14 Hospitality Resume Examples for 2025

In hospitality, a good resume is key. This article offers proven examples and strategic advice to help you land roles. We cover structure, essential sections, and crucial keywords to use. Whether you're aiming for a managerial position or starting as front-line staff, you'll find tips tailored to the hospitality industry.

  Compiled and approved by Liz Bowen
  Last updated on See history of changes

  Next update scheduled for

At a Glance

Here's what we see in the best hospitality resumes.

  • Show Impact With Numbers: Best resumes show impact with numbers. Use metrics like increased guest satisfaction, cut costs, boosted sales, and reduced wait times. This helps you stand out.

  • Mention Relevant Skills From The Job Description: Include skills on your resume that you have and are mentioned in the job description. Some popular ones are POS systems, event planning, inventory management, room scheduling software, and food safety. Choose wisely.

  • Highlight Customer-focused Experience: Customer experience is key. Use phrases like guest interaction and service excellence. Show you can meet and exceed expectations every time.

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Positioning your education

Think about where your education fits in your path to a career in hospitality. If you are new to the workforce or just finished a hospitality-related program, place your education at the top of your resume. This tells the hiring manager that you have up-to-date knowledge and training relevant to the industry.

For those with solid hospitality experience, show your work history first. Highlight your education after, especially if it brings special skills to the role like a degree in hotel management or a certificate in culinary arts. Remember, you can leave out high school details if you have higher education or relevant job experience in the hospitality sector.

List relevant certifications

Add any relevant certifications you have completed, like food safety or hospitality management courses. These can set you apart from other candidates.

Include any training you have received in languages or specific software used in the industry. This is a plus for hospitality roles.

Ideal resume length

For hospitality jobs, keep your resume short and focused. If you have less than 10 years of experience in the industry, aim for one page. Highlight your most relevant skills and experiences. Show your ability to provide good service and work in busy environments. Mention roles where you were part of a team or managed one. This is what you should focus on the first page.

More experienced candidates can use two pages. Make sure you include your strongest achievements in hospitality on the first page. These could be times you improved customer satisfaction or led a team during high-pressure events. A second page can show more history and depth, but keep it concise. Use a clear template and avoid small fonts or tight margins to ensure good readability.

Show customer service skills

Highlight your customer service skills by listing specific experiences where you improved customer satisfaction. This is very important in the hospitality industry.

Mention any experience with handling customer complaints or managing reservations. This will show you understand the industry's needs.

Use keywords for ats

Most companies use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to screen resumes. These systems look for specific keywords that match the job description. If you are applying for a hospitality position, make sure to include relevant keywords from the job posting. This includes terms like 'customer service,' 'event management,' and 'front desk operations.'

Also, avoid using images or complex formatting. ATS software might not read these. Stick to simple, clean text. This will help ensure your resume gets seen by a human hiring manager.

Highlight adaptability and multitasking

In hospitality, being able to handle multiple tasks at once and adapting to changing environments is key. Make sure to demonstrate your flexibility and multitasking abilities.

  • Describe situations where you successfully managed simultaneous events or guest requests to show your efficiency and adaptability.
  • Mention any experience you have in adjusting to different roles or learning new systems quickly, which is essential in a fast-paced field like hospitality.

Overlooking hospitality specifics

Many people forget to show hospitality skills that matter. You need to list key skills like customer service and attention to detail. These are very important in hospitality jobs. Do not just say you are 'detail-oriented'. Give examples of times you helped a guest or improved a service.

Do not make your resume too general. You must show how you fit in a hospitality role. Talk about specific tasks you have done, like managing bookings or handling food safely. Use simple words to explain how you solved problems or made guests happy. This makes it clear you know the job well.

Make your resume stand out

When you apply for hospitality roles, you need to show you understand the business and can provide top service. Tailoring your resume helps you look like the best fit for the job. Start by sharing your relevant experience and skills. Make sure these details match what the job ad asks for.

  • List customer service skills you've used to make guests happy, like conflict resolution or tailored guest experiences.
  • Show how you've helped at past jobs. Share times when you've increased efficiency or sales. Use numbers to explain, like 'boosted room sales by 20%'.
  • If you're new to hospitality but have worked in service or retail, talk about those skills. Mention how you've managed time or handled cash, which are good skills for hospitality too.

