Restaurant Shift Leader Resume Guide
Restaurant shift leaders are responsible for the overall operation of the restaurant during their shift. They ensure that all customers are satisfied with their experience and that the restaurant is running smoothly and efficiently. Shift leaders also train and supervise new employees, handle customer complaints, and resolve any issues that may arise during their shift.
You’re an excellent leader with a proven track record of running successful restaurant shifts. But your potential employers don’t know that, so you need to write a resume that highlights your experience and accomplishments.
This guide will walk you through the entire process of creating a top-notch resume. We first show you a complete example and then break down what each resume section should look like.
Table of Contents
The guide is divided into sections for your convenience. You can read it from beginning to end or use the table of contents below to jump to a specific part.
Restaurant Shift Leader Resume Sample
Micheal Mann
Restaurant Shift Leader
[email protected]
601-534-1422
linkedin.com/in/micheal-mann
Summary
Professional restaurant shift leader with 6+ years of experience in managing front-of-house operations. Skilled at handling customer complaints, scheduling staff, and maintaining inventory levels. Seeking to leverage extensive experience and leadership skills to grow with ABC Restaurant Group. At XYZ, increased sales by 8% by developing relationships with local businesses and increasing table turnover rates.
Experience
Restaurant Shift Leader, Employer A
Springfield, Jan 2018 – Present
- Represented the restaurant in a professional and courteous manner at all times.
- Expedited food and beverage orders, ensuring that all items were delivered to the table in a timely manner.
- Efficiently managed the floor plan, coordinating server sections and facilitating customer flow throughout the restaurant.
- Coordinated with kitchen staff to ensure that all food orders were prepared according to specifications and delivered hot and fresh to the customer.
- Facilitated smooth communication between front of house and back of house staff, ensuring that all information pertaining to customer orders was relayed accurately and promptly.
Restaurant Shift Leader, Employer B
Salt Lake City, Mar 2012 – Dec 2017
- Proficiently scheduled and supervised a team of up to 15 servers, bartenders and hostesses while maintaining excellent customer service.
- Utilized strong leadership skills to resolve conflicts between staff, motivate employees and increase sales by 10%.
- Encouraged teamwork amongst employees and provided feedback to help them improve their performance.
- Supervised the opening and closing of the restaurant, including checking cash drawers and ensuring that all equipment was turned off properly.
- Ensured that all customers were satisfied with their dining experience by monitoring food quality and addressing complaints in a timely manner.
Skills
- Communication
- Interpersonal Skills
- Organizational Skills
- Problem Solving
- Time Management
- Teamwork
- Flexibility
- Stress Management
Education
High School Diploma
Educational Institution XYZ
Nov 2011
Certifications
ServSafe Food Handler
National Restaurant Association
May 2017
1. Summary / Objective
Your resume summary/objective is like a movie trailer – it should provide the employer with essential information about you and, if written correctly, compel them to read on. In your summary, you could talk about your experience leading teams of servers in a fast-paced environment, your ability to resolve conflicts quickly and efficiently, and the high customer satisfaction ratings you consistently receive.
Below are some resume summary examples:
Talented restaurant shift leader with 5+ years of experience in the food service industry. Achieved operational excellence at ABC restaurant by reducing wastage by 15% and increasing sales by 10%. At XYZ, supervised a team of 12 personnel while maintaining high standards of customer service. Recognized as an effective communicator with the ability to resolve conflicts efficiently.
Enthusiastic and hardworking restaurant shift leader with 6+ years of experience managing front-of-house operations, training staff, and ensuring customer satisfaction. Proven ability to stay calm under pressure and resolve conflict effectively. Seeking a challenging new role as a restaurant manager at ABC where I can utilize my skills to contribute to the success of the business.
Detail-oriented and results-driven restaurant shift leader with more than 4 years of experience in the food and beverage industry. Proven ability to increase sales, reduce waste, and improve customer satisfaction ratings. Seeking a leadership position at ABC Restaurant where I can utilize my managerial skills to train and develop staff while increasing operational efficiency.
Reliable restaurant shift leader with 4 years of experience managing staff and operations in a busy dining environment. Proven ability to maintain high levels of customer satisfaction through effective team management and efficient resource utilization. Seeking to leverage leadership skills to contribute to the success of ABC restaurant.
Seasoned restaurant professional with extensive experience in leadership, food service, and customer relations. Focused on reducing costs while maximizing efficiency and quality of service. As a shift leader at XYZ Restaurant Group, managed up to 25 staff members per shift and increased sales by an average of 15% each month.
Hard-working and detail-oriented shift leader with over 4 years of experience in the restaurant industry. Seeking to leverage organizational and interpersonal skills to grow within ABC Restaurants as a shift leader. At XYZ, successfully managed up to 50 employees per shift while providing excellent customer service.
Passionate restaurant shift leader with 3+ years of experience managing food service operations. Seeking to leverage organizational and people skills to improve efficiency and guest satisfaction at ABC restaurant. In previous roles, increased table turns by 16% on average and decreased customer complaints by 28%.
Skilled shift leader with more than 4 years of experience in the restaurant industry. At ABC, managed up to 30 employees per shift while enforcing company policies and procedures. Key achievements include reducing staff turnover by 23% and increasing customer satisfaction ratings by 12%.
2. Experience / Employment
For the experience section, you will want to list your employment history in reverse chronological order. This means that your most recent job should be listed first.
Within this section, stick to bullet points for the majority of what you write. This will make it easier for the reader to take in all of the information. When writing out the bullet points, be sure to include details about what you did and any quantifiable results that were achieved.
For example, rather than simply saying “Lead a team of servers,” you could say, “Successfully led a team of 20+ servers during high-volume dinner shifts, ensuring quality customer service was provided at all times.”
To write effective bullet points, begin with a strong verb or adverb. Industry specific verbs to use are:
- Led
- Supervised
- Trained
- Scheduled
- Coordinated
- Hired
- Monitored
- Inspected
- Evaluated
- Encouraged
- Disciplined
- Counseled
- Motivated
Other general verbs you can use are:
- Achieved
- Advised
- Assessed
- Compiled
- Demonstrated
- Developed
- Expedited
- Facilitated
- Formulated
- Improved
- Introduced
- Mentored
- Optimized
- Participated
- Prepared
- Presented
- Reduced
- Reorganized
- Represented
- Revised
- Spearheaded
- Streamlined
- Structured
- Utilized
Below are some example bullet points:
- Prepared and implemented staff schedules that ensured adequate coverage during busy periods and minimized labour costs by 15%.
- Structured shift patterns to encourage teamwork and minimize disruptions; successfully resolved 56% more customer complaints compared to the previous quarter.
- Effectively communicated with front-of-house and back-of-house staff to ensure that all orders were promptly prepared and served according to company standards.
- Motivated team members through regular feedback and positive reinforcement, resulting in a 12% increase in productivity across all shifts.
- Led by example, demonstrating exceptional time management skills, organizational abilities and a commitment to providing outstanding customer service at all times; received high marks on quarterly performance evaluations from superiors.
- Monitored food and beverage inventory levels, placing daily orders with suppliers to ensure that stock was always well-stocked.
- Diligently cleaned and organized the kitchen area at the end of each shift, ensuring that all surfaces were sanitized and free of food debris; lowered health code violations by 12%.
- Introduced a new system for tracking customer orders which resulted in a decrease in order processing time by 5 minutes on average.
- Reorganized the restaurant’s floor plan to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion during busy periods; increased customer satisfaction ratings by 3%.
- Spearheaded a team of 5 servers during peak hours, managing table turns and ensuring that each customer received excellent service throughout their dining experience.
- Improved table turnover rates by 15% during lunch and dinner rushes through more efficient coordination of busboys, runners and servers.
- Inspected all dishes for proper food presentation and temperature before they were served to guests.
- Reliably opened or closed the restaurant on time, ensuring that all staff members were properly trained in opening/closing procedures.
- Mentored new servers on best practices for customer service and upselling techniques.
- Evaluated staff performance at the end of each shift and provided feedback to improve efficiency and quality of service in the future.
- Optimized shift schedules for 15+ employees across 3 departments, ensuring that the restaurant was properly staffed at all times while minimizing labor costs by 10%.
- Actively participated in daily pre-shift briefings and post-shift debriefings to ensure smooth communication between shifts and departments; quickly resolved any issues that arose during a shift.
- Streamlined opening and closing procedures by creating more efficient checklists and training employees on proper cleaning & sanitization protocols; reduced opening/closing time by 30 minutes on average.
- Counseled employees on performance issues, providing constructive feedback and coaching them on ways to improve; saw a 5% decrease in employee complaints over the course of 6 months.
- Hired and trained new employees on food safety protocols, customer service standards and company policies; developed a comprehensive onboarding program that reduced new hire turnover by 20%.
- Formulated weekly work schedules for front-of-house and back-of-house staff, ensuring that the restaurant was fully staffed at all times.
- Trained new hires in food safety procedures, customer service best practices and proper use of kitchen equipment.
- Thoroughly cleaned and inspected the dining area, kitchen & restrooms every day, keeping health inspection scores consistently high.
