Food Service Text-Only Cover Letters
Years of Experience
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Emina Renate | Server
[email protected] | (876) 543-2109 | 678 My Boulevard, Salt Lake City, UT 89012
Monday, November 7, 2022
Rebekah Simon
Senior Hiring Manager
Buffalo Wild Wings
(765) 432-1098
[email protected]
Dear Ms. Simon:
This year, I’ve earned a guest feedback score of 99.5% for my friendliness, professionalism, and knowledge of allergens and special dietary requirements. I hope to apply the same strengths as a server at Buffalo Wild Wings.
As a customer-focused server with two-plus years of experience, I admire Buffalo Wild Wings’s reputation for outstanding service. I’d love to help uphold that reputation while maintaining the promptness required by your fast-paced work environment. My recent work highlights include the following:
- Helping deliver a team training initiative that raised overall guest satisfaction by 43%
- Increasing profits ~23% during my shifts by suggesting wines and cocktails to complement dishes
- Driving promotions that increased uptake in the restaurant’s guest loyalty program by 65%
I would appreciate an interview to discuss further how I can help you create positive guest experiences. Please feel free to get in touch to arrange a convenient time. Thank you very much for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Emina Renate
Allison Rosenberg | Waitress
[email protected] | (123) 456-7890 | 123 Bedford Avenue, New York, NY 12345
Monday, November 7, 2022
Mr. Hector Martinez
Hiring Manager
Empellon
(987) 654-3210
[email protected]
Dear Mr. Martinez:
As a waitress at an upscale Mexican restaurant, I’ve won multiple service awards and found ways to enhance collaboration between the front-of-house and back-of-house staff. I believe my fine dining experience will allow me to thrive in Empellon’s advertised waitress position.
Your restaurant’s reputation for food and service quality aligns with my four years of waitress experience. Throughout my career to date, I’ve gained advanced skills in team training, product promotions, and system improvement. I’ve demonstrated these skills through my recent achievements, which include the following:
- Raising guest satisfaction from 78% to 92% by enhancing communication protocols and training servers on how to use the POS system for custom items
- Generating 130% of sales goals by successfully promoting daily specials and upselling menu items to guests
- Training 15+ new servers on restaurant standards, menu items, and daily operations
I hope to speak with you soon about how I can help your restaurant deliver high-quality service to guests. Please call or email me to schedule an interview. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Allison Rosenberg
Marion Young | Restaurant Manager
[email protected] | (504) 500-2843 | 43 Address Road, San Antonio, TX 12345
May 17, 2021
Anna Lawson
Senior Hiring Manager
Olive Garden
(004) 384-2948
[email protected]
Dear Ms. Lawson:
Last year, I launched a diner loyalty program that increased bookings by 45% during quiet periods and grew overall revenue by 32%. I’m excited about the chance to support similar innovation and growth at your restaurant location.
As a manager with 11-plus years of advancement and experience in busy Italian eateries, I’d love to work for a renowned brand like Olive Garden. What motivates me most is coaching, mentoring, and motivating team members to apply their individual strengths. My recent achievements include the following:
- Collaborating with management on a series of service training sessions that boosted customer satisfaction by 45%
- Creating a food and wine pairing scheme that increased bar takings by ~$750 per shift
- Developed five team-building workshops that reduced staff absences by 23% and increased annual retention by 72%
Please get in touch to arrange a convenient interview slot in the near future. I appreciate your time and look forward to discussing how I can help you craft memorable experiences for your guests.
Sincerely,
Marion Young
Tips for Writing Your Food Service Cover Letter
1. Express your food service background more confidently
Cover letters work best when they project confidence. But many people find it hard to write anything confidently, much less a formal request to a stranger.
To overcome writer’s block, you can use a brainstorming technique called focused freewriting. The method is “focused” because you must only write about a particular topic you’ve chosen. But it’s also “free” writing since you can write whatever comes to mind about the topic without regard for order or organization.
Try a focused freewriting session for your next cover letter. Spend ten minutes quickly writing down your answers to these two questions:
— What are you proud of in your food service career so far?
— Why are you a great fit for your desired food service job?
This method helps you overcome the self-consciousness that makes many jobseekers use bland phrasing on their cover letters. You can better explore and capture your original, genuine thoughts by writing more freely at first. You’ll probably generate a lot of side notes and ideas that you don’t end up using in your letter. But you’ll also probably generate at least a few clear, confident sentences on your most impressive experiences.
Get those clear sentences on your cover letter. You’ll dramatically improve its persuasive effect on hiring managers.
2. Enliven your food service “soft skills”
As someone in the service industry, you likely have great interpersonal skills (or “soft skills”) like collaboration and communication. But when you refer to these skills using an adjective or noun phrase like “I’m very collaborative” or “I have good collaboration skills,” they won’t stand out to hiring managers. That’s because (a) they’re pretty vague by themselves, and (b) countless other jobseekers use these phrases on their own cover letters, both in and outside the service industry.
You can get around this problem. Just convert each soft skill into a verb phrase (like “I collaborate with…”). You can then flesh out the idea with details that are more interesting and specific to your background.
Example
— Collaborating with management on a series of service training sessions that boosted customer satisfaction by 45%
3. Put your thoughts in a logical order
When writing the longer paragraphs of your food service cover letter, it can be hard to order your thoughts logically. You can help avoid this difficulty by following the “old then new” rule for sentences.
According to this rule, you should mentally divide each sentence you write into two sections, “old” and “new.” In the “old” section, you refer back somewhere to information in an earlier sentence, or you cite a topic that’s generally familiar to the hiring manager. In the “new” section, you give information that’s new or unfamiliar to the hiring manager.
When you put your thoughts in this order, you can ensure the reader will follow your train of thought even if you’re developing a complex argument or touching on several topics through the course of one paragraph. The “old then new” rule applies to all sorts of written information you’ll find, including the paragraphs you’re reading right now.
Example 1:
[old] When writing the longer paragraphs of your cover letter, [new] it can be hard to order your thoughts logically. [old] You can help avoid this difficulty [new] by following the “old then new” rule for sentences.
[old] According to this rule, [new] you should mentally divide each sentence you write into two sections, “old” and “new.” [old] In the “old” section, [new] you refer back somewhere to information in an earlier sentence, or you cite a topic that’s generally familiar to the hiring manager. [old] In the “new” section, [new] you give information that’s new or unfamiliar to the hiring manager.
[old] When you put your thoughts in this order, [new] you can ensure the reader will follow your train of thought even if you’re developing a complex argument or touching on several topics through the course of one paragraph. [old] The “old then new” rule [new] applies to all sorts of written information you’ll find, including the paragraphs you’re reading right now.
Example 2:
Dear Mr. Martinez:
[old] As a waitress [new] at an upscale Mexican restaurant, I’ve won multiple service awards and found ways to enhance collaboration between the front-of-house and back-of-house staff. [old] I believe my fine dining experience [new] will allow me to thrive in Empellon’s advertised waitress position.
[old] Your restaurant’s reputation for food and service quality [new] aligns with my four years of waitress experience. [old] Through my career to date, [new] I’ve gained advanced skills in team training, product promotions, and system improvement. [old] I’ve demonstrated these skills [new] through my recent achievements, which include…
Other Resume & Cover Letter Examples
The Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts that jobs for food and beverage serving and related workers will increase by about nine percent between 2021 and 2031.
The bureau also forecasts that jobs for food service managers will increase by about ten percent during the same period.
For more insight on finding opportunities in these growing fields, check out the links below:
Resume examples
Cover letter examples
Advice on your job search
