Curriculum vitae is the reflection of a candidate’s personality in Food Service. Whilst, when trying to impress, we fall into common mistakes.
Catering industry is a living organism, constantly evolving, requiring constant training and monitoring of modern trends.
Starting my own personal journey in gastronomy, my older colleagues always advised me to choose my collaborations wisely, to “honor” them and try to maintain my professionalism at the highest possible level. As a young person once in the catering industry with all that it entails, I could not fully understand their telling, believing in several cases that they were words without meaning. This of course changed over the years as I realized that professionalism and long-term partnerships are foundations of both a healthy and gradually upward trajectory.
An important “arsenal” in the development of a cook’s or a waiter’s career path is building a strong resume, in order to stand out and claim better job posts.
More or less all of us have written and received resumes, always depending on the position we are in or applying for.
In this article, we will review some of the most common mistakes we come across in a resume in the catering industry, as well as their impact on our career path.
Undoubtedly, the professional who will receive it and the way that will be evaluated it in order to pick the right candidate who will fit the philosophy of a firm plays an important role beyond a well-structured resume.
There must be the appropriate leadership skills, but also the perception, so that the Chef or the F&B Manager can read between the lines and the listed positions, the strengths or weaknesses of the candidate interested in applying for a job.
Profile photo
A picture, as we usually say, is worth a thousand words. Therefore, the photo that accompanies a resume should be recent, obtain a professional appearance, without exaggerations and pretensions. Dozens of resumes every day are rejected due to the wrong profile photo accompanying them.
Requested job position
It is very important to indicate the requested job position on the resume of each candidate, so that it can be evaluated accordingly by the representative of a company. It is vital to mention that the requested position must be consistent with the career path and experience of the candidate. Otherwise, it is likely that the resume will be ignored.
Professional experience VS WHAT, HOW, WHERE
The common element among many resumes is the prominent professional experience. But when the WHAT (job position), the HOW (duties and responsibilities) and the WHERE (name and type of business, e.g. 5-star hotel, seafood restaurant) are missing, then it is most likely that the resume will end up in the waste bin.As I often quote, it is not only important where you have worked, but mainly what exactly you did there.
Targeted approach
It is completely understandable that the candidate has been employed in another industry or field for a short or longer period and has chosen a career shift.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I’m sorry, but this NONE of our concern.
It’s quite respectable and most likely has granted you with particular skills (sociability, foreign languages, etc.), but it doesn’t need to be included in your curriculum vitae when you’re applying for a specific position. It can of course be referred in a personal interview and appreciated by the company representative, but in the majority of cases, resumes with no relevant experience are utterly ignored.
Seminars – training – awards
A key objective in a curriculum vitae is for the seminars to have a specific direction and be utterly comprehensive, useful for the business, contributing to the candidate’s personal development. Seminars titled “1 hour Mexican cuisine” will be viewed by many, but no one will actually pay attention. Focus on shielding your education on food hygiene, modern techniques, wine knowledge, but also on training that will provide you with an in-depth knowledge, such as an internship or a complete educational cycle.
As for accolades, it is a wonderful idea to mention the awards of the restaurants you have worked in, as well as personal accolades in cooking competitions at national or international level. In addition, a very important role in a curriculum vitae, which many will evaluate positively, is the participation in voluntary actions.
Multi-job rotation
It’s perfectly graspable that a new professional wishes to work and be keen to learn as much as possible in the shortest amount of time.This often results in resumes with 3-4 years of experience at 10+ businesses in Food service.
What the candidate mistakenly considers a qualification is, in vast cases, the No.1 reason for rejecting a resume. A curriculum vitae with an abundance of different job posts in a short period of time is not attractive at all, unless we are talking about an occasion where the candidate works with a specific chef or a business that constantly trains an employee with the purpose of self-improvement. Make sure you acquire solid and long-term partnerships, as this is the main reason for choosing a resume.It is the most essential quality, as it highlights stability, teamwork and reliability.
Meet the Chef
Koveos Konstantinos is Executive Chef at the London Hotel and Athens Coast hotels in Glyfada. Founding member of the Chef Club of Attica – “Acropolis”. He is author of Cooking@Home and member of the evaluation committee of the Olymp Taste Awards. He is graduate of the School of Tourism Professions of Anavyssos, with numerous seminars in gastronomy and food hygiene. In his professional career so far, has been employed by prestigious hotel businesses, such as Astir Vouliagmeni, Pentelikon and Crowne Plaza.
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