Barista Resume Example & Writing Guide

Baristas brighten their customers’ days by preparing their favorite drinks just the way they like them. To land this kind of pleasantly caffeinated position, you need a barista resume that will perk up the hiring manager’s attention.

Resume.io is a great source of inspiration and ideas, with more than 350 occupation-specific resume examples and writing guides full of tips.

This guide, along with sample wording from a barista resume you can customize, will show you how to create a resume that meets the needs of today’s coffee shops, both large and small. What we’ll cover:

• Highlights of today’s barista job role and the bright employment outlook
• A step-by-step breakdown of what your barista resume should include
• Choosing the best resume format your best customer service and personality traits to make you stand out
• Optimizing the impact of each resume section: header, profile, employment history, education and skillsMold your previous experiences to demonstrate why you’d make a great barista
• Choose the appropriate layout and format to please both hiring managers and automated systems

What does a barista do?

Whether piping hot or ice cold, the rich brown liquid known as coffee has been enchanting us for centuries. Even the famed composer Johann Sebastian Bach once wrote a comical cantata about a young woman named Aria who takes great pleasure in her coffee.

If I couldn't, three times a day,
be allowed to drink my little cup of coffee,
in my anguish I will turn into
a shriveled-up roast goat.

With more than half of American adults drinking coffee on a daily basis, we all know someone who feels like a zombie (or a shriveled-up roast goat!) before they’ve had their morning cup of joe. Luckily, baristas are their saving grace. 

Baristas work in coffeehouses and cafes, making and serving a variety of coffee drinks both from a menu and to the exact specifications of their customers. Baristas may also be asked to prepare sandwiches, snacks, desserts and other light fare and take care of some of the dining room cleaning and maintenance. Working as a barista is often a great part-time or summer job for students and young people. Though it can also be a well-paying position for professionals in high-end coffee shops.  

The business of today’s cafes

Despite the growing visibility of large, international coffee chains, independent coffee shops are thriving. In the UK for example, independent coffee shops are predicted to grow by 13% before 2023. These small businesses often cater to higher-end customers, millenials and customers looking for a hip ambiance in which to work on their laptops. Such shops have carved out a niche against industry giants by offering excellent service, personal touches and speciality coffee. 

The modern coffee consumer is picky and knowledgeable about their drinks. When a new health-conscious option becomes available, they expect their coffee shop to have it immediately. Since it’s much easier to quickly roll out oat milk in an independent shop than a nationwide chain, smaller cafes have seen their loyal customer bases grow.

Tailoring your resume

There are advantages both to working for an independent coffee shop and for a chain. While you can adjust the same resume to either situation, there are a few things to keep in mind. With many locations and positions to apply to, a large chain can be a great entry point into the world of coffee if you’re looking for a part time source of income and you have little experience as a barista. You’ll learn the basics, not only of coffee, but also of the hospitality and catering industry. 

For large chains, you’ll want a resume that conveys availability, flexibility, customer service skills and reliability. Chains are looking for people with large work windows who won’t get overwhelmed by picky customers and fast-paced situations. What’s more, the turnover rate in the food and beverage industry is extremely high. New employees often leave the position long before the company has recouped their investment in hiring and training. That’s why it’s important that your resume conveys the reliability these chains are looking for.

An independent coffee shop, on the other hand, may only be hiring for one or two positions at a time, and it’s likely that they’ll be looking for someone with previous barista experience who has a true passion for the craft of coffee. Bringing your resume into the cafe and meeting the manager is a great way to make a personal connection, and don’t forget to follow up! In a small coffee shop, speed is less important than precision. These shops pride themselves on excellent customer service and well-crafted drinks, so your resume should highlight your previous barista experience and show that your people skills are a notch above the rest. Any coffee-related education can be a huge bonus.

