Barista resume example
A complete resume for a barista and shift lead at a specialty coffee shop, plus summaries, bullet points, skills and the coffee training to mention.
What hiring managers look for
Cafe owners and coffee shop managers want a barista who is quick on bar during the morning rush, friendly at the register and consistent with every drink. On a resume they look for drinks per hour or per shift, ticket times, your espresso and milk skills, the POS you use, food handler training and whether you can open or close the shop on your own.
This example follows a barista with three years in specialty coffee, now a shift lead at a roaster's cafe. Bullets cover speed, quality, waste and sales, and the skills list names the espresso machines, grinders and brew methods she runs. Chain baristas, cafe attendants and anyone moving into coffee from food service can adapt the setup to their own shop.
Barista resume summary examples
Shift lead, 3 years
Barista and shift lead with 3 years in specialty coffee. Makes 300+ drinks on a weekend shift with ticket times under 3 minutes, dials in espresso each morning and pours latte art customers photograph. Opens and closes the cafe, counts the till and trains new baristas.
First barista job
Friendly fast-food crew member with a year of drive-through and register experience, eager to learn coffee. Comfortable with a fast pace, a cash drawer and early starts, with a food worker card in hand.
Coffