Top 12 Restaurant Worker Skills to Put on Your Resume
Restaurants move fast. Roles overlap, tables flip, and the night can turn on a dime. Showcasing the right skills on your resume doesn’t just help you get noticed—it makes you more effective the minute you clock in. Below are twelve core skills to highlight and sharpen so you stand out and thrive.
Restaurant Worker Skills
- POS Systems
- OpenTable
- Time Management
- Customer Service
- Food Safety
- Multitasking
- Teamwork
- Conflict Resolution
- Inventory Management
- Cash Handling
- Bilingual Communication
- Tableau (for data analysis/reporting in management roles)
1. POS Systems
A POS (Point of Sale) system is the command center for orders, payments, and sales tracking. Think register, order pad, and reporting suite rolled into one.
Why It's Important
It speeds up ordering, tightens accuracy, tracks inventory, and keeps money moving where it should. Less friction at the terminal means more attention for guests.
How to Improve POS Systems Skills
Master the layout: Learn quick keys, modifiers, seat numbers, and split checks until it’s muscle memory.
Set smart menus: Clean categories, clear item names, and logical modifiers shrink error rates and ticket times.
Use integrated tools: Connect to KDS, payment terminals, gift cards, loyalty, and online ordering for fewer bottlenecks.
Harden the hardware: Stable Wi‑Fi, backup power, and tested printer routing keep the line from stalling.
Train and cross‑train: New hires shadow; veterans refresh. Short, focused drills beat long lectures.
Lean on reports: Pull menu mix, voids, comps, and hourly sales to spot problems and polish processes.
How to Display POS Systems Skills on Your Resume
2. OpenTable
OpenTable is reservation and seating software that manages bookings, waitlists, and table turns while saving guest notes and preferences.
Why It's Important
It fills seats efficiently, reduces no‑shows, and helps hosts pace the room. Happier guests, steadier flow, calmer service.
How to Improve OpenTable Skills
Build a true floor map: Accurate table sizes, joins, and sections make the system realistic, not theoretical.
Set pacing rules: Control covers per 15–30 minutes to avoid kitchen pileups and server overload.
Tag guest details: Allergies, occasions, seating preferences—log it once, remember it forever.
Work the waitlist: Quote honest times, send timely confirmations, reconfirm borderline parties.
Sync with service: Share turn‑time targets with servers and the expo so quoted times match reality.
Use pre‑shift notes: Call out VIPs, large parties, and stagger strategies before the rush.
How to Display OpenTable Skills on Your Resume
3. Time Management
It’s the art of doing the right thing at the right moment so the room hums, not hiccups.
Why It's Important
Great timing keeps orders tight, courses synchronized, and guests cared for—without burning you out.
How to Improve Time Management Skills
Prep early, finish strong: Stock stations, fold napkins, fill ice—front‑load the shift to glide later.
Batch tasks: Drop multiple checks, run a few tables per lap, consolidate trips to the kitchen.
Mise en place mindset: Tools placed, backups ready, nothing left to hunt down mid‑rush.
Read the room: Start fires before they start—ring fireside items first, course long‑cook dishes smartly.
Talk constantly: Servers, expo, host—quick updates prevent double work and missed beats.
Use micro‑breaks: Ten deep breaths and water between swings beats one exhausted collapse.
How to Display Time Management Skills on Your Resume
4. Customer Service
From the first hello to that last thank‑you, it’s hospitality—clear, kind, and efficient.
Why It's Important
Memorable service fuels repeat visits and word of mouth. It turns a meal into a reason to come back.
How to Improve Customer Service Skills
Open strong: Warm greeting, eye contact, quick water—set the tone in seconds.
Know the menu cold: Ingredients, allergens, cook temps, best sellers, thoughtful pairings.
Read the table: Celebrate talkers, respect quiet diners, match energy and pace.
Handle issues with grace: Listen, apologize, resolve, and thank—without defensiveness.
Check back with purpose: Early bite check, mid‑course scan, clean landings for dessert or the check.
Close cleanly: Fast payment pickup, accurate change, genuine farewell.
How to Display Customer Service Skills on Your Resume
5. Food Safety
Safety means serving food that’s wholesome, allergen‑aware, and handled to code—every time, no shortcuts.
Why It's Important
It protects guests, the brand, and you. Health inspections and guest trust depend on it.
How to Improve Food Safety Skills
Wash right, often: Hands before food, after raw items, after trash, after face/hair contact. Full 20 seconds.
Stop cross‑contamination: Color‑coded boards, separate tools, raw below ready‑to‑eat, sealed storage.
Hit safe temps: Poultry 165°F, ground meats 155°F, seafood/steaks 145°F, hot hold 135°F+, cold hold 41°F or below.
Chill properly: Cool from 135°F→70°F within 2 hours, then to 41°F within 4 more. Shallow pans, ice baths, blast chillers.
Date and label: Prep dates, discard dates, initials, and allergen flags on every container.
Manage allergens: Dedicated tools when possible, strict handwashing, call out modifications clearly to the kitchen.
Clean and sanitize: Approved solutions, correct dwell times, frequent high‑touch wipe‑downs.
Train, refresh, repeat: Certify leads, drill the team, verify with spot checks.
How to Display Food Safety Skills on Your Resume
6. Multitasking
In restaurants, true multitasking is smart sequencing—lining up tasks so nothing drops while nothing burns.
Why It's Important
It keeps service fluid: orders fired, drinks out, tables reset, and guests never waiting long.
How to Improve Multitasking Skills
Stack steps: Combine compatible tasks—run food, pre‑bus, and greet on one lap.
Stage orders: Fire long‑cook items first, ring modifiers right away, hold fast items to land together.
Use tools: Trays, check presenters, pens, and backup printers ready at hand.
Stay present: Focus on the current table but keep a mental queue for the next two.
Lean on the team: Call “running corner” and trade runs—coverage beats heroics.
Reset quickly: Clean as you go; clutter steals seconds you don’t have.
How to Display Multitasking Skills on Your Resume
7. Teamwork
Front and back of house, one rhythm. Clear handoffs, shared wins, mutual trust.
Why It's Important
Great teams move faster with fewer mistakes. Morale rises, guests notice, chaos fades.
How to Improve Teamwork Skills
Run tight lineups: Short pre‑shift huddles to cover 86’s, VIPs, specials, and sections.
Speak the language: “Behind,” “corner,” “hot,” “hands”—use calls that prevent collisions and confusion.
Define roles: Who greets, who seats, who runs. Clarity beats overlap.
Pitch in early: Bus your neighbor’s table, grab that alley tray, jump on dish when it spikes.
Give fast feedback: Quiet, specific notes in the moment. Praise loudly when it lands.
Escalate smartly: Pull a manager in before a small issue becomes a scene.
How to Display Teamwork Skills on Your Resume
8. Conflict Resolution
Disagreements happen—between guests, coworkers, or both. Resolution means de‑escalating quickly and fairly.
Why It's Important
It protects the guest experience and the team’s focus, keeping service on track and safety intact.
How to Improve Conflict Resolution Skills
Listen first: Let people vent without interruption. Clarify what they truly need.
Show empathy: Validate feelings, not just facts. Tone matters as much as words.
Offer options: Replace the problem with choices—remake, alternative dish, comped item within policy.
Move the conversation: Step to a calm area if needed; remove an audience from the equation.
Loop in leadership: Bring a manager in early for tough calls or policy exceptions.
Document: Note serious incidents to improve training and protect the team.
How to Display Conflict Resolution Skills on Your Resume
9. Inventory Management
It’s the steady drumbeat behind the scenes—ordering, receiving, counting, and using product with minimal waste.
Why It's Important
Right stock, right time. You cut costs, prevent 86’s, and keep quality consistent.
How to Improve Inventory Management Skills
Set par levels: Minimums per item based on sales, seasonality, and delivery cadence.
Receive with rigor: Check temps, weights, counts, and quality. Reject what’s off. Log discrepancies.
Live FIFO: First in, first out—older product forward, labeled and dated.
Count regularly: Spot counts on high‑shrink items; weekly counts for top movers; full counts monthly.
Use prep sheets: Tie batch sizes to forecasts to avoid over‑ or under‑production.
Track waste: Log trims, overfires, spills. Fix root causes, not just the numbers.
Tune the menu: Retire low sellers, cross‑utilize ingredients, and spotlight high‑margin items.
Strengthen supplier ties: Consistent specs, clear feedback, and negotiated delivery windows.
How to Display Inventory Management Skills on Your Resume
10. Cash Handling
Taking payments, making change, reconciling drawers, protecting the till. Accuracy and security, side by side.
Why It's Important
It prevents loss, preserves trust, and keeps audits clean.
How to Improve Cash Handling Skills
Use blind counts: Start and end shifts with sealed tills and documented counts.
Do frequent drops: Move large bills to a safe during service to reduce exposure.
Verify bills: Train on counterfeit detection and follow a consistent check process.
Tight POS controls: Manager approvals for voids, comps, and no‑sale opens. Clear reason codes.
Recon fast, recon fair: Balance against POS totals immediately post‑shift with a witness when possible.
Document tips: Accurate tip declarations and tip‑out records keep payroll and teams aligned.
Secure deposits: Dual control to the safe, sealed bags, clear handoffs.
How to Display Cash Handling Skills on Your Resume
11. Bilingual Communication
Serving guests and collaborating with coworkers in more than one language—clearly, respectfully, and efficiently.
Why It's Important
It opens doors for guests, smooths teamwork, and prevents costly misunderstandings.
How to Improve Bilingual Communication Skills
Learn service phrases: Greetings, order confirmations, allergies, substitutions, payment questions.
Confirm understanding: Repeat back orders, paraphrase requests, and watch for body‑language cues.
Keep visual aids: Photo menus, allergen icons, and printed translations for common items.
Practice daily: Short, frequent conversations with teammates beat once‑a‑week cramming.
Focus on clarity: Simple words, steady pace, and polite tone over fancy vocabulary.
Know the cultural basics: Greetings, time expectations, tipping norms—hospitality spans more than words.
How to Display Bilingual Communication Skills on Your Resume
12. Tableau (for data analysis/reporting in management roles)
Tableau is business intelligence software that turns raw data—sales, labor, inventory, reviews—into visual dashboards you can actually act on.
Why It's Important
It helps managers see trends fast: peak hours, menu mix, server performance, turn times, and food cost swings. Better visibility, better decisions.
How to Improve Tableau (for data analysis/reporting in management roles) Skills
Clean your data: Consistent item names, accurate categories, reliable exports from the POS and accounting.
Start with core dashboards: Daily sales by daypart, labor % by hour, menu engineering (popularity vs. margin), and void/comp analysis.
Use visual best practices: Clear labels, limited color palettes, and filters that answer the right questions quickly.
Drill into costs: Tie recipes to ingredient prices to monitor margin changes as markets move.
Automate refreshes: Scheduled data updates keep decision‑making real‑time (or close to it).
Tell a story: Highlight key insights, include context, and end with next steps, not just charts.
Iterate with the team: Gather feedback from FOH, BOH, and finance; refine until it’s actually useful in the field.
How to Display Tableau (for data analysis/reporting in management roles) Skills on Your Resume