Acing the ATS

Most independent coffee shops still hire the old-fashioned way. You may drop your resume off in person or email it directly to a manager who will evaluate your strengths and get in touch. For medium and large-scale coffee chains, however, the process looks slightly different. Many of these companies use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to filter large numbers of resumes. The ATM algorithms scan for keywords, especially in the resume profile and skills sections, and send only the highest-ranking resumes to the human eyes of the hiring manager. Unfortunately, for many applicants, the ATS can amount to one giant resume black hole. But there’s hope! You can avoid that dark oblivion by: 

1. Creating a customized resume that meets the needs of today’s coffee chains
2. Optimizing your resume with those all-important keywords into the right points in your resume. Let’s get started.

Let’s get started.

How to write a barista resume

If you find the hardest part of any writing task is getting started, you’re not alone. But it might help to know that all resumes have the same structure of parts, which can be broken down into manageable steps. Your barista resume should contain these components, confined to a single page.

• Header
• Summary
• Employment history section
• Education section
• Skills section

We’ll be taking a closer look shortly at each section one at a time.

Choosing the best resume format for baristas

The chronological resume format is recommended for most job seekers, and is the most widely used approach. Hiring managers prefer it too because it’s easy to review. Essentially, the employment history section consists of bullet point highlights for each position you’ve held, dated in reverse chronological order. 

Other resume formats may be suitable for those who are new to the workforce or changing careers. They might want to emphasize specialized or transferable skills rather than where they worked, opting for a functional resume or the more versatile hybrid (combination) format.

Resume header

The positive first impression you make on your potential new boss begins with your resume header. The extra thought and attention you devote to this key detail will not go unnoticed, especially if you apply the same header design to your cover letter. 

Besides setting you apart from other job applicants with your own visual brand, the header serves a couple of practical purposes. It immediately draws the reader’s eyes to your prominently displayed name, occupation and contact information. The white space offsetting your resume header creates an eye-pleasing balance that makes the page inviting to read. Then hopefully, when hiring managers are ready to invite you for an interview, they’ll have no problem locating your phone number or email to get in touch.

Barista resume profile example: A warm greeting

As a barista, you’ll likely be the first face customers see when they walk into the coffeehouse, and your ability to offer friendly service will be an essential part of their experience. The profile (also known as the summary) serves as that initial greeting for your resume. It gives the hiring manager a taste of your personality, top skills and previous experiences. 

A few facts about your previous barista positions can also drive this section home. How many customers did you serve daily? Did you develop any new drinks? How many menu items did you memorize and prepare? Did the business see any growth on your watch?

If you’re applying for a managerial or more senior position, you can also highlight previous leadership experiences or advanced training.

Below is a barista resume sample summary you can customize for your own situation.

Employment history sample: A track-record of success

Your employment history gives employers a sense of how well you might fit in their fast-paced (or laid-back and high-end) coffee shop, priding itself on customer service. Depending on the role, some hiring managers will be happy to train a candidate with the right mix of personality and customer service skills, so don’t fret if this is your first experience as a barista. 

As stated previously, it’s best to list your experiences in reverse chronological order, with the most recent experience first. Work backwards until you have at least two or three examples. If you’ve worked enough coffee positions, you may be able to leave off unrelated jobs. 

Below each past employer heading, provide a short description of key job highlights, perhaps as a short bullet-point list (if the job is recent and relevant enough to elaborate on). Facts and figures are the best way to quantify the impact you had at previous positions. How many customers did you routinely serve at each establishment? Were you a top tip-earner? Did you develop any new menu items? How many new employees did you hire and train? Did you work with the owner to make any business decisions to cut costs or improve service? It’s also a good idea to include extra roles beyond your coffee duties — things like placing weekly supply orders, organizing and cleaning both the front and back of house, preparing food menu items and sourcing new products.

Below is a barista employment history resume sample you can modify.

When you’re new to the job

Many hiring managers understand that this may be your first barista position, or even your first official work experience. If this is the case, it’s important to show how your previous activities have prepared you for the work of a barista. You can highlight teachability, reliability and patience, all of which can be learned from other experiences. 

