cases, your interests might be what will land you a job interview, especially if you don’t have much experience.

Including interests in your resume tells the hiring manager character traits that they didn’t know about you. It is more like wooing you and allowing you to resonate with you even before they meet you. In fact, most recruiters say that they look at the interest section first to get a sense of who the job applicant is.

Besides giving the recruiter a full image of who you are, an interest section can make you stand out from other applicants. When writing your interests, you should specifically write down what will attract the hiring manager. Don’t forget to be specific and honest.

Some of the hobbies to include in your line cook resume include:

• Passionate reader of romantic books.
• I volunteer weekly at an animal shelter.
• Play bass guitar at a local band.

Tips for Honing Your Line Cook Resume

Wondering how to make your resume stand out from the rest? Here are some tips for you.

In three to four sentences, start your resume with an engaging summary or objective that highlights your most relevant work experience and qualifications as a line cook. Truth be told, restaurant managers may be too busy to go through all the resumes that land at their desks.

Therefore, catch their attention by crafting an engaging career objective that pitches your skills and qualifications. A good restaurant manage resume should include things that qualify you for the position you are applying for such as:

• Your overall experience
• Relevant qualifications and skills
• The position you are applying for
• Your career goals

This information will give the potential employer an idea of who you are and whether you are truly fit for the position. It will also motivate them to look into your resume.

Your resume plays a major role in your line cook resume. Writing a compelling experience section will add value to your resume and make it more effective. One way to ensure this is to use action verbs, as this helps you write more proactively than passively.

As a line cook, some of the action verbs that can make your resume more compelling and proactive include:

• Deliver
• Offer
• Train
• Assist
• Contribute
• Maximize
• Organize
• Increase
• Handle
• Clean, and more.

So, instead of starting the sentence with “responsible for” or “tasked with”, consider using any of the above action verbs.

Hard skills are undoubtedly important for all applicants looking to land a line cook job. However, you should not forget to include soft skills, as they are important whether you will be talking directly with customers or not.

If you have less than 5 years of experience, limit your resume to one page. However, if you have much experience and accomplishments to showcase, a resume with two pages would be ideal. This is true for individuals with more than 5 years of relevant job experience.

The skills and keywords used in most roles in the food industry are usually similar. However, it is a good idea to thoroughly check the job ad to get insight into what the recruiter is looking for in the position you are applying for. Besides, this is an effective way to ensure that your resume goes beyond the applicant tracking system.

Take advantage of a cover letter to showcase your personality and impress your employers. It is a good way to expand your achievements and gives you a competitive edge over other applicants since most don’t attach a cover letter when sending their job applications.

Your work is not done after sending the job application. You still need to prepare for interviews so you can get to the next step of employment. Research as much as you can about the company and the industry you are applying to. Also, familiarize yourself with the industry terminologies and go through your resume once more to get an idea of your experience, education, skills, and interests.

Checklist

• List your work experience in quantifiable metrics.
• Show relevant certifications in the Additional section.
• Incorporate hard skills and soft skills that can contribute to the organization’s success.
• Ensure that your resume is significant to the position you are applying for.
• Always research the keywords that the employer included in job postings and use it to customize your resume.
• Try as much as possible to be specific and avoid being generic.
• Include a cover letter with your resume.

Attach a Cover Letter to Complement Your Line Cook Resume

Attaching a cover letter on a resume? Is it really necessary? Well, this is a common question that most people when preparing to send a job application. Simply put, a cover letter is a document that relays who are to the recruiter in a more personal way. It highlights your most notable successes and expands on your skills and achievements.

When writing a cover letter, you need to ensure that it complements your line cook resume. Start your cover letter with a letter header and open by greeting the hiring manager. It helps to call them by their name as this makes the letter feel personal and will easily catch their attention.

To get this information, do some research on the company or even contact the hiring manager directly. If you still can’t find their name, you can use, “Dear Hiring Manager.”

To more about how to write a good cover letter, check out our cover letter examples.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I add contact information to my line cook resume?

While you may be qualified for the job, there is nothing that the restaurant manager or hiring manager can do if you have omitted your contact information. You need to provide updated and accurate contact information that your potential employer can use to reach out to you.

This includes your full name, updated phone number, email address, Twitter handle, and LinkedIn profile.

Which format should is best to use for my line cook resume?

If you are a level entry cook line with little to no experience, then you can use a functional resume. This format gives prominence to the skills that you have acquired through training and is relevant to the job position.

However, if you have years of experience in the industry, you can use the combination resume format. This format allows you to list both your skills and work history.

Do I need to include certifications in my line cook resume?

While you can land a line cook job with a high school diploma, it helps to earn a certification that will widen your scope. You can apply for an online course to get advanced training in a specific cuisine. For instance, Thai culinary training and advanced training in general culinary arts are good programs to take and include in your resume.

Call to Action

Want to write a professional resume without much effort or time? Look no further than our resume builder. Writing a resume is more than typing things on your computer, sending it to your potential employer, and hoping for the best. Instead, it involves tailoring your experiences, skills, and achievements to show the hiring manager that you are best suited for the job.

Our Line cook resume template has been designed with ready-made content and is very straightforward to use. With it, you will be able to write a resume in just 5 minutes. For more information, you can check out our resume templates.