Preparing a Chef CV - With Chef CV Skills List

CV's are also called a variety of things including curriculum vitae and resume. The most important attribute of a successful CV is that it clearly explains to the reader what it is that you can do for them.

The purpose of your Chef CV is not to get you the job - it's purpose is to get you an interview, and after your meeting to remind the person you met with about you.

Remember you are not writing a CV for yourself, you are writing it for the employer / recruiter. So put yourself in the shoes of the reader when you prepare your Chef's CV.

When you submit a printed CV to a potential employer, it is likely to be the first thing they get to see or read of yours. Therefore, you need to present your CV well and make it user friendly.

Chef CV objectives
Chef CV formatting tips
Chef CV guidelines
Chef CV content
Chef CV do's & don'ts
Chef CV tips
Chef CV template
Chef skills list
Chef business skills list
Positive action verbs related to Chef roles

Your Chef CV should be:

• A well-presented, selling CV
• A source of relevant & desirable skills and experience
• A script for talking about your experience as a chef and yourself

General CV formatting tips:

• In most cases, be conservative and print your CV in black ink on white paper.
• Lay your CV out neatly.
• Don't make the margins too deep or too narrow.
• Resist writing lengthy paragraphs - be concise.
• Careful use of bold type can be effective.
• Typefaces such as Times New Roman or Arial are fairly standard.
• Do not use a type size less than 11pt.
• Check for spelling or typographical errors - don't rely on a spell checker. If you're not sure about a word, resort to a dictionary. Sloppiness and lack of care could be heavily penalised.
• Covering letters should use identical stationery as the CV.

Key Chef CV guidelines:

• Generally, the CV should consist of no more than 2 pages.
• Your CV should be honest and factual.
• The first page should contain enough personal details for a recruitment consultant or potential employer to contact you easily.
• Choose a presentation format that allows you to headline key skills, key achievements or key attributes.
• Your employment history should commence with your current or most recent job and work backwards.
• Achievements should be short, bullet-pointed statements and include your role, the action you took and a comment on the result of your action.
• Where information clearly demonstrates your suitability for the vacancy you're applying for, and enhances your chances of being short-listed, include this information near the beginning of the CV.
• Leave out information that is irrelevant or negative.
• Include details of recent training or skills development events you have attended which could be relevant.
• List all your professional memberships and relevant qualifications.

The most common contents of a Chef CV includes:

• Personal Details
• Chef Skills and Career Summary
• Key Achievements
• Key Chef Skills
• Chef Qualifications / Certifications
• Career History
• Professional Memberships

Chef CV Do's:

• Meet the needs of the target organisation where possible. This means a single generalist CV is unlikely to be sufficient.
• Must highlight your achievements and how they relate to the job you are applying for. It must give the reader a clear indication of why you should be considered for this Chef's role.

Chef CV Dont's:

• CV length - should not be too short or too long!
• Spelling and grammar mistakes - eliminate via spell check
• Plagiarised - don't copy from the web
• Inaccurate - little white lies can tip you in to the boiling pot!
• Contact detail mistakes - eliminate
• Reference details mistakes - eliminate

Chef CV Tips:

• • Key skills:
    • Chef skills - include skills which match the specific job spec e.g. butchery skills for a smokehouse chef role
    • Leadership - demonstrate your leadership experience
    • Organisation / Business Acumen - demonstrate your organisational skills

• • Professional Chef experience:
    • List experience in bullet format
    • Give specific examples of restaurants, Hotel kitchens... worked in
    • Utitlise poistive Action Verbs e.g. Manage daily kitchen operations and create standards that exceed safety and health regulations
    • Where possible, provide numerical values describing your work experience e.g. Re-developed the menu which increased sales revenue by [NUMBER]%

• Professional Chef qualifications/ certifications:
  • include all and highlight those most suited to the specific job spec

Chef CV Template:
For additional help with your Chef CV, download our Chef CV Template.