One resume challenge you may encounter when coming from a fast food background is effectively highlighting the transferable skills you've developed in a fast-paced environment. Our guide provides tailored advice on framing your experiences to showcase key competencies that are sought after in a wide range of industries, ensuring your resume stands out to potential employers.
- Sample industry-leading examples to learn how to write your best resume yet.
- Improve the experience, education, and achievements section of your resume with insights from resume-writing professionals.
- Curate your technical expertise and personality to stand out amongst the pool of candidates.
- Succinctly focus on your unique skill set all through your fast food resume.
If the fast food resume isn't the right one for you, take a look at other related guides we have:
Simple guide to your fast food resume format and layout
Successful fast food resumes all have one specific characteristic - candidates have invested in a simple resume layout . One that is easy to read, makes a good first impression, and is adapted to their professional experience. There are three distinct resume formats to help you focus on your:
- professional experience - use the reverse-chronological resume format;
- skills and achievements - via the functional skill-based resume format;
- both experience and skills - with a hybrid resume format .
What is more, keep in mind that your resume may be initially assessed by the ATS (Applicant Tracker System) (or the software used by companies in the hiring process). The fast food resumes that suit the ATS:
- have a header that includes either a role keyword or the job you're applying for;
- should be no longer than two pages;
- be submitted as PDF, unless specified otherwise.
Adjust your resume layout based on the market – Canadian resumes, for example, may follow a unique format.
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Highlight any significant extracurricular activities that demonstrate valuable skills or leadership.
Traditional sections, appreciated by recruiters, for your fast food resume:
- Clear and concise header with relevant links and contact details
- Summary or objective with precise snapshot of our career highlights and why you're a suitable candidate for the fast food role
- Experience that goes into the nuts and bolts of your professional qualifications and success
- Skills section(-s) for more in-depth talent-alignment between job keywords and your own profile
- Education and certifications sections to further show your commitment for growth in the specific niche
What recruiters want to see on your resume:
- Experience with point-of-sale systems (POS)
- Ability to work in a high-pressure, fast-paced environment
- Strong customer service skills and a friendly demeanor
- Flexibility to work various shifts, including nights, weekends, and holidays
- Proven track record of maintaining cleanliness and hygiene standards
The fast food resume experience section: a roadmap to your expertise
The resume experience section provides you with an opportunity to tell your professional narrative.
Recruiters, reading between the lines of your resume, use the experience section to better understand your unique skill set, accomplishments, and what unique value you bring about.
Discover five quick steps on how to write your experience section:
- Curate only relevant experience items to the role and include the company, description, and dates; all followed by up to six bullets per experience item;
- Each experience item should feature tangible results of your actions - if you can include a number or percent, this will further highlight your aptitude;
- If you've received any managerial or customer feedback, use short excerpts of it as further social proof of your technical or people skills;
- Make sure you're using the appropriate verb tense when listing your responsibilities;
- Within the description for each role, you could summarize your most noteworthy and relevant achievements.
Now, take note of how a real-world fast food professional received opportunities at industry leaders with these resume experience sections:
- Oversaw the front-end operation of a bustling McDonald’s outlet, consistently serving an average of 300 customers per day with high efficiency.
- Implemented a new order-taking process that reduced average customer wait time by 35%, significantly improving guest satisfaction scores.
- Trained and managed a team of 10 crew members, improving team performance through weekly feedback sessions and goal-setting exercises.
- Successfully managed Burger King’s inventory, reducing food waste by 20% through better forecasting and stock rotation practices.
- Coordinated with the marketing department to roll out two new menu items, resulting in a 15% increase in quarterly sales.
- Addressed and resolved customer complaints with a 95% satisfaction rate, upholding the brand’s reputation for excellent service.
- Achieved a personal sales upselling rate of 30%, contributing significantly to the KFC outlet's monthly revenue targets.
- Spearheaded the employee engagement initiative which led to a reduction in staff turnover by 40% over my tenure.
- Collaborated with the kitchen team to develop a push-notification system for online orders, enhancing order accuracy by 95%.
- Pioneered a kitchen waste composting program at Wendy’s, diverting 60% of waste from landfills while reducing disposal costs.
- Reorganized the food prep line for optimized workflow, resulting in a 25% increase in kitchen output during peak hours.
- Coordinated cross-training of staff across different roles, achieving a more flexible and responsive workforce able to cover a variety of tasks.
- Excelled in a high-pressure Taco Bell kitchen environment, consistently receiving commendations for maintaining top-quality food standards under volume.
