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Don’t worry if you need a little more help. We’ll also walk you through every step of the CV writing process, from the overall structure to how specific details should be listed. You can also check out a selection of CV template to guide the design of your own CV.
Read on to find out how to write a CV for a café worker, including:
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Sample café worker CV
Ben Worthington
14B Crown Way, London W5 0FR
07912345678
Ben.Worthington@example-example.co.uk
Professional summary
Self-motivated individual offering excellent skills in guest relations and upselling products and services. Engaging Cafe Worker with ability to articulate and help customers make menu choices. Excellent issue resolution and customer service skills.
Work history
January 2017 – Current
Bagel Town – London
Cafe Worker
- Accurately processed customer orders and provided allergy advice and menu recommendations when required.
- Waited on up to 8 tables simultaneously without ever compromising on the quality of service.
- Memorised regular guests and frequent orders to deliver personalised service and encourage repeat business.
January 2015 – December 2016
Coffee o’Clock – London
Cafe Worker
- Managed customer seating to make best use of space and optimise guest capacity.
- Thoroughly cleaned dining areas, waiting areas and bathrooms to maintain guest comfort and hygiene.
- Shared product knowledge to make targeted recommendations, upsell products and boost transaction value.
Skills
- Food hygiene
- Stock ordering
- Cash handling
- Table service
- Barista-trained
- Allergy awareness
- Front-of-house service
- Customer service
Education
London College of Further Education London – 2015
BETC Catering and Hospitality
What is the best format for your café worker CV?
Choosing a suitable format for your café assistant CV will make your life a whole lot easier. Why? If you start with the wrong one, it can be like trying to fit a triangle into a square-shaped hole. The vast majority of candidates should choose from one of the following two CV format:
- Reverse-chronological
- Skills-based
A reverse-chronological CV is the standard, most popular format in the UK. It’s ideal for experienced candidates, letting your work history do the talking. That applies if you’ve had one, two, or more relevant roles as a café worker or assistant. But it’s also a good fit if your experience isn’t directly related to café work.
On the other hand, there’s the skills-based structure. In this case, the large work history section you find on most CVs is swapped out for a more detailed skills section. Because café worker roles are often suitable for younger candidates, this structure may be the best fit for your café worker CV.
Both CV formats have the following in common:
- Contact details at the top
- Followed by a personal statement
- Education last
What differs is the main body of the CV, which is either:
- Detailed work history starting with the most recent role, followed by a concise list of your key competencies – reverse-chronological
- In-depth list of capabilities, expanded on with examples or sub-skills, followed by any work experience you do have – skills-based
Get your café worker CV right with our proven tips
Start with the job description
Café worker is a broad job title, that can cover cleaning, cooking, customer service, or a combination of them all. As such, it’s vital that your café assistant CV reflects the kind of job you’re applying for. Recruiters won’t be blown away by cooking expertise if they need someone to wash pots – and vice-versa.
Showcase your availability
Availability can be as valuable as qualifications and experience when it comes to café work – with peak hours typically at weekends for most places. If you’re available on evenings or weekends, you can mention this in your personal statement. Or demonstrate it by listing it amongst your previous responsibilities, such as “worked unsociable hours to meet customer demand”.
Keep it simple
If you’re not used to writing CVs – let’s face it, who is? – it can be tempting to use longer words to sound professional. Trust us, there’s no need. Recruiters will appreciate clear, simple descriptions of your competencies and experience, so make sure you explain how you “greeted customers” rather than “conversed with clientele”.
Do your research
Cafes vary in size, style, and the kind of food they serve. A good way to set yourself apart is by researching the café you’re applying to and adding some relevant details to your CV. That could be your in-depth knowledge of Italian cuisine, experience cooking for 50+ customers, or professional appearance for a high-end city centre location.
Writing a cover letter for a café assistant CV
If you want to expand on any of your experience, aptitudes, or even personal interests, a cover letter is the place to do it. This accompanying document is sent for recruiters to read before your café worker CV.
For best results, you should:
- Start by stating the job you’re applying for, where you found it, and why it interests you.
- Highlight why your personal qualities and capabilities make you a good fit for the role.
- Include some achievements or specific examples to back them up.
- Finish by thanking the recruiter for their time and reiterating your enthusiasm for the job.
- Make sure your cover letter aligns with your café assistant CV – it’s no use talking about being a team player if your CV is focused on solo work.
How to write a CV for a café worker?
So much for the technical part of a CV. You already know what it should look like and what format will be best for your café worker CV. Now take a look at the step-by-step guide to writing a CV that will help you land a job!
We’ll help you with…
- What contact details should I include in my café worker CV
- Café worker CV personal statement
- How to present your work history on a café worker CV
- Skills worth having on your café worker CV
- Café assistant CV education
What contact details should I include in my café worker CV
Your contact details should cover every base, so recruiters can choose their preferred way of contacting you. That includes:
- Calling – Add a phone number that you can be reached on at all or most times.
- Emailing – Include a simple, professional email address (set up a new one if your current one is unsuitable)
- Writing a letter – Make sure you include your postal address too, including house number and postcode as a minimum.