- Assessed daily sales figures and revised staffing levels accordingly to maximize profitability; identified opportunities for cost savings and implemented them successfully.
- Revised menu offerings on a seasonal basis to ensure that customers always had something new to try; increased average check size by $2 per customer as a result.
- Advised waitstaff on effective methods of upselling customers and promoting menu items; as a result, sales increased by $2,000 in the last quarter.
- Demonstrated exceptional leadership qualities by managing a team of 20+ employees during busy shift periods; often received positive feedback from customers regarding the prompt and professional service provided.
- Participated in monthly inventory checks to ensure that all necessary supplies were ordered and stocked, while also keeping an eye out for ways to reduce costs; managed to save the restaurant an average of $100 per month in food wastage expenses.
- Independently handled customer complaints and concerns in a calm and efficient manner, always striving to resolve issues to the best of my ability; as a result, customer satisfaction ratings increased by 5%.
- Presented new menu ideas to the head chef on a quarterly basis, resulting in the successful introduction of 3 new dishes over the course of 1 year.
- Achieved daily sales targets in excess of $2,000 on average; increased total revenue by 14% over the course of 6 months.
- Developed and implemented new strategies for handling rush hour periods and increasing customer satisfaction rates; decreased wait times by 15%.
- Disciplined team of 10+ servers, cooks and dishwashers on proper food safety procedures, sanitation protocol and customer service etiquette; lowered health code violation incidence rate by 22%.
- Reduced restocking costs by 20% through effective inventory management and storage planning techniques.
3. Skills
The skills section of a restaurant shift leader resume should highlight the specific skills that are most relevant to the job. For example, if you are applying for a position that emphasizes customer service, then list customer service-related skills first.
Some essential skills for a restaurant shift leader include:
- Strong leadership and communication abilities
- The ability to stay calm under pressure
- Excellent organizational skills
- The ability to multitask and prioritize effectively
Below is a list of common skills & terms:
- Communication
- Flexibility
- Interpersonal Skills
- Organizational Skills
- Problem Solving
- Stress Management
- Teamwork
- Time Management
4. Education
Mentioning your education on your resume will depend on how far into your career you are. If this is one of your first jobs, include information about your schooling below your resume objective. However, if you have plenty of experience in the restaurant industry and are looking to move up into a leadership position, you can omit the education section altogether.
If you do choose to include an education section, try mention courses and subjects that are relevant to the job you are applying for. For example, “Courses included food safety, sanitation practices, and menu planning.”
High School Diploma
Educational Institution XYZ
Nov 2011
5. Certifications
Certifications can help you stand out from the crowd of other applicants by proving that you have been tested and found proficient in a particular field.
If the job advert mentions any specific certifications or licenses that are required, make sure to include them here. If you have any other industry-related certifications, they could also be beneficial to mention.
ServSafe Food Handler
National Restaurant Association
May 2017
6. Contact Info
Your name should be the first thing a reader sees when viewing your resume, so ensure its positioning is prominent. Your phone number should be written in the most commonly used format in your country/city/state, and your email address should be professional.
You can also choose to include a link to your LinkedIn profile, personal website, or other online platforms relevant to your industry.
Finally, name your resume file appropriately to help hiring managers; for Micheal Mann, this would be Micheal-Mann-resume.pdf or Micheal-Mann-resume.docx.
7. Cover Letter
Including a cover letter with your job application is a great way to give potential employers more information about who you are as a professional. It can also help you to connect with the hiring manager on a more personal level, which may increase your chances of being offered an interview.
A cover letter usually consists of 2-4 paragraphs and contains information that isn’t already mentioned in your resume. For example, you might use it to explain why you’re an excellent fit for the role or highlight relevant skills and experience.
Below is an example cover letter:
Dear Carli,
I am writing in response to your ad for a Restaurant Shift Leader. With over three years of experience leading restaurant teams and ensuring outstanding customer service, I feel confident I would make a valuable addition to your organization.
In my current role as Restaurant Shift Leader at [restaurant name], I oversee operations during the lunch and dinner shifts. I ensure that all customers are satisfied with their dining experience and that the restaurant is running smoothly and efficiently. In addition, I train new employees on proper food handling procedures and customer service techniques.
Some key accomplishments from my time at [restaurant name] include:
– Consistently achieving high marks on customer satisfaction surveys (95% or higher)
– Implementing new policies and procedures that improved operational efficiency by 15%
– Training more than 20 new employees, resulting in a low turnover rate (<5%)
I am confident that I can provide the same level of excellence to your team at [restaurant name]. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or would like to schedule an interview. Thank you for your time!
Sincerely,
Micheal
Restaurant Shift Leader Resume Templates
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