- Led a project to redesign the customer feedback system, which increased actionable feedback by 200%.
- Engaged in community outreach activities, heightening local community relations and bolstering store visits by 10% following campaigns.
- Played a key role in a pilot program for Chick-fil-A’s mobile ordering system, which increased store efficiency by reducing order processing time by an average of 10 seconds per order.
- Conceptualized and implemented a local in-store marketing campaign that improved customer retention rate by 15%
- Drove a ‘Customer First’ team initiative that resulted in a 5% increase in the store’s overall customer service rating.
- Assisted in launching a successful loyalty program at Subway that resulted in a 25% increase in repeat customers within the first six months.
- Optimized sandwich preparation techniques, contributing to a store record of serving 150 sandwiches during a one-hour lunch rush.
- Facilitated daily briefings to ensure all team members were up-to-date with promotions and menu changes, which reduced order errors by 18%.
- Revamped the drive-thru process at Jack in the Box, which shortened average customer wait times by 20 seconds, enhancing customer throughput and satisfaction.
- Implemented detailed cleanliness and maintenance schedules that improved health inspection scores by 10 points.
- Co-developed a training module for new hires that cut down the training period by two days and improved new hire performance by 30%.
Quantifying impact on your resume
- Managed a team of 10 employees, ensuring operational efficiency and productivity within fast food services.
- Processed on average 250 customer orders per shift, maintaining speed and accuracy in a fast-paced environment.
- Implemented inventory tracking, reducing food waste by 20% and saving costs for the restaurant.
- Trained 5 new staff members every quarter on proper food handling and customer service protocols.
- Increased average customer order size by 15% through upselling techniques and improved menu knowledge.
- Achieved a customer satisfaction rate of 95% based on feedback and surveys conducted monthly.
- Initiated time-motion studies to decrease average drive-thru service time by 30 seconds.
- Maintained a cash register with over $3,000 daily, ensuring accuracy in financial transactions and reporting.
Action verbs for your fast food resume
How to shift the focus from your fast food resume experience section to your professional profile
If you're at the start of your career journey or transitioning industries, you might be concerned about the lack of professional experience while crafting your fast food resume.
How can you effectively present your fast food resume experience section under these circumstances?
Rather than a traditional, extensive experience section, demonstrate your expertise through:
- Emphasizing your education. Your academic background might impress recruiters, especially if it includes recent, industry-relevant knowledge;
- Creating a compelling objective statement. The first few sentences of your resume should map out your motivations and career aspirations, offering insight into your goals;
- Highlighting your transferable skills. For example, if you've honed communication skills through volunteering, illustrate on your fast food resume how these can benefit a potential employer;
- Detailing your technical background in certifications and skills sections. As a recent graduate, your technological foundations might be particularly attractive to employers looking to develop these skills further.
It's important to remember that employers sometimes prefer candidates with less experience but who are a better cultural fit for their organization.
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PRO TIP
List all your relevant higher education degrees within your resume in reverse chronological order (starting with the latest). There are cases when your PhD in a particular field could help you stand apart from other candidates.
How to showcase hard skills and soft skills on your resume
Reading between the lines of your dream job, you find recruiters are looking for candidates who have specific software or hardware knowledge, and personal skills.
Any technology you're adept at shows your hard skills. This particular skill set answers initial job requirements, hinting at how much time your potential employers would have to invest in training you. Showcase you have the relevant technical background in your communicate, solve problems, and adapt to new environments. Basically, your interpersonal communication skills that show recruiters if you'd fit into the team and company culture. You could use the achievements section to tie in your greatest wins with relevant soft skills.
It's also a good idea to add some of your hard and soft skills across different resume sections (e.g. summary/objective, experience, etc.) to match the job requirements and pass the initial screening process. Remember to always check your skill spelling and ensure that you've copy-pasted the name of the desired skills from the job advert as is.
Top skills for your fast food resume:
Point of Sale (POS) Systems
Cash Register Operation
Food Safety Knowledge
Inventory Management Software
Cooking Equipment Operation
Order Management Systems
Food Preparation Techniques
Basic Knife Skills
Cleaning and Sanitation Procedures
Drive-Thru Communication Systems
Customer Service Skills
Teamwork
Time Management
Communication Skills
Problem-Solving
Adaptability
Attention to Detail
Multitasking
Work Ethic
Stress Management
PRO TIP
List all your relevant higher education degrees within your resume in reverse chronological order (starting with the latest). There are cases when your PhD in a particular field could help you stand apart from other candidates.
Listing your education and certifications on your fast food resume
Don't underestimate the importance of your resume education section . As it may hint at various skills (and experience) that are relevant to the job. When writing your education section:
- Include only higher education degrees with information about the institution and start/end dates
- If you're in the process of obtaining your degree, include your expected graduation date
- Consider leaving off degrees that aren't relevant to the job or industry
- Write a description of your education if it presents you with an opportunity to further showcase your achievements in a more research-focused environment
When describing your certifications on your resume, always consider their relevancy to the role. Use the same format to describe them as you would for your education. If you're wondering what the best certificates out there are for fast food roles, check out the list below.
The top 5 certifications for your fast food resume:
- ServSafe Food Handler Certification (ServSafe) - National Restaurant Association
- Food Protection Manager Certification (FPMC) - American Food Safety Institute
- Food Safety Manager Certification (FSMC) - National Registry of Food Safety Professionals
- Certified Food Safety HACCP Manager (CFSHM) - International HACCP Alliance
- Certified Professional Food Manager (CPFM) - Prometric
PRO TIP
Listing your relevant degrees or certificates on your fast food resume is a win-win situation. Not only does it hint at your technical capabilities in the industry, but an array of soft skills, like perseverance, adaptability, and motivation.
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Deciding between a resume summary or objective for your fast food role
Understanding the distinction between a resume summary and an objective is crucial for your fast food resume.
A resume summary, typically three to five sentences long, offers a concise overview of your career. This is the place to showcase your most pertinent experience, key accomplishments, and skills. It's particularly well-suited for those with professional experience relevant to the job requirements.
In contrast, a resume objective focuses on how you can add value to potential employers. It addresses why they should hire you and outlines your career expectations and learning goals. Therefore, it's ideal for candidates with less experience.
In the following section of our guide, explore how resume summaries and objectives differ through some exemplary industry-specific examples.
Resume summaries for a fast food job
- Seasoned fast-food manager with 8 years of rigorous experience leading bustling franchises in New York City. Skillfully juggled team supervision, financial management, and customer service excellence, leading to a 25% increase in annual profits for the past two consecutive years. Expert in multitasking and driving operational efficiencies.
- Dynamic former warehouse supervisor eager to apply a decade of logistics and team leadership experience to the fast-paced environment of the fast-food realm. Brings a record of maintaining efficiency, slashing delivery discrepancies by 40%, and aims to elevate customer service ratings through proven problem-solving skills.
- Recently graduated with a degree in Hospitality Management, bringing a fresh perspective to managing a quick-service restaurant. Excited to leverage academic knowledge of food service regulations, inventory control, and quality customer service in a practical setting, with a passion for exceeding customer expectations.
- With 6 years of retail management experience, I aim to make a strategic shift to the fast-food industry, leveraging exceptional skills in customer relations, staff coordination, and inventory management. Achieved record-setting customer satisfaction scores and a 15% increase in sales at my previous position.
- Embarking on a new professional journey with an enthusiasm for developing valuable skills in food service operations. Showcasing strong interpersonal abilities, dedication to customer happiness, and a keen desire to learn from esteemed industry professionals in a high-energy fast-food setting.
- Aspiring to join the fast-food workforce, I am energized by the prospect of working in a team-focused environment. Committed to contributing to high-quality service, I am ready to develop expertise in point-of-sale systems, food preparation techniques, and delivering superior client interactions.
Additional valuable fast food resume sections to stand out
When assessing candidate applications, recruiters are often on the lookout for elements that go beyond meeting standard requirements and technical expertise.
This is where extra sections could play a key role in showcasing your unique skill set and personality.
Make sure to include sections dedicated to:
- How you spend your free time, outside of work. The interests resume section also goes to show your personality and transferrable skills; and may also serve to fill in gaps in your experience;
- Most innovative work. The projects resume section brings focus to what you're most proud of within the field;
- How you're able to overcome language barriers. The language resume section is always nice to have, especially if communication would be a big part of your future role;
- Industry-wide recognitions. Remember that the awards resume section should highlight your most noteworthy accolades and prizes.
Key takeaways
- All aspects of your resume should be selected to support your bid for being the perfect candidate for the role;
- Be intentional about listing your skill set to be balanced with both technical and people capabilities, while aligning with the job;
- Include any experience items that are relevant to the role and ensure you feature the outcomes of your responsibilities;
- Use the summary or objective as a screenshot of your best experience highlights;
- Curate various resume sections to showcase personal, transferable skills.
