Pastry Chef Resume Example

This comprehensive guide will give you all the tools you need to craft a pastry chef resume that positions you strongly against other candidates. You'll learn how to show employers you've got the relevant qualities, skills and experience for the job, all presented in a format that employers prefer to see. The article also includes tips for formatting your resume according to your experience and strengths. Read on to learn the tips Jobseeker careers experts recommend as the best for your pastry chef resume.

What to include in a pastry chef resume

It's essential to include a few core sections in your pastry chef resume, while there are also a few optional sections you can make use of to strengthen your application. If you're lacking relevant work experience, you might choose to add sections that showcase your skill set earlier than in a traditional resume layout. These sections might include projects, education, hobbies and interests, skills and other optional sections.

You will have some choice over your resume layout and structure, but be sure to include these sections as the core of your document:

Header and Personal Information

Your pastry chef resume header is the place to add your contact details. Start by adding your full name and underneath, include your email address, phone number and location. Adding your LinkedIn profile, if you have one, can help the employer get a better insight into your skills and industry expertise. You don't need to include any additional personal information or a photo. Create a clear, well-structured header that acts as the headline of your resume. Use color accents and blocks to help this section stand out and catch the eye of the reader.

Make sure the email address you list in your header is professional-looking and doesn't contain any inappropriate content such as nicknames or unsuitable language. Opt for an email address based on your name or profession, or a combination of both. Finally, check your contact details before sending your resume, to ensure everything's up-to-date.

Resume Summary

Following your resume header, write a resume summary to introduce yourself and showcase some of your key skills and achievements. Alternative names for this section are 'resume objective' and 'personal profile'. While a resume summary focuses on your career experience, a resume objective covers your ambitions and career plans. Furthermore, when writing your profile, focus on two or three key skills and achievements that showcase your suitability for pastry chef roles.

Alternatively, focus on introducing your career ambitions, and why this role is a good fit, both for you and the organization.

The best resume summaries reflect the job description and focus on qualities that are relevant to working as a pastry chef, while highlighting elements of your personality that make you an ideal candidate. They also quantify the information provided with evidence. You can see some positive examples of a resume summary for pastry chef jobs below.

On the other hand, an unsuccessful resume summary is one that mentions irrelevant skills, qualities and achievements and fails to differentiate you from other candidates. See above for some examples of things to avoid when writing your pastry chef resume summary.

Hard and Soft Skills

In your skills section, list any skills you've acquired or developed that are relevant to pastry chef positions. Consider adding sugar work artistry, time management skills or any other necessary skills for the job. Additionally, read the job description to make sure your skills match those required for pastry chef positions. You could also include some unique skills that help you stand out as a candidate.

Highlighting your hard skills

For your hard skills list, include any technical abilities or specific industry knowledge that's essential to working as a pastry chef. These could be skills gained through work experience or qualifications. Furthermore, your hard skills list helps to show employers how competent and experienced you are at key pastry chef duties and responsibilities. Add up to five key hard skills that show you're an ideal candidate for the role. It can also be beneficial to add context to each skill, showing how you've used it to positive effect in your career to date.

For an effective resume hard skills section, focus on the technical skills that are most essential in the job description, and that match your specific expertise. Some examples of the best hard skills for a pastry chef resume are listed below.

Showcasing your best soft skills

Your soft skills are the core qualities and personal characteristics that make you a good employee. They tend to apply to multiple professions and jobs, though the soft skills you'll require may change as you move from junior to senior positions. Indeed, without soft skills, you may struggle to adapt to pastry chef roles or meet the standards expected of you. So make sure you include several key soft skills on your resume. Aim to include approximately five soft skills that reflect the skills listed in the job description.

The strongest resume soft skills sections include a mix of skills that match your best personal strengths, and that reflect the skills listed in the job description. See below for some examples of effective soft skills for a pastry chef resume.

Education

Your resume's education section provides space for you to list your highest and most relevant qualifications for pastry chef roles.

A pastry chef role tends to require candidates to have a university or college degree, so make sure you list yours in your resume. A Bachelor of Science in Culinary Arts degree or similar is the most suitable for this job, but you could also include any other relevant qualifications that show your sugar work artistry or chocolate tempering skills.

Include any qualifications relevant to the role. For each, add the name and level of the award, the institution name, its location and your dates of study. Include bullet points to show any specialist modules you studied, awards or exceptional grades and achievements that can set you apart from other candidates. These will all contribute to creating a positive impression on employers.

If you took part in any volunteering or you were a leader or member of any university societies, you could also mention these in your education section.

