Landing a Restaurant Manager’s Job – Moving Past the Resume

There is both an art and a science to being a restaurant manager. Most long term people in the management profession understand the intangible elements that are part of the job. This is only half the equation. They also know how to present themselves to a recruiter. Knowing what a recruiter is looking for can make the difference between landing a job, finally, and having a choice of jobs.

There are four pillars of management: plan, organize, direct, and monitor. Outlining on a resume that you’ve experience and success in these areas will rarely make you a candidate for a prime job in a prestigious establishment.

What benefits Can You Bring to the Employer?

What Can You Do?

Recruiters are looking for candidates who set down roots. They want candidates who stay at one position for long periods. If a candidate can set up a goal, and show that the goal was accomplished before they left a position then they are showing that they have a career plan.

Make sure you outline your accomplishments and successes for your resume writer or recruitment firm. Goals are good. Goals that solve problems are even better. The candidate never knows what problems the last manager left behind. Maybe the restaurant has been trying to solve a problem that you have already solved. Highlighting this, instead of listing the tasks involved in your last position can make the difference between developing a viable career and just holding down a manager’s job.

Dedication and Loyalty

Nothing looks better on a resume than a restaurant candidate who stays at one position for long periods.  Recruitment professionals are looking for people who can stay long enough to finish what they started. This can take several years in some cases. A candidate who stays long enough to have addressed a plan and leave the restaurant in better shape, financially and in the personal dynamics of the staff, will be more attractive than someone who has decades experience but no vision or sense of purpose.

Identify Yourself

Are you a team player, problem solver, visionary, aggressive competitor, creative artist? Let your recruiter know who you are as a person. No candidate wants to land a job and lose it within a year, or two, because they were not a right fit for the position. Many restaurant owners are not skilled enough in human resources to understand the importance of picking the right personality type and skill set for a job. A great manager takes the reins and directs the interview to highlight the benefits they can bring to the restaurant.

People Skills

It is also important to improve your people management skills. Do more than explain that you’ve taken a course designed to teach techniques to stop ‘toxic communication’ or to understand how to teach non-verbal learners. Explain what those courses taught you and how it can help execute your management plans.

No restaurant owner needs a manager who causes problems with employees, increases the turnover rate, or hires low performers just because they are easier to control. This can cause both a stress and financial burden on the entire enterprise. Taking a couple minutes to highlight your interest in managing people as viable assets of the restaurant can make the difference between being seen as another candidate, and as the perfect fit for the position.