Line Cook Resume Sample

Trying to score the perfect position as a line cook requires the perfect resume. Here are four tips for writing an outstanding line cook resume to impress employers when applying to your dream job in the kitchen.

1. Write an engaging resume objective

Every resume should begin with a strong resume objective that gives the hiring manager an overview of your professional background. A resume objective contains two to four sentences that concisely state your most relevant qualifications, educational background, work experience, and achievements as a line cook.

The line cook resume sample uses a resume objective to highlight the candidate’s:

• experience with different cuisines
• educational background
• demonstrated skills
• recognition through awards and positive feedback from customers

Including these three things in your objective makes you look like an accomplished candidate and give employers a reason to read through the rest of your resume.

Let’s break down how the example uses a resume objective to their advantage:

Line Cook with 5+ years of experience in Cajun, Creole, and Middle Eastern Cuisines. Certified Culinarian from the American Culinary Federation. Possess expertise in creating sauces and cooking seafood and poultry, as well as following recipes and presentation with meticulous detail. Exceptional skills in improving cooking processes and reducing food waste and costs. Recipient of awards and numerous positive feedback from patrons.

If you write an effective resume objective that accurately describes your value to a kitchen, you’re sure to capture the attention of restaurant owners.

2. Write an achievement-oriented professional experience section

The key to a great professional experience section is to include resume achievements.

Restaurant owners are already familiar with line cooks and their responsibilities so don’t include generic job duties.

Instead, prove that you excelled in your previous positions by adding measurable achievements to your resume.

The best way to add achievements to your resume is to use hard numbers. For instance, the line cook states that they:

• Participated in monthly catering services for 400+ guests, while receiving 93% positive feedback from guests

Quantifying the number of guests that they cooked for gives the employer a better idea of the workload that they can handle.

Additionally, the applicant highlights the impressive achievement of receiving 93% positive customer feedback. No matter what industry, employers love to hire candidates who know how to make customers happy.

Quantify your resume by including these hard numbers:

• number of guests
• percentage of positive customer feedback
• amount of money you saved in supply costs
• number of new cooks you trained
• amount of time you saved by prepping the kitchen

3. Use powerful resume action verbs

Use action verbs when listing your experiences on your resume to make your work history more powerful and impactful to restaurant owners.

Strong action verbs on your line cook resume make you stand out as an applicant because they add detail and purpose to each of your job duties and help to further convey your confidence and expertise. For example, our applicant wrote the resume bullet point:

• Reorganized and streamlined station’s food process, expediting cooking and food delivery to customers by 23%

By using the verbs “reorganized” and “streamlined,” the applicant highlights a task they completed that adds detail for employers.

They also add to their statement by including hard numbers. By mentioning that they sped up cooking and food delivery by 23%, the applicant gives employers evidence of their strong work ethic.

Here’s a list of action verbs for your line cook resume:

Finally, remember to use relevant resume keywords throughout your resume by studying each job posting carefully.

Restaurant owners use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to filter through applicants, so mention the exact keywords they’re looking for in their job descriptions on your line cook resume to increase your chances of getting an interview.

4. Showcase your industry-specific skills

Updating your resume skills section is a great way to show employers that you’ve got the practical knowledge and expertise to succeed as a line cook. You’ll receive more interviews at restaurants by adding relevant hard and soft skills to your resume.

Hard skills are learned from experience, schooling, or training.

For instance, restaurant owners look for applicants who know about food processing techniques and different types of kitchen equipment because they won’t have to spend as much time training them.

Additionally, most restaurant owners will look at your resume education section to see if you’re a certified professional, so add your relevant certifications and schooling to your resume.

Below are the most important hard skills that line cooks should include on their resumes:

• In-depth knowledge of food processing, sanitation, and safety
• Operating kitchen equipment
• Food presentation skills
• Strong knife skills
• Speed and accuracy
• Product knowledge
• Food testing and inspection expertise

By contrast, soft skills are character traits that relate to how you interact with others in the workplace. Line cooks need many soft skills to work cohesively in a busy kitchen.

For example, multitasking well and meeting strict deadlines when cooking food is a must, so list your time management skills.

Line cooks also maintain a clean and safe station and are mindful of the ingredients they’re using in each dish, so mention your organizational skills to show that you pay attention to small details.

Also, don’t forget to list your communication skills to show you adhere to the head chef’s instructions and communicate clearly with other kitchen staff during your shift.

Here are more soft skills for your line cook resume:

• Interpersonal skills
• People skills
• Management skills
• Teamwork
• Adaptability
• Accepting feedback
• Problem solving skills