Coffee Shop & Cafe CV Examples & UK Templates

Brits collectively drink around 95 million cups of coffee every day. Serving them may be tough, but someone has to do it. If you fancy working in a buzzing cafe, the first step is landing an interview. Showing that you’re the perfect person for the job starts with a well-written cafe CV. 

At peak times, you will need to keep calm and carry on. That takes a high level of organisation, confidence, and collaboration. If you have what it takes, you will thrive in this busy and engaging environment. Luckily, you’ve come to the right place. In the following guide, we will cover everything you need to know about writing a winning coffee shop CV.

CV guide for a coffee shop & cafe CV

Land your coffee shop job with Resume.io. We have a selection of CV examples and writing guides to help you. Use our simple CV builder to create an ace application in minutes. 

The following CV guide and corresponding cafe CV example will cover the following:

• How to write a coffee shop & cafe CV
• Choosing the right CV format for farm work
• How to add your contact information
• Using summaries
• Adding your cafe experience
• Listing education and relevant experience
• Picking the right CV design/layout
• What the cafe job market looks like and what salary you can expect

How to write a coffee shop & cafe CV

Before you start working on your coffee shop and cafe CV, you must know what to include. Let’s start with the basics. Your professional CV needs the following elements: 

• The CV header
• The CV summary (aka profile or personal statement)
• The employment history section
• The CV skills section
• The education section

When you write a CV, you essentially pitch yourself to the employer. This document is not merely an account of your work history or education. Instead, it is a marketing tool that needs to sell you and your skill set. It’s all about putting your best foot forward and showing the employer you are the perfect candidate. Let’s take a look at how exactly you can do that: 

• Emphasise your accomplishments and the results you got. Rather than simply listing previous job tasks, let the reader know that you have real value. Put simply, talk about how your actions directly improved the service that the business offered customers.
• Tailor your CV to the coffee shop at hand. Sending out a copy-pasted application will get you nowhere fast. You’re much more likely to land an interview if you have taken the time to understand the business and its needs and aligned your CV with that.
• Grab attention with your cafe CV design. Keep things clear, crisp, and easy to read to ensure you are sending the right message to potential employers. Use one of our tried-and-tested CV templates to stay on the right track.
• Boost your CV by using the right keywords. You can find these in the job advert. This small tip can help you easily get past the standard CV scanning software.

Choosing the right CV format for a cafe worker

Cafe owners don’t have loads of time to review incoming CVs. For that reason, this document needs to be concise and easy to read. Choosing the best CV format for the job is a must. 

As a general rule, we recommend using the reverse chronological CV format. That means that you start with your most recent accolades at the top of the page. As you go down your CV, you go backwards in time. You can see this format in our CV example below. 

However, there will be times when a different approach works better. For example, if you are new to hospitality or the working world, you may prefer to use a functional CV instead. This format emphasises your competencies over your work experience—or lack of it!

Take the time to check out our selection of CV templates, which come in various formats to suit your needs. When it comes to design, use a simple layout rather than a complex one. 

Include your contact information

Next up, you need to highlight your contact information. Forgetting this basic part of your CV will do you no favours. You can slot this information into your header at the top or side of the page. 

It’s essential that the reader can quickly and easily see these details. If your cafe CV does its job, they will want to get in touch with you fast. Here’s what you should include.

• Full name & title. Include your first name, surname, and the title of the job as listed in the advert.
• Professional email address. Make sure that the email you include is professional. Using one that has your first and last name in it is always the safest bet.
• Phone number. List a phone number that you use regularly, such as your mobile number. You should also make sure that the answer phone message is appropriate.
• Location. You only need to list your city and country here. Putting your full address is old-fashioned.
• LinkedIn. So long as your profile is up to date, it may be worth including this on your CV. However, it is not really necessary for most hospitality jobs.

Don’t include:

• Date of birth. Letting the reader know how old you are can lead to age discrimination.
• Personal details. Your national insurance number, passport number, etc.

Make use of a summary

Your CV summary is likely the first thing the employer will read. It is located at the top of the page and is a short introduction to you. So, what is it that you bring to the table? In just 2-4 sentences, you will have to outline why the employer should give you a shot. 

If you want your header to have a real impact, use a selection of action verbs in it. You can use these in either the past or present tense. Examples include delivered, crafted, excelled, prepared, and oversaw. 

One of the biggest mistakes that candidates make here is simply regurgitating the information from other sections of their CVs. That is a waste of time and space. Instead, use this space to showcase the value that you have and make your case as an applicant. For example, you might say the following: “Experienced and barista-trained cafe worker with excellent attention to detail and a broad knowledge of the hospitality industry.” Make sure every word adds some value. 

You can find adaptable cafe worker CV examples summary below:\

Outline your coffee shop & cafe experience

If you are using the reverse chronological format, you should start with your most recent experience at the top of this section. Getting the basics right is a must. That means mapping out the company, your title, the location, and your dates of employment. Below that, you can use a bullet point format to detail the achievements you gained within the position. 

It’s important to be specific when you are writing these bullet points. Serving up generic statements will bore the reader and give them no real information. Instead, you need to emphasise what it is that makes you different from the hordes of other applicants out there. 

