What does a Cooks, Short Order do?

Prepare and cook to order a variety of foods that require only a short preparation time. Day to day that includes work like clean food preparation equipment, work areas, and counters or tables and Perform food preparation tasks, such as making sandwiches, carving meats, making soups or salads, baking breads or desserts, and brewing coffee or tea.

What skills should a Cooks, Short Order put on a resume?

O*NET rates Active Listening, Coordination, Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, and Service Orientation 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 Cooks, Short Order list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Aldelo Systems Aldelo for Restaurants Pro, Foodman Home-Delivery, Inventory control software, Plexis Software Plexis POS, and Point of sale POS software. 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 Cooks, Short Order work?

O*NET records 33 titles for this occupation, including Cook, Grill Cook, Line Cook, and Short Order Cook. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Cooks, Short Order need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 55% 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 Cooks, Short Order 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.

Cooks, Short Order resume example

A resume for a Cooks, Short Order needs to show the work itself: prepare and cook to order a variety of foods that require only a short preparation time. Day to day that means work like this: clean food preparation equipment, work areas, and counters or tables; perform food preparation tasks, such as making sandwiches, carving meats, making soups or salads, baking breads or desserts, and brewing coffee or tea. 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.

Cook
Grill Cook
Line Cook
Short Order Cook
Caterer
Deli Cook
Delicatessen Cook
Food and Beverage Attendant
Pizza Maker
Prep Cook
Preparation Cook
Snack Bar Cook
B&B Cook
Grill Prep Cook
Barbecue Cook
Bed and Breakfast Cook
Breakfast Cook
Breakfast Line Cook

O*NET records 33 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.

Clean food preparation equipment, work areas, and counters or tables.
Perform food preparation tasks, such as making sandwiches, carving meats, making soups or salads, baking breads or desserts, and brewing coffee or tea.
Perform general cleaning activities in kitchen and dining areas.
Restock kitchen supplies, rotate food, and stamp the time and date on food in coolers.
Grill, cook, and fry foods such as french fries, eggs, and pancakes.
Plan work on orders so that items served together are finished at the same time.
Take orders from customers and cook foods requiring short preparation times, according to customer requirements.
Grill and garnish hamburgers or other meats, such as steaks and chops.
Complete orders from steam tables, placing food on plates and serving customers at tables or counters.
Order supplies and stock them on shelves.
Accept payments, and make change or write charge slips as necessary.

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.

Clean food preparation equipment, work areas, and counters or tables, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Perform food preparation tasks, such as making sandwiches, carving meats, making soups or salads, baking breads or desserts, and brewing coffee or tea, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Perform general cleaning activities in kitchen and dining areas, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Restock kitchen supplies, rotate food, and stamp the time and date on food in coolers, 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.

Aldelo Systems Aldelo for Restaurants Pro
Foodman Home-Delivery
Inventory control software
Plexis Software Plexis POS
Point of sale POS software
RestaurantPlus PRO

Tools and equipment

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

Apple corers
Bakers' peels
Blenders
Boning knives
Broilers
Cappuccino makers
Carbonated beverage dispensers
Cash registers
Chefs' knives
Colanders
Commercial coffeemakers
Commercial dishwashers

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

cook foods

What this job rates as most important

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

01Active Listening
02Coordination
03Critical Thinking
04Reading Comprehension
05Service Orientation
06Speaking
07Time Management

Knowledge areas

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

Customer and Personal Service
Food Production
Production and Processing
English Language

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.

55%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
34%Less than a High School Diploma
11%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 Cooks, Short Order do?: Prepare and cook to order a variety of foods that require only a short preparation time. Day to day that includes work like clean food preparation equipment, work areas, and counters or tables and Perform food preparation tasks, such as making sandwiches, carving meats, making soups or salads, baking breads or desserts, and brewing coffee or tea.
What skills should a Cooks, Short Order put on a resume?: O*NET rates Active Listening, Coordination, Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, and Service Orientation 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 Cooks, Short Order list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Aldelo Systems Aldelo for Restaurants Pro, Foodman Home-Delivery, Inventory control software, Plexis Software Plexis POS, and Point of sale POS software. 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 Cooks, Short Order work?: O*NET records 33 titles for this occupation, including Cook, Grill Cook, Line Cook, and Short Order Cook. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Cooks, Short Order need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 55% 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 Cooks, Short Order 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.