Certifications and Training

In this section, include any pastry chef certifications, training or licenses you hold that are relevant to the job. You could list accreditations for certain professional roles or licenses for certain activities that help to make you a strong candidate. Therefore, add any professional licenses or certifications, along with valid dates that show they're still valid.

Read on to see some relevant example certifications for a pastry chef resume:

Work Experience

In your work experience section, list any previous relevant roles you've worked in, as well as your key achievements as a pastry chef. Include any relevant jobs you've held in reverse-chronological order. Start with your current or most recent roles and work back through previous roles. For each job, list your title, the name of the company, its location and the dates you worked there.

Also include some bullet points for each job mentioned, showcasing your achievements so the employer can see the impact you made on the company. Pay attention to the job description and make sure each point is relevant to pastry chef roles.

An effective resume work experience section is one that constantly echoes the skills and experience listed in the job description, and shows how you used your skills to positive effect in each job. Each bullet point should be carefully crafted to showcase a particular skill or achievement relevant to pastry chef jobs, with evidence to show the value you added. Review some strong examples of resume work experience sections in the graphic below.

Above, you can see a weaker example of a resume work experience section to best avoid. A poor resume work experience section would typically use vague descriptions of activities in previous jobs, while focusing too much on responsibilities rather than achievements. Failing to focus on the skills and experience that match the job description is likely to harm your chances of success.

Optional Information

If you need to provide further evidence of your suitability for the job, optional sections can be useful for a pastry chef resume. Choose optional sections from the list below, if they help to showcase your relevant skills and experience.

Hobbies and Interests

Listing your hobbies and interests can reveal key qualities that some employers may value. Your hobbies and interests are useful for a pastry chef resume if you want to show a different side to your personality, or to stand out among other candidates. They can also be valuable if you're a junior candidate without much relevant work experience. Don't include hobbies and interests in your resume unless they showcase a specific interest or aspect of your personality. You'll want them to add something to your application that you can't add elsewhere.

Volunteering

Listing volunteer work is another useful way to prove your relevant experience for pastry chef roles. Include the title of your volunteer role, who you volunteered for, as well as the dates you carried out the work. Provide brief details of your responsibilities and the impact you made.

References

Standard pastry chef resumes don't tend to include references, but you might find them requested occasionally. Check the job advert to see if you'll need to add references to your resume. Be sure to prepare your referees in advance, so they've agreed to provide a reference and are ready to be contacted.

Best action words for your pastry chef resume

Using strong action verbs in your work experience bullet points can make a stronger impression on employers and show the value you added to your previous roles. Choose from the list of words below to increase the impact of your work experience section.

Jobseeker's resume templates were created by careers experts to help you produce a professional resume in minutes. You can also find cover letter templates to complete an eye-catching job application that gets you noticed.

Example of a pastry chef resume

The pastry chef resume example below includes all the sections above, so you can see how a completed resume looks:

How to make an ATS-friendly resume

Applicant tracking systems (ATS) are increasingly taking responsibility for the management and processing of job applications, helping hiring practices to become more efficient. This can include screening resumes by scanning and ranking each application according to how closely it matches the job description. If you follow a few simple tips when writing your pastry chef resume, you'll give yourself a better chance of ranking highly in the ATS screening and progressing to the next stage.

Follow these guidelines to create the best ATS-friendly resume:

• Use a traditional resume format, such as reverse-chronological or functional. These will give your resume a structure that's easier for ATS systems to scan.
• Use of job description keywords throughout your resume will help it rank higher in the ATS scanning stage, as it will more closely match the requirements laid out in the job description.
• Use clear headings that break your resume up into readable, scannable sections that match the standard content employers expect from a resume.
• Utilize a clean, clear resume design that helps make your content more readable. Use simple fonts and subtle color accents and design elements that don't detract from the written content.
• Adopt simple, professional language to keep your resume as concise as possible. This tends to make your document more readable, and easier for ATS software to scan.

Key takeaways for your pastry chef resume

An effective resume is a concise, professional summary of your relevant skills and career achievements, showcased through a chronology of your career history. Use a suitable resume format and tailor your resume for every application you submit.

Remember, Jobseeker resume templates and other tools make it easy to create a resume and cover letter that leaves a positive impression on hiring managers. Sign up now to start building your perfect resume. Whether you're a junior or senior candidate, a professional cover letter can help to grab the attention of the employer. Jobseeker's cover letter examples were created by careers experts to provide useful tips and ideas for your cover letter.

Sources:

(1) Writing a Resume, California Department of Human Resources: https://www.calhr.ca.gov/employees/Pages/resume-tips.aspx

(2) Resumes, Cover Letters and Job Applications, New York State Department of Labor: https://dol.ny.gov/resumes-cover-letters-and-job-applications