Fast Food Manager Resume & Guide

Fast Food Managers are experts at running the operations that feed hungry diners by ensuring volumes of food orders being fulfilled in a jiffy, with every meal adhering to standardized levels of quality and taste. While selling burgers or pizzas may be your forte, providing truly impressionable Fast Food Manager resume samples, is ours.

In this write-up, we aim to serve you with tips, resources, and examples to create an eye-catching resume document that would, may be customized for any Fast Food Manager role you apply to (Ronald MacDonald’s right-hand man or the famous Colonel’s chicken whisperer included).

Fast Food Manager Resume Sample

(Free sample downloads are at the bottom of this page)

Fast Food Manager Resume Writing Guide

Resume Sections

1. Contact Information:
Your full name is the first thing employers should see on your resume, therefore use a larger font and type in bold. Then provide contact information (cell, email, social media profile) followed by your location. No need to give an exact GPS pin, the general area in terms of city and state is sufficient. Take care with the email address. Keep it professional (sexy-Sandy and adventurous-Andy don’t count).

2. Career Summary:
Great resumes catch attention because they are customized and unique. This all starts with an original career summary tailored for the exact role you are applying to. The introductory value proposition of your resume should contain 2-3 sentences describing your most prominent skills, experience, and characteristics that could make you an excellent contender for the role at hand.

3. Qualifications Summary:
Fast Food Managers either develop via structured graduate trainee programs or work their way up the ranks gaining experience in the kitchen or from servers to crew supervisors first. A relevant Bachelors or Associates in hospitality and restaurant management is required to join the graduate program route. A large portion of fast food restaurant managers tends to grow into their roles, without formal qualifications. Supply verifiable details about your qualifications by including the institution, qualification name, and dates and. Don’t forget to mention the qualifications you are currently completing too.

4. Relevant Fast Food Industry Experience:
Working experience at fast food establishments should be noted with applicable dates of employment, restaurant name, and job titles. Job duties should elaborate on the operational tenure gained, showing your knowledge about the inner workings of a fast-food restaurant. Also supply a clear presentation of managerial ability, supervisory skills, and leadership capabilities. Use bulleted job descriptions with action verb statements to add extra spice to your resume.

5. Other Employment Experience:
If this is the first managerial role you are applying for, think about the small details of previous working experience which may show your potential as a leader even though you have no management experience. You may include points like being trusted to open and lock up (showing responsibility), working extra shifts when a fellow kitchen worker is absent (showing loyalty) or organizing a team-building event (showing collaboration). All the above interpersonal skills can be applied in a managerial role.

6. Skills Summary/Key Skills:
The purpose of this section is to display your most impressive skills and capabilities to aspiring hiring managers and convince them to invite you for an interview. Aligning skills and competencies to mimic the exact words and phrases in the job advertisement is a handy strategy pass through the automated screening of ATS (applicant tracking systems). This is referred to as resume SEO and will ensure increased “visibility” among the rest of the applications.

7. Licenses/Certifications/Relevant Coursework/Training:
Formal training and certification are generally not required to be considered for a Fast Food Manager role, but these are sure to increase the probability of landing higher-paying positions and moving up in the fast-food ranks from a career perspective. Some employers offer in-house training programs developed by the franchise group or access to online training combined with on the job (shadowing) experience.

What to Highlight in a Fast Food Manager’s Resume

Targeted resume writing refers to an approach whereby a resume would be customized for each application. Sounds like a lot of work, which indeed it is, but worth it in the end. Would you rather send out 100’s of applications with one generic resume or receive invites for all ten positions applied to because the application was a perfect match to the job at hand? Before putting pen to paper, or keystroke to screen, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Is the role leaning towards pure management and supervision or would you be required to lend a hand in the kitchen and liaise with customers (it's often a combination of all three chops).
2. Are you expected to be in the “food trenches” monitoring the activities from dishwasher to cashier and everything in between, or is there another layer of supervisory conduct beneath your position?
3. Will you be working for an international food chain, regional franchise, or local burger joint?

Now that you have unpacked the most important aspects of the role and company structure its time to get down to business and highlight specific elements or your resume, relevant to the position.

The first aspect to highlight is the company settings you have gained experience in on type, size, and geographic spread. Fast Food Managers are found in a variety of establishments ranging from international franchise operations, regional food chains, or local one of a kind diners and take-out enterprises. Also elaborate on the types of food items being sold, for instance, health and vegan, traditional burgers, pizza orientated or seafood and sushi niched. You can also mention the business environment and location, for example, being stationed at an airport premises or located in a shopping mall.

Secondly, supply details regarding the scope of your role relating to overall operations and break them down into categories:

• Food Preparations: As a Fast Food Manager, it is your responsibility to ensure that all food and beverage items adhere to the highest standards of quality. You could mention the strategies you implemented regarding cooking procedures, how cross-contamination is avoided, and the process of food preparation as well as protocols you have put in place for storage.

• Health and Safety Standards: Not complying to stringent health and safety standards may cause customers to get sick, employees getting injured, and the establishment losing its licenses to operate. You need to explain the measures you have instituted to create a safe working environment for your employees as well as your customers.

• Shifts and Rosters: A huge administrative responsibility in this fast-paced environment as most establishments are open seven days a week, during holidays and even 24/7, which makes adequate resource planning essential. Your knowledge of online scheduling systems or shift planning mobile apps would be to your advantage.

• Inventory and Financial Controls: In some fast-food chains, these are handled by head office, but with a smaller establishment, the buck stops with you. Ordering supplies and keeping record of stock levels are usually done with either an inhouse program or online inventory applications. Staying on budget and target with sales are crucial aspects to ensure profitability and sustainable business operations. Your competencies in controlling expenditures, administering payroll, and adequate recordkeeping are to be emphasized.

• Marketing: Your capability to punt the eating establishment and run promotional campaigns would be of interest to prospective employers because the fast-food industry is so highly competitive. Supply extra details regarding the marketing activities you have implemented from direct marketing to online social media awareness campaigns.

• Customer Service: An ignored customer is a dangerous customer. Employers would want to know how you can address complaints or diffuse conflict situations to ensure the reputation of their brand remains intact.

The last aspect to discuss is management and leadership. Fast Food Managers are responsible for monitoring staff's working activities, lead training exercises, recruit new employees, and conduct disciplinary processes when necessary. Incentive and rewards programs are also part of employee management, and if you have initiated any unique motivational strategies to improve staff engagement and performance feel free to provide a few examples.

Fast Food Manager Career Summary

In a nutshell, the aim of a career summary is to define what sets you apart in 3-4 sentences. Your resume should stand out from the other candidates to spark the interest of recruiters and hiring managers. To accomplish this, a career summary should serve as a thought-provoking entrée creating awareness and interest from the viewer and entice them to read the rest of your resume as well.

The food items for this career summary “happy meal” include: an overview of experience gained (primary job function and the number of years), special technical competencies, a wow factor, and finishing highest qualifications and accreditations.

All of this should be wrapped up in a paragraph of 3-5 sentences, consumed by the reader in less than 30 seconds.

Be sure to tailor each summary individually for the role you are applying to and take note of the keywords and phrases used in the advert to help you align your paragraph accordingly.

Another tip is to use persuasive action words and adjectives as condiments to your summary (don’t overdo it though).

Examples:

'Progressive Fast Food Manager with 15 years of experience in managing large scale crews within an international fast-food chain setting. Proven track record of achieving exemplary customer satisfaction levels with numerous industry awards under the belt for best diner in the region, as well as the state of North Carolina. An effective problem-solver with solid financial adeptness, work ethics, and staff development expertise. Completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Restaurant Management and currently pursuing an MBA qualification.'

'Energetic Fast Food Management professional with outstanding communication and interpersonal traits for motivating and inspiring teams to perform at their best, simultaneously ensuring optimal customer satisfaction levels. A multitasker with a hands-on approach and committed to balancing people and profitability management on an even scale. Awarded Manager of the Year in 2017 and 2019 from a franchise pool of 50 contenders. Certified as a Food Service Management Professional and attained an Advanced Diploma in Marketing Management last year.'

'Dedicated Fast Food Manager with an unbeaten ten-year background in spearheading start-up diners to the next level of profitability and customer satisfaction. Excellent knowledge of online and direct product campaign strategies, with high regard for crew engagement and boosting employee satisfaction levels. Won the People’s Choice Award for Best Local Fast Food Outlet in the region for three consecutive years. Certified as a Retail Food Chain Trainer and completed various leadership development courses via the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation.'

Fast Food Job Descriptions and Responsibilities Samples

The onus is on you as the candidate to guide the hiring manager to the conclusion that you are the best fit for their vacancy. Therefore, the job duties you choose to add should be carefully aligned to the requirements and preferences listed on the advertisement. Below are a few examples to get you started:

Samples

A Fast Food Manager at a local Burger Take Out Establishment may:

• Coordinate staff schedules and rosters per daily and weekly demands
• Inspect food preparation and cooking processes to adhere to health and safety standards
• Ensure that the cleaning crew conducts appropriate sanitation and disinfecting activities at the close of each shift and also embark on a deep cleaning exercise once a month
• Establish relationships by networking on social media with the community to create awareness about promotions specials and discounts
• Responsible for all inventory controls and financial management
• Recruit new employees and take them through the appropriate induction training programs
• Do performance appraisals every three months
• Address customer queries and complaints where needed
• Approve window displays and promotional materials

A Fast Food Manager at Regional Diner Group may

• Responsible for monitoring revenue and expenditure on the daily, weekly and monthly basis
• Draw up profitability and inventory reports for head office
• Administer ordering of supplies and service level agreements
• Development induction programs for new hires and created employee development initiatives for senior members of staff
• Acted as a business coach to three new diners during their start-up and opening phases
• Oversee kitchen and serving activities to ensure optimal customer satisfaction and adherence
• Monitor cleaning and sanitation practices
• Responsible for essential maintenance and troubleshooting on equipment and machinery
• Manage a team of permanent 30 staff members and 25 casual workers
• Handle customer complaints and diffuse conflict situations when required

A Fast Food Manager at a National Franchise may:

• Instrumental in growing business sales through advertising (online and print), in-store marketing and local community networking
• Partnered with local schools, colleges, social services, and community forums to invest in corporate social responsibility initiatives
• Spearhead cost reductions in food, labor and inventory expenditures
• Reduce employee turnover by instigating innovative rewards and recognition programs
• Directly managing ten supervisors with an indirect reporting line of 60 staff members
• Responsible for approval of all purchases relating to stock and supplies
• Oversee kitchen operations with the assistance of the Kitchen Manager to ensure food is prepared safely and with the highest quality standards
• Develop training and induction programs and facilitate all training activities
• Inspect supplies, work areas and equipment regularly
• Approve staff scheduling roster received from the Administration Manager
• Sign off on budgets and payroll as created by the accountant
• Address and resolve customer complaints regarding food quality or service levels

Highlight Your Accomplishments

Modesty is a virtue but forget all of that when writing down your accomplishments and achievements. The is the one section where you can brag and boast a little regarding the positive contributions you have made in the past. These accomplishments should be real-life examples (not pie in the sky statements).

Under your accomplishment section, you may be tempted to copy and paste the list of duties you performed as detailed in your Fast Food Manager job description. That’s more than okay if you are content to land in the decline folder of applications. Restaurant owners and corporate food chain operations managers are primarily interested in numbers that affect the bottom line. Your accomplishment statements should be quantified by numerical values such as percentages, dollar amounts, and time frames.

