Resume Tip Sheet for CIM Programs
As a graduate of the Culinary Institute of Michigan, you can create a CHRONOLOGICAL resume if you have relevant work experience through a required internship or other types of culinary experience. (See the article Easy Steps for a Chronological Resume)
Or you can create a COMBINATION resume if you would rather emphasize your categories of skills, along with your education and your required internship. (See the article Easy Steps for a Combination Resume)
Tips for creating key sections of a culinary graduate’s resume:
A. Heading
List your credentials like this:
Shawn Garcia*
Street Address, City, MI 00000
(000) 000-0000
sgarciaemail@gmail.com LinkedIn Profile/Customized URL
*If you have filed the paperwork with the American Culinary Federation and are a Certified Culinarian use this: Shawn Garcia, CC
If you have filed the paperwork with the American Culinary Federation and are a Certified Pastry Culinarian use this: Shawn Garcia, CPC
B. Professional Skills
Begin your resume with a summary of your professional qualifications. To write the bulleted statements in this section, be sure to use keywords, requirements and preferences mentioned in the job posting. (For more information see the following articles: Developing Your Qualifications Summary and Beating the ATS.) Below is an example:
PROFESSIONAL SKILLS
• Employ in-depth knowledge of sanitation principles in food preparation using ServSafe skills
• Skilled in costing recipes and monitoring inventory control and practices, which saved the business more than 10% on food costs per month
• Service 100+ customers per day with patience and excellent listening skills that have earned commendations from the front of the house manager
Key terms to consider using in this section: costing recipes, inventory control and practices, hospitality, customer service, guest accommodations, POS
C. Relevant Coursework (opt.)
This section is optional. It should only mention specific coursework required for or desirable for the target job. List specific competencies from the course. For example, not “Skills I,” but “Cake design and decorating.”
D. Professional Experience
A CIM graduate’s internship and other work experience in the industry are important examples of professional experience. Be sure the list is in reverse chronological order. Recommended format:
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Panera Bread Muskegon, MI 01/2021-09/2021
Overnight Bakery Apprentice
• Maintained organized, sanitary work area and insured proper operation of all equipment
• Received a 98% public health department inspection rating for procedures and work area
E. Education
Place your education information directly after the PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE section. You may include any colleges at which you have completed courses or from which you have obtained a degree. See the example below which shows how to list your degree:
EDUCATION
Culinary Institute of Michigan Muskegon, MI Expected graduation 05/2022
A Division of Baker College
Associate of Applied Science
Baking and Pastry/Food and Beverage Management/Culinary Arts (Choose the specific degree.)
F. Licenses/Certifications
List licenses or certifications granted by a governing body. Look at requirements listed in job posting and choose optimum placement on the resume for this information. It can be placed after the professional skills section if desired. Below are examples of possible certifications:
LICENSES/CERTIFICATIONS
ServSafe Food Manager Certification Expires 00/2022
ServSafe Allergens certification Expires 00/2022
Training for Intervention ProcedureS (TIPS) certification Expires 00/2022
Name of certification*, American Culinary Federation Expires 00/2022
Cicerone Beer Server certification** Expires 00/2022
*Baking and Pastry and Culinary Arts degrees only ** Food and Beverage Management degree only
G. Work Experience
List non-culinary work experience with two to three bullets which highlight soft skills. Also, be sure to list related culinary experience outside of your internship which would be desirable to the employer (e.g., Server, Host, Bartender, Cook) and highlight transferable skills.
H. Optional Section
You can create an optional section to show additional accomplishments and relevant volunteer activity. Depending on the length of your resume and your goals, this section can simply be a list of your titles and the organizations or can include duties/achievements as in the PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE section.
COMPETITIONS/VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE
National ProStart Invitational-2nd place winner-Culinary 03/2021
Kid’s Food Basket volunteer coordinator 2019–2021
Revised 12 July 2021
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