For all of those option, they’ll need your name – so make sure it’s the first thing on your café assistant CV.
Example of contact section for café assistant CV
Sally Jensen
23 Any Road, Any Town
Wiltshire, AB1 2CD
01203 789456
sally.jensen45@gmail.com
Café worker CV personal statement
As the first section on your café assistant CV, writing a personal statement can seem daunting. Where do you even start? The answer is with the rest of your CV!
Your personal statement should be shaped by the capabilities, qualities, and experience underlined throughout your CV. It’s much easier to write a personal statement about a CV than the other way around.
In terms of style, follow these tips:
- Write in the third person to shift the focus from you to your unique selling points
- Stay within 4 sentences to avoid your personal statement becoming too long
- In each sentence, make sure you highlight an aptitude or attribute that sets you apart.
Example of personal statement for café assistant CV
Hospitable, hard-working, and well-presented team player with high standards of personal appearance and hygiene. Polite, professional, and outgoing approach to ensure that customers’ needs are met to extremely high standards and that they have a memorable experience.
OR
Café assistant that thrives under pressure, always enjoys talking to customers and is skilled at multi-tasking, ensuring that cafe operations are always carried out smoothly and efficiently. Flexible with regard to work patterns to include weekends, evenings and special events and looking for a new challenge with an exciting and reputable company.
How to present your work history on a café worker CV
Experience is vital if you want to show that you can hit the ground running as a café worker. In terms of what to include, experience in a café is obviously a bonus – but any paid or voluntary work is fine, as long as you pick out the right transferable qualities.
For each job, you should include:
- The dates you started and finished
- Your job title
- The employer
- The location
Underneath those details, list the main responsibilities for each role. Use bullet points for a direct, concise approach. Things like preparing food and drinks, serving customers, and handling payments are all directly relevant. However, you can also list transferable duties like teamwork, cleaning, or just great organisation and time management.
Example of work experience for café worker CV
May 2014 – Present Barista, The Corner Coffee Shop, Hackney, London Relevant duties include:
- Preparation of specialised coffees and other beverages
- Meeting and greeting customers
- Till management
- Acting as team manager as required
August 2012 – May 2014 Catering Assistant, Imperial Hotel, Salisburyn Relevant duties included:
- Preparation of food and beverages
- Communication with colleagues to ensure the timely and correct preparation of customers’ orders
- Maintaining workstation and other kitchen areas to a hygienic standard
- Maintaining stock at an appropriate level
Skills worth having on your café worker CV
Recruiters are looking for someone who can take on the wide-ranging duties of a café assistant. Your CV skills are a quick and easy way to tick all of their boxes…
Essential skills for café assistants
- Food and beverage preparation
- Excellent customer service
- Cash handling
- Up-to-date knowledge of food hygiene
- Handling kitchen equipment
- Teamwork
Desirable aptitudes to set you apart
- Barista training
- Confident speaker
- Problem solving
- Time management
- First aid
- Rapport building
Café assistant CV education
While it’s not essential for all roles, education is a good way to strengthen your café assistant CV. Transferable subjects like Maths and English relate to important aptitudes such as payment handling and communication. On the other hand, there are specific qualifications like a food tech GCSE or catering Diploma which are directly linked to many of the role’s requirements – from food preparation and presentation to storage and food safety.
Whatever education you’re including, you should list:
- The year of qualification or years of study
- The school, college, or awarding body
- The subject or course title
While recruiters will want specifics for college courses or A levels, there’s no need to list all subjects at high school level. If relevant, you can pick out certain subjects, such as “GCSE – including Maths and English” or “8 GCSEs including food technology”.
Example of education for café worker CV
Anytown College of Further Education 2010 – 2012 BTEC in Catering and Hospitality
Anytown Community School 2006 – 2010 GCSE 5 x Grade A – C
Your café worker CV questions answered
Do you need a CV for a café job?
Absolutely! A CV is the easiest way for employers to get an idea of your ability, experience, and educational background to narrow down their choices before an interview. In most cases, no CV means no chance of getting the job at all.
How do you describe café experience on a CV?
- Use bullet points to keep sentences concise and to the point
- Start sentences with verbs like “prepared”, “cleaned”, “served” to keep things active and interesting
- Try to include different responsibilities for each job
- Add additional duties like cleaning or admin, even if they weren’t the main purpose of the job
What are the duties of a café assistant?
Café assistant duties can include:
- Preparing food and drinks to order
- Taking orders and serving customers
- Cleaning kitchen areas and customer tables
- Monitoring stock and ordering supplies
- Taking payments and handling cash
What should be on a café CV?
You can include any skills, experience, and qualifications that are relevant to the role. That could be job-specific, like an existing café role or NVQ in catering. Or it could be transferable, such as great communication or a previous job in admin where you demonstrated effective time management.
Serve up an outstanding café worker CV
You’ve read our recipe for success alongside the best CV examples. Now it’s time to create your own café assistant CV. Our CV templates provide the perfect starting point with the right design and layout. That’s paired with professionally written content in our online builder, which can be filtered specifically for café worker jobs.
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