You can do this by using results-based points. That means always showing what outcomes came from your actions. For example, a cafe CV may include the following: 

• “Served customers”
• “Cleared tables”
• “Made coffees”

The above are the duties of the role. However, these statements fail to convey what impact your actions had. You can transform them by including more specific bullet points. For example: 

• “Confidently served 80+ satisfied customers every shift”
• “Ensured that the 30+ tables were always clean and hygienic”
• “Trained as a barista and made eight different handcrafted coffees”

Check out the coffee shop employment history CV sample below:

How to write a cafe CV with no experience 

Cafe jobs are often people’s first jobs. So, don’t panic if you don’t have any direct experience yet. You can still showcase your value to a potential employer. 

If you have zero experience at all, you should use a functional CV format here. That way, you highlight your skill set. This helps to refocus the reader’s attention on your competencies. 

Additionally, include any voluntary experience or even hobbies that you have. When doing so, highlight the transferable skills you picked up in each case. For example, if you are a pro when it comes to teamwork, communication, and organisation, shout about it now. 

Of course, if you have interests that align with cafe work, now is the time to talk about them. You may find that it is beneficial to have a ‘Hobbies & Interests’ section, for example. Look for interests that overlap with the role at hand. Let’s say that you have a blog dedicated to reviewing the best coffee shops in your city. That nugget of information may pique the employer’s interest. 

Include the relevant key skills that make you a great cafe worker

If you want to win over the employer, your cafe CV needs a selection of both hard and soft skills. It’s all about creating a sense of balance and showing that you are a well-rounded candidate. 

Hard skills apply directly to the job and are often technical. In the case of a cafe worker, they may include stock taking, barista training, POS, and cash handling. 

On the other hand, soft skills dictate your work style and how you collaborate with others. These may include organisation, good communication, time management, and teamwork. 

When you use our CV builder to create your application, you will see a range of pre-selected skills from which to choose. Of course, you can also add your own skills as you go. 

Here’s what the skills box looks like in our CV template for cafe workers. 

While you should detail your skill set in your skills section, it doesn’t end there. You also need to weave your competencies through other areas of your cafe CV. In each case, your aim should be to show that you have specific skills by giving them some context. 

For example, within your work experience and summary sections, you may cover: 

• Customer service skills by detailing how many customers you served and the overall satisfaction rates.
• Product knowledge by sharing that you gave menu recommendations to customers.
• Interpersonal skills by highlighting how you worked as a team and communicated well with your fellow coworkers.

Check out the job description if you are unsure of which cafe CV skills to include.

Detail your education & relevant certifications

The education section of your coffee shop CV doesn’t have to be complex. You should list the academic accomplishments you have and any other training here. Once again, you need to use the reverse chronological order when you are writing this part of your application. 

While you don’t need any specific qualifications to work in a cafe, highlighting the certificates you have is still vital. This move shows the employer that you have follow-through and a willingness to learn. Here are some of the feats you may want to include in this section: 

• School and college education. You should include your high school and college qualifications here. For example, you need to detail your GCSEs and/or A Levels. Bonus points if you took a subject related to hospitality, such as Food Technology.
• Degrees. If you have a degree or are currently working towards one, list it now. Should this qualification align with the industry, it may put you ahead of the crowd. For example, employers will be particularly impressed by those studying Hospitality or even Business.
• Barista training. If you have trained as a barista, that is a real plus. Include information on where you completed your training—such as the London School of Coffee or the Winchester Coffee School—and the level or grades you received.
• Allergen and food hygiene certificates. Since you may be working directly with food, it can be beneficial to have appropriate certificates. For example, the Food Standards Agency offers certificates in allergens, food hygiene, and food labelling.

Pick the right CV layout and design for a cafe CV

The content you share within your cafe CV is the star of the show. However, you still need to set the stage well. Make sure that the design and layout you choose works for the reader. That means choosing a style that is accessible and making the reading process an absolute breeze. 

While you may be tempted to add flashy pictures or even a headshot, resist the urge. The employer will likely not be impressed by these creative flairs and it may detract from your CV.

If you want to get the look right from the start, use one of our expert-backed CV templates now. All you have to do is enter your details, and we will take care of everything else for you. 

Cafe text-only CV example

Coffee shop & cafe job market and outlook

As a nation of coffee (and tea!) lovers, you might expect this industry to stay strong. However, the latest statistics show that there has been a slight downturn in this hospitality sector. Between 2019 and 2024, for example, there was a 0.8% decline in cafe workers in the UK. 

However, if you are looking for casual shift work—or even a career in the hospitality sector—there are still plenty of opportunities out there. Ensuring that your cafe CV is a cut above the rest will help you beat the competition and land this type of job. 

What type of salary you can expect as a cafe worker

The average hourly rate for a cafe worker is £9.18, according to PayScale. Keep in mind that that is before tips, which are common within the hospitality industry.

Key takeaways for building a coffee shop & cafe CV

Landing your next coffee shop job doesn’t have to be hard. In this guide, we have covered the main things you must remember when creating a cafe CV. Be sure to tailor your application to the employer, include results-based points, and optimise for the ATS. 

The first step to success is using our simple online CV builder. Allow us to take all of the hassle out of creating your next application.