Server resume skills. The words recruiters search for.
The 17 skills, tools and credentials that come up in server job posts, sorted by type, and how to put them in bullets a recruiter believes.
By Nazir Elmurodov, Founder, LaunchCV · Updated
/ The list
Keywords by type. Use only the ones that are true for you.
Hard skills · 11
- Table service (used in Olivia's sample resume)
- Food service
- Guest experience (used in Olivia's sample resume)
- Fine dining (used in Olivia's sample resume)
- Menu knowledge (used in Olivia's sample resume)
- Wine pairing (used in Olivia's sample resume)
- Upselling (used in Olivia's sample resume)
- Food allergies (used in Olivia's sample resume)
- Order accuracy (used in Olivia's sample resume)
- Table turnover (used in Olivia's sample resume)
- Cash handling (used in Olivia's sample resume)
Tools & software · 2
- POS systems (used in Olivia's sample resume)
- Toast POS (used in Olivia's sample resume)
Licenses & certifications · 2
- ServSafe Food Handler (used in Olivia's sample resume)
- TIPS certified (used in Olivia's sample resume)
Soft skills · 2
- Teamwork
- Multitasking (used in Olivia's sample resume)
15 of 17 appear in Olivia's sample resume. See where
/ How to use them
Put keywords in bullets, not just in a skills list.
A skills list tells the software you have a skill. A bullet shows a recruiter what you did with it.
Fine dining
Weak: Skills: Fine dining
Strong: Run a 6-table section in a 140-seat fine dining restaurant, serving 60–80 guests on a typical weekend night
Menu knowledge, Wine pairing, Upselling
Weak: Skills: Menu knowledge, Wine pairing, Upselling
Strong: Raised my average check 12% through menu knowledge, wine pairing suggestions and upselling desserts
Toast POS, Food allergies
Weak: Skills: Toast POS, Food allergies
Strong: Handle food allergies by confirming each request with the kitchen and flagging tickets in Toast POS
Table turnover
Weak: Skills: Table turnover
Strong: Train new servers on steps of service and table turnover, with 7 new hires trained in 2025
Strong bullets come from Olivia's sample resume and our server bullet examples. Names and figures are illustrative.
/ Use them honestly
Keywords get you found. Proof gets you hired.
Mirror the job post's wording for skills you really have. If a server post asks for Table service and you've used it, say Table service, in the post's spelling, and show where.
Mirror the job post's wording
If a server post says "Food service", write "Food service", not a near-synonym — as long as it's accurate. Recruiters search for the post's exact term.
Only claim what you can back up
Expect to be asked about every term you list. If you couldn't spend two minutes on Table service — what you did and what changed — leave it out.
Show it in a bullet
A skills list says you know Menu knowledge. A bullet like the one under Server in the example above shows what you did with it.
No stuffing, no hidden text
Repeating a word or hiding keywords in white text doesn't make you a better match. A person reads the resume in the end.
Which of these does your resume say?
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/ Questions
Server keywords, answered.
Something else? support@launch-cv.com
How many keywords should a server resume have?
There's no magic number. Olivia's sample resume uses 15 of the 17 terms on this page — the ones that fit that job. Cover what your post asks for that you can back up, each where it fits; repeating a keyword doesn't help.
Should I copy keywords exactly from the job post?
Use the post's wording for skills you really have. If a server post says "Table service", write "Table service" rather than a synonym, so a recruiter searching for that term finds you. Don't add skills you don't have just because the post lists them.
Where should keywords go on my resume?
In your summary, a short skills section and, above all, the bullets under each job, where you show what you did with the skill. In Olivia's sample, Fine dining is in the summary and Menu knowledge shows up in a bullet under Server. Plain text in the body of the page is easiest for applicant tracking systems to read.
Which tools should I list on a server resume?
The ones you've used and the post mentions. Common ones in server posts include POS systems and Toast POS. Name the tool in the bullet where you used it, not only in the skills list.
How should I list ServSafe Food Handler and TIPS certified on my resume?
Spell them the way the job post does, and include both the abbreviation and the full name if you have room. Put licenses and certifications in their own section or next to your education, and only list ones that are current.
Keywords for related roles
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