Achievements are surely more appealing than job responsibilities, so if you have them flaunt them (just not too aggressively for the risk of sounding arrogant and entitled) and never ever put a claim to something that you have not done yourself or were part of a group effort achieving a specific result.

Ten examples of Fast Food Manager Achievements:

1. Boosted new customer base by 38% in 2018 with targeted marketing techniques interfaced by social media platforms such as Pinterest and Instagram attracting people to visit the restaurant during off-peak business hours
2. Promoted to Fast Food Manager from Kitchen Manager in a period of only six months
3. Exceeded all up-sell targets from sales made for beverage and optional extras by 48%
4. Instrumental in five franchise openings relating to the recruiting hiring of over 150 permanent staff members in 60 days
5. Calculate timecards, process staff payroll and manage revenue administration exceeding $5000 per day
6. Reduced stock expenses with 28% introducing a new Just In Time inventory control system with an online app linked to local suppliers to simplify order and delivery processes
7. Reduced employee turnover by 21% with the implementation of rewards and recognition programs
8. Revamped the health and safety manual which resulted in an increase of 15% for the annual Health and Safety inspections
9. Achieved the Red Flag award for a ranking within the top 5% of fast-food chains in the region
10. Received Fast Food Manager of the Year award consecutively since 2016

Fast Food Manager Education Section

The education section carries substantial weight in your resume, and the more qualifications and professional development training you have gained, the better your chances of being selected for an interview. Recruiters and Hiring Managers are not solely interested in whether you have a Bachelor or Associates behind your name. They want to see your commitment towards continuous training and development throughout the course of your career which means any foodservice industry accreditations, certifications, online training programs and short courses you have done will place your application right at the top of the resume pile.

Examples

Here are some examples of a Fast Food Manager’s Resume in terms of education:

2018 – Current Bachelor's Degree in Restaurant Management, Cleveland College, Overland Park, KS
Course Curriculum: Menu Planning, Point of Sale (POS) Systems, Customer Satisfaction, Dining Room Set Up, Marketing and Sales

2017 – 2018 Diploma in Communicational and Interpersonal Skills, Huntingdon College, Montgomery, AL

2017 – Foodservice Management Professional (FMP), American Food Safety Institute, Philadelphia, PA

2015 – Food Protection Manager Certification, American Food Safety Institute, Philadelphia, PA

2014 – Member, National Alcohol Beverage Control Association, Alexandria, VA

2010 – Occupational Studies in Food Service Management, Campbell Culinary Institute, New Cityland, CA.

Fast Food Manager Skills

The last section of your resume is all about technical competencies, personality traits, and managerial abilities. Considering that the reader as already viewed much content you want to regain their attention by presenting your competencies in a table format, which is easy to see in an instant, drawing the eyes to keywords that resonate with those listed in the job advertisement.

You may want to organize them in two tables: One for technical skills and one for interpersonal and managerial skills. As an added extra, include one showcasing your software application experience as well.

Technical Competencies

Interpersonal and Managerial Skills

Tools & Tech

Remember to sprinkle these skills and traits into other sections of your resume to reinforce your credibility and fit for the role.

Qualifications/Certifications associated with Fast Food Managers

Professional information for Fast Food Managers

Sectors: Food & Beverage, Restaurant (Sit Down), Restaurant (Drive Through), Restaurant (Diner), Restaurant (Mobile)
Career Type: Functional, Professional
Person type:  Leader, Motivator, Implementer, Reviewer, Planner, Trainer, Organizer
Education levels: From High School Diploma to Bachelor’s Degree
Salary indication:  $19,116 – $45,816
Labor market: Subject to 9% increase from 2016 – 2026 (BLS)
Organizations: Hospitals, Restaurants, Pubs, Hotels, Catering Venues, Holiday Resorts, Fast Food Establishments, Schools, Military Establishments

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