Executive Chef Resume Example & Writing Guide
Use this Executive Chef resume example and guide to improve your career and write a powerful resume that will separate you from the competition.
A chef is a person who oversees all aspects of running a restaurant kitchen—from managing a staff of cooks and servers to deciding what ingredients will go into each dish on the menu. Chefs are also responsible for creating delicious food, which means they need a solid understanding of both culinary techniques and flavor combinations.
If you’re ready to take your passion for food and cooking to the next level, consider a career as a chef. Or if you already work in the food industry but want to move into a more senior role with more responsibility, you might be looking for a new job description for your resume.
Here are some tips and an example for writing a great chef resume that hiring managers will love.
How to Write an Executive Chef Resume
Here’s how to write an executive chef resume of your own.
Write Compelling Bullet Points
The best way to make your resume stand out is to use strong, specific language. Rather than saying you “managed kitchen staff,” you could say you “increased kitchen staff productivity by 15% while reducing food waste by 10% during busy lunch service.”
The second bullet point is much more specific and provides a clear picture of what you did and the results of your work. It also provides a quantifiable result (15% increase in productivity), which is always a good thing!
Related: What Is an Executive Chef? How to Become One
Identify and Include Relevant Keywords
When you submit your resume for a chef role, it’s likely that it will be screened by an applicant tracking system (ATS). This software looks for specific keywords related to the chef position in order to determine whether your skills and experience are a match for the job. If your resume doesn’t include enough of the right keywords, the ATS might filter out your application.
One way to make sure your resume makes it past the ATS is to use relevant keywords throughout all sections of your document. You can find these keywords by reading through job postings and taking note of the terms that are used most often.
Here are some commonly used chef keywords:
- Culinary Skills
- Menu Development
- Catering
- Restaurant Management
- Fine Dining
- Food & Beverage
- Hospitality Management
- Cooking
- Recipe Development
- Banquet Operations
- Food Safety
- Chef
- Menu Costing
- Event Management
- Sanitation
- Hospitality
- Food Preparation
- Menu Engineering
- Event Planning
- Corporate Events
- Culinary Management
- Food Quality
- Catering Services
- New Restaurant Openings
- Pre-opening
- Pastry
- Event Service Management
- Food Production
- Executive Chef
- Research and Development (R&D)
Showcase Your Technical Skills
Executive chefs need to be proficient in a variety of programs and systems in order to do their jobs effectively. This might include familiarity with restaurant management software, recipe management software, or kitchen automation tools. Additionally, executive chefs need to be able to use technology to communicate with other members of the kitchen staff, including cooks and dishwashers.
Some of the programs and systems that executive chefs are typically expected to be proficient in include: restaurant management software, recipe management software, kitchen automation tools, point-of-sale (POS) systems, and inventory management systems.
Related: How Much Does an Executive Chef Make?
Remember The Basics
As you draft your resume, you’ll want to keep a few basic guidelines in mind.
Make It Easy to Scan
There are a few things you can do to make your resume easier to read for potential employers. First, use left-aligned text and a standard font type and size throughout the document. Additionally, use bullets rather than paragraphs to list your experiences, and keep your bullets to no more than two lines. You can also use bolding and italics to emphasize important information, but should avoid using all-caps or too much formatting variation. Finally, try to leave some white space on the page to make the document less overwhelming.
Be Concise
When writing your resume, it is important to tailor it to the specific role you are applying for, and to focus on the most relevant information. In general, a resume should be one to two pages long, but it can be shorter or longer depending on your experience and qualifications. If you need to trim down your resume, focus on removing irrelevant information and making the content concise and easy to read.
Proofread
Proofreading your resume is essential to ensure that it is error-free. Spellchecking is a good place to start, but you should also have someone else proofread your resume for you. Beware of easily confused words, and make sure that your tense is consistent throughout the resume.
Consider Including a Summary
If you’re looking to make a great first impression on potential employers, using a resume summary statement is a great way to do it. This section of your resume can be used to briefly highlight your skills and experiences, and to explain how they’ll translate into the role you’re hoping to land. When writing your summary, be sure to focus on your most relevant skills and experiences, and to clearly state your intentions. Keep it short and sweet, and you’ll be sure to make a great impression.
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