Server resume examples from 2026

How To Write A Server Resume

Resume writing can be tedious work, but it’s much less daunting if you know exactly what to include in it.

In this article, we’ll share what to include in your resume for a position as a server, tips for how to make your resume shine, and examples of resumes for you to use as a reference.

Key Takeaways:

• Include your contact information and a summary statement as well as your skills, work history, certifications, and education in your server resume.

• Customize your resume for every job you apply for.

• Pay attention to keywords used throughout the job description you’re applying for and use those in your resume.

What to Include in Your Server Resume

1. Your Name and Contact Information

   It may sound obvious, but it’s important to include your name in a prominent place on your resume. Use a slightly different font or color to set it apart from the rest of your resume, or simply make it larger or put it in all caps.

   You should also give hiring managers a way to contact you by including your:

   • Phone number

   • Address (just your city and state, or country are fine)

   • Email address

   Here’s an example of what this could look like:

   ALLISON GEORGE
   allisongeorge@email.com | Wichita, KS | 333-444-5555

2. A Summary Statement

   Below your contact information, include a sentence or two explaining what you can offer the organization professionally. This could be your skills, attitude, work history, or a combination of these. Here’s an example summary statement:

   “Friendly, efficient server with eight years of experience. Highly personable and often requested by regular customers. Dedicated to providing stellar service with excellent organization, customer service, and conflict management skills.”

3. Your Skills

   Show the company what you bring to the table by highlighting about six to 12 of your top skills on your resume. Make sure you check the job description to see what the position requires, and then include any that apply to you in your list.

   Here are some examples of hard skills you could include on your resume:

   • Bartending. Many restaurants have bars in them, and they need staff members who can mix and serve a variety of alcoholic drinks.

   • Serving. Knowing how to serve in a restaurant includes knowing how to take orders, answer questions, and fulfill requests for multiple tables at a time.

   • Managing special requests. Customers often have special dietary needs and preferences, and knowing how to communicate those to the kitchen staff and then ensure they’ve been fulfilled is a valuable skill.

   Examples of other hard skills include:

   • POS (Point of Sale)

   • Hosting

   • Bussing

   • Food preparation

   Here are some examples of soft skills you could include on your resume:

   • Customer service. Customer service involves knowing how to welcome guests, answer their questions, and graciously respond to requests and complaints. It also involves a significant amount of problem-solving.

   • Positive attitude. Many companies look for servers with a positive attitude in any scenario because guests won’t appreciate grumpy servers.

   • Communication. Communication is necessary for a server to be able to serve its guests and work with other staff members effectively.

   Examples of other soft skills include:

   • Attentiveness

   • Adaptability

   • Attention to detail

   • Time management

   • Guest service

4. Your Work History

   This is arguably the most important section of your resume, as it shows hiring managers how the responsibilities and accomplishments you had in other roles have prepared you for this role.

   List your jobs in reverse chronological order and include bullet points under each one detailing what you did in that role. Be as specific as possible, using numbers to paint a picture of the magnitude of what you did.

   Check the job description and note what skills and experience the company is looking for, then highlight examples of how you’ve used those skills or gained that experience. This means you’ll need to adjust your resume for every job you apply to, but it’s worth it if you can show hiring managers that you’re the perfect person for the job.

   If you don’t have much or any serving experience, list any jobs or volunteer experience you do have, making sure you emphasize any soft skills or experiences that could carry over into a serving role.

   Here’s an example of a work history section for a server resume:

   Server
   Bonefish Grill | Tulsa, OK | 2020 - Present

   • Took and filled guest drink orders.

   • Presented three daily specials and answered guest questions about the menu.

   • Took and served meal orders, ensuring special requests were fulfilled and correcting them if they weren’t.

   • Demonstrated ability to maintain attentiveness and efficiency in a fast-paced environment.

   • Used POS system to process sales.

   Crew Member
   Braum’s | Broken Arrow, OK | 2019-2020

   • Took and filled drive-through and counter orders accurately and efficiently.

   • Maintained dining room cleanliness.

   • Managed multiple ice cream and food orders at once while maintaining accuracy.

5. Your Certifications

   Include any applicable professional certifications you may have on your resume. Here are some examples that many server jobs look for or value:

   • Certified Professional - Food Safety (CP-FS)

   • Food Safety Manager Certification

   • Certified Food Manager (CFM)

   • Hospital Medicine

   • Certified Purchasing Card Professional (CPCP)

   • ServSafe Food Protection Manager Certification

   • Professional Credit Associate (PCA)

   • EPA Amusement Operators Safety Certification (EPA)

   • Windows Server 2008, Server Administrator (MCITP)

   • Professional Credit Specialist (PCS)

6. Your Education

   Whether it’s required or not, it’s typically a good idea to put your highest level of education and the year you obtained it on your resume. You can also include the school you obtained it from, your GPA (if you recently graduated and earned a 3.5 or above), and any academic honors, but those are optional.

   Here are a couple of example education sections:

   Education
   High School Diploma | West High School | 2014

   
   

   Education
   GED | 2012

5 Key Resume Tips for Writing a Server Resume

1. Tailor your resume to every position you apply for. This can be time-consuming, but it’s worth it. The purpose of your resume is to show hiring managers that you’re the perfect person for this particular job, and you can’t do that if you have a lot of unrelated information on your resume or if you leave off pertinent skills or experience.

   You don’t have to write your resume from scratch every time, but you should rearrange your bullet points, adjust your wording, and add or remove skills for each position so that your resume mirrors what the job description says it’s looking for.

2. Pay attention to keywords. Many companies – especially large ones – use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to automatically sort the resumes they receive before they look at them. These systems do this by looking for specific keywords, so if you don’t have the right keywords in your resume, you run the risk of it being immediately disqualified.

   To prevent this, make sure you match the terminology in your resume to the terminology in the job description. For example, if the job posting says it wants someone with guest service skills and doesn’t mention customer service, change “customer service” to “guest service” in your resume.

3. Quantify your achievements. Use numbers to paint a clearer picture of what you accomplished in past positions. For example, saying that you presented five new menu specials a night and took orders from memory is more impressive than simply saying that you presented the menu specials and took orders.

4. Link your work experience to the skills in the job description. Whether your work experience is directly related to the job you’re applying for or not, show the reader how the work you did in the past has prepared you for this new role.

   Don’t lie or stretch the truth about your skills, but if you gained experience handling difficult customers with grace while you worked at your local grocery store, say so – that’s a highly valuable skill for a server to have.

5. Proofread your resume. From formatting to grammar, be attentive to the details of your resume. Run it through a spelling and grammar checker, read it out loud, and have someone else check to make sure it looks good, makes sense, and is error-free. Then, save it as a PDF so that the formatting won’t get messed up in transit.