How to write a hospitality CV

In the hospitality sector, the main thing companies focus on is customer service. They stake their reputations on the way they treat and serve their customers. This is why a hospitality CV needs to demonstrate the different skill set that hospitality employees require.

Employers are actively looking for candidates who can add value to their business by demonstrating exceptional service and commitment. It’s important to showcase that you can anticipate the needs of the customer, resolve complex problems and provide general assistance.

A hospitality CV must convince employers that you can bring a unique work ethic and commitment to the position along with the necessary skills and expertise.

When creating the perfect hospitality CV, you need to consider the following information to make sure you don’t miss out any vital points:

1. Personal details:

Stick to name, address, contact number and email address. After the basics, it’s important to try and keep it short and sweet by sticking to no more than 4 sentences in this section of your CV.

2. Education:

This is a particularly important section for those with little experience. It is a chance to talk about your qualifications, academic and vocational. It’s important to include in detail about what, where and when you studied and list them with the most recent first. If you have many of one qualification, such as GCSEs or professional qualification e.g. HND in Hotel management, you might find it useful to group them together.

3. Work experience:

It’s important to remember not to repeat yourself when you are bullet pointing each job. It’s understandable that some of the points will be transferable across your experience but always mix it up and try to think of different skills/styles of environment you’ve worked in. Keep it brief and aim to focus on the last 5 years of your career or your previous 3 roles, remembering to write these in chronological order with the most recent first.

4. Hobbies and interest:

It may be obvious but if you are a chef, clients would expect to see that at least 1 of your hobbies relates to cooking or eating out. If you are front of house staff, we would advise candidates to include interests in different styles of bars or restaurants to give examples of your knowledge.

5. Additional skills and experience:

Here is the best place to mention any other languages you are able to speak or any skills or experience with cocktail making or food preparation, for example. Always remember to link it back to the job you’re applying for! There is no value in mentioning your typing speeds if you are applying to be a waiter.

6. Presentation:

Set aside some time to focus on your layout and place yourself in the shoes of the person reading it. What would you like to see if you were recruiting? What would you prioritise?

We hope this post helps you on the way to hospitality success. However, don’t forget that showing enthusiasm will set you apart from the rest so it’s important to prove that you care.

Always take some time before sending off your CV to research the company and learn a bit about them:

• What are their core values?
• How do you align with their values?
• Why would you be a perfect fit for the team?
• Why have you chosen this company over the sea of others?

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