Showcase your achievements

When you write your resume, focus on what you have achieved in your roles within the hospitality sector, not just the duties you were assigned. Listing your job responsibilities won't make you stand out. Instead, present your accomplishments that demonstrate how you contributed to your previous employers' success.

Here are ways to turn responsibilities into achievements:

  • Instead of writing 'Responsible for managing a team of waitstaff,' you could say 'Led a team of 10 waitstaff members, resulting in a 20% increase in customer satisfaction ratings.'
  • Rather than stating 'Handled guest check-ins and check-outs,' express it as 'Improved check-in/out efficiency by 30%, greatly enhancing guest experience and reducing wait times.'

Use strong action verbs

When you apply for a job in hospitality, the verbs you choose can make your resume stand out. You want to show you are someone who takes initiative and can lead a team. Think about the tasks you do every day and how they help guests. The verbs you pick should show your skills in these areas.

Below is a list of action verbs that are good for hospitality roles. These words will help you describe your work in a clear and strong way. Use them to make it easy for hiring managers to see your value.

  • To highlight leadership and initiative, use orchestrated, pioneered, initiated, implemented, oversaw.
  • For customer service excellence, choose enhanced, personalized, resolved, delivered, accommodated.
  • Showcase your team collaboration with united, collaborated, coordinated, contributed, supported.
  • To express efficiency in your role, use streamlined, expedited, simplified, standardized, optimized.
  • Demonstrate your attention to detail with monitored, inspected, verified, cataloged, reviewed.

Want inspiration for other action verbs you can use? Check out synonyms to commonly used action verbs like Served, Designed, Produced, Pursue, Collaborate.

Showcase leadership growth

When you are looking to work in hospitality, showing your growth through leadership roles or promotions can be a key factor in your resume. You want to make it clear that you have taken on more responsibility over time and have been recognized for your good work. Think about times when you led a team or took charge of a project.

Here are some ways to highlight your leadership experience:

  • Include titles like 'team leader' or 'supervisor' if you've had such roles. For example, 'Promoted to team leader within six months due to strong guest service skills.'
  • List any tasks that involved managing others or leading a project, such as 'Organized and led weekly staff meetings to improve communication and service efficiency.'

Even if you are not sure if your experience counts as leadership, think about times you trained new staff or took the lead when your manager was not there. Mentioning these will show that you have potential to grow and that you can handle responsibility. Use phrases like 'Acted as shift lead in manager's absence, overseeing team performance and guest satisfaction.'

Key skills for hospitality roles

When you build your resume, focus on the skills that show you can excel in hospitality. You should tailor your resume to the job you want, so not all skills listed here will apply to every role. Here's a list to help you start:

  • Customer service
  • Reservation systems
  • Point of sale (POS) software
  • Food safety
  • Bilingual or multilingual
  • Inventory management
  • Housekeeping standards
  • Event coordination
  • Restaurant management
  • Hotel operations

Include these skills in a dedicated section for the reader to easily see. This is also good for Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) which scan your resume for key terms related to the job. Remember, you don't need every skill listed. Choose those that match your strengths and the job description.

Your experience with specific reservation systems or POS software is very valuable and should be highlighted. If you have a strong knowledge of food safety and housekeeping standards, these are also great to include, as they are critical in maintaining the industry's service quality. Lastly, if you can speak more than one language, make sure to mention your bilingual or multilingual abilities, as they are a strong asset in this global industry.

Quantify your hospitality success

When crafting your resume, showing your impact with numbers can make a strong impression. In hospitality, specific metrics can highlight your achievements and efficiency. Think about your daily tasks and how they benefited your employer.

Consider these areas:

  • Customer satisfaction scores - Have you received ratings or feedback that can be quantified? Use percentage increases in satisfaction scores to show your commitment to service excellence.
  • Efficiency improvements - Did you implement a new process that saved time? Mention time saved, like reducing check-in procedures by 5 minutes per guest, which can demonstrate your ability to enhance operations.
  • Revenue growth - If you had a role in sales or promotions, specify any increase in sales or event bookings under your management. For example, 'Boosted restaurant revenue by 20% through a targeted upselling strategy.'
  • Cost reduction - Did you help cut down on waste or negotiate with suppliers? Indicate any cost savings in dollar amounts or percentage reductions.

Even if you're unsure about exact numbers, estimating is better than not including them at all. Think about the scale of your work environment and the impact of your contributions. If you managed a team, include team size to show leadership scope. Remember, these figures help create a picture of your effectiveness in a hospitality role.

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