For example, you may have:

• Handled the needs of picky customers while working in a retail store
• Offered patience and individual attention as a tutor
• Created a friendly ambiance with excellent customer service as a receptionist
• Prepared food and drinks quickly and to exact specifications while working in a fast food restaurant.

Barista resume education example: The knowledge for the job

Many of a barista’s duties can be learned on the job, so formal education is not typically required for this position. However, that doesn’t mean you have to leave this section empty. Any degree in the area of hospitality or food service will be directly applicable to this role. 

But even if you don’t have a degree in a related field, it doesn’t hurt to show that you’ve studied or are in the process of completing your education. This is also the time to mention any additional certificates in coffee, restaurant service, food safety or other related areas.

Below is the education section from a barista resume you can modify.

Certifications

Believe it or not, there are dozens of courses relating to the sourcing, brewing and serving of coffee. Just like wine, coffee is a specialty drink with an entire field of study behind it. If you’ve invested in some sort of coffee or food service education, it’s a great idea to include it in this section.

CV skills example: Your greatest asset

As a barista, your skills are at the heart of what you do. You’ll need to be experienced enough at making coffee to keep customers coming back, but if you don’t have the personality traits to match, you're just as likely to send customers out the door. Your hard skills are anything that involves a machine, tool or hands-on practical knowledge that you learned from being a barista or working in a related position. That includes all the knowledge required to make drinks and food and to keep the cafe clean and attractive.

Soft skills are the personality traits and qualities that you picked up through life experience. These include your attention to detail, knack for organization and your friendly customer service skills.

A broad list of relevant skills might include:

• Punctual
• Reliable
• Sociable and friendly
• Quick learner
• Competent with various POS systems
• Excellent memory
• Ability to create new drinks based on customers’ needs
• Attentive to food allergies and dietary restrictions
• Comfortable working in a team
• Calm and courteous even under pressure
• Able to clean, maintain and operate full espresso machines
• Coffee sourcing and grinding
• Various brewing methods including filter, french press, cold brew and more
• Preparation of flavored drinks and addition of syrups, whipped cream and garnishes
• Preparation of soups, salads and sandwiches
• Cleanliness and maintenance of bar counter, dining room and bathrooms.

Check out a barista CV sample for the skills section below.

Resume layout and design: The right aesthetic

There’s a reason why sleek coffee shops with retro lighting and wooden countertops seem to have taken over the downtown of every major city: aesthetics arimportant. Just like no customer wants to drink coffee in a dirty cafe with broken chairs, no hiring manager wants to read and evaluate a disorganized resume that lacks critical information or looks like a visual catastrophe. 

Your layout plays a key role in getting you hired. You’ll want to choose a resume layout that shows off why you’re a great fit for the cafe you’re applying to. That will probably mean a modern style that still conveys professionalism. Where to find such a layout?

With resume.io’s field-tested resume templates and resume builder tool, you can craft a resume that looks just right without wasting precious hours on finicky programs and word processors. For a barista resume, we recommend templates in the modern category, for that right mix of classy and fun. For some coffee shops (depending on mood and theme), simple or creative categories may have good picks as well. Browse our collection and see for yourself! 

And once you’ve got your layout just the way you like it, you’ll want to be sure that the formatting doesn’t change from computer to computer or when scanned by the ATS. That’s why a PDF is the best file format for a consistent resume, whether you’re emailing, uploading or printing. The resume builder tool makes it easy to download a PDF in just a few clicks.

Key takeaways for a barista resume

1. Positions in food and beverage serving, including baristas, are projected to grow by 17% over the next decade, much faster than other occupations.
2. Turnover rate is high in the food and beverage industry, so it’s important that your resume conveys reliability and excellent customer service.
3. Large coffee chains are likely looking for teachable employees with a wide range of scheduling availability.
4. Independent cafes are continuing to open and hire baristas with a passion for coffee and some previous coffee experience.
5. If this is your first barista position, try drawing parallels between other types of work and the qualities of a top-notch barista.

Now it’s time to get started! Use our resume builder and field-tested templates and you’ll be on your way to pouring that perfect cappuccino in no time!