What does a Baker do?

Mix and bake ingredients to produce breads, rolls, cookies, cakes, pies, pastries, or other baked goods. Day to day that includes work like check products for quality, and identify damaged or expired goods and Set oven temperatures, and place items into hot ovens for baking.

What skills should a Baker put on a resume?

O*NET rates Monitoring, Active Learning, Active Listening, Coordination, and Critical Thinking among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Baker list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes ADP Enterprise eTIME, Afcom Datasafe Computer Services FlexiBake, At Your Service Software CostGuard, Axxya Systems Nutritionist Pro, and Barrington Software CookenPro. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Baker work?

O*NET records 32 titles for this occupation, including Dough Mixer, Mixer, Pastry Chef, and Cake Decorator. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Baker need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 58% reported their level of education as "High School Diploma, or the equivalent". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Baker role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Baker resume example

A resume for a Baker needs to show the work itself: mix and bake ingredients to produce breads, rolls, cookies, cakes, pies, pastries, or other baked goods. Day to day that means work like this: check products for quality, and identify damaged or expired goods; set oven temperatures, and place items into hot ovens for baking. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Dough Mixer
Mixer
Pastry Chef
Cake Decorator
Scaler
Bagel Maker
Bakery Associate
Bakery Team Member
Bread Baker
Dough Maker
French Pastry Cook
Hotel and Restaurant Baker
Hotel and Restaurant Cook
Industrial Cook
Manufacturing Baker
Night Baker
Oven Dumper
Pan Dumper

O*NET records 32 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Check products for quality, and identify damaged or expired goods.
Set oven temperatures, and place items into hot ovens for baking.
Combine measured ingredients in bowls of mixing, blending, or cooking machinery.
Place dough in pans, molds, or on sheets, and bake in production ovens or on grills.
Set time and speed controls for mixing machines, blending machines, or steam kettles so that ingredients will be mixed or cooked according to instructions.
Measure or weigh flour or other ingredients to prepare batters, doughs, fillings, or icings, using scales or graduated containers.
Observe color of products being baked, and adjust oven temperatures, humidity, or conveyor speeds accordingly.
Check the quality of raw materials to ensure that standards and specifications are met.
Check equipment to ensure that it meets health and safety regulations, and perform maintenance or cleaning, as necessary.
Adapt the quantity of ingredients to match the amount of items to be baked.
Apply glazes, icings, or other toppings to baked goods, using spatulas or brushes.
Decorate baked goods, such as cakes or pastries.

18 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Check products for quality, and identify damaged or expired goods, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Set oven temperatures, and place items into hot ovens for baking, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Combine measured ingredients in bowls of mixing, blending, or cooking machinery, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Place dough in pans, molds, or on sheets, and bake in production ovens or on grills, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

ADP Enterprise eTIME
Afcom Datasafe Computer Services FlexiBake
At Your Service Software CostGuard
Axxya Systems Nutritionist Pro
Barrington Software CookenPro
Culinary Software Services ChefTec
EGS CALCMENU
Email software
Enggist & Grandjean EGS F&B Control
iPro
LegacyUSA BakeSmart
Masters Software CakeBoss
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Office software

23 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

Automatic dough presses
Bagel dividers
Bagel kettles
Baguette molders
Bain maries
Bakers' couches
Bakery cookie cutters
Bakery muffin pans
Baking frames
Baking sheets
Balance scales
Barcode scanners

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Monitoring
02Active Learning
03Active Listening
04Coordination
05Critical Thinking
06Judgment and Decision Making
07Speaking
08Time Management

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Production and Processing
Customer and Personal Service
Food Production
English Language
Mathematics

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

58%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
25%Less than a High School Diploma
9%Some College Courses

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Some Preparation Needed”. These occupations usually require a high school diploma.

Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.

Common questions

What does a Baker do?: Mix and bake ingredients to produce breads, rolls, cookies, cakes, pies, pastries, or other baked goods. Day to day that includes work like check products for quality, and identify damaged or expired goods and Set oven temperatures, and place items into hot ovens for baking.
What skills should a Baker put on a resume?: O*NET rates Monitoring, Active Learning, Active Listening, Coordination, and Critical Thinking among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Baker list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes ADP Enterprise eTIME, Afcom Datasafe Computer Services FlexiBake, At Your Service Software CostGuard, Axxya Systems Nutritionist Pro, and Barrington Software CookenPro. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Baker work?: O*NET records 32 titles for this occupation, including Dough Mixer, Mixer, Pastry Chef, and Cake Decorator. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Baker need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 58% reported their level of education as "High School Diploma, or the equivalent". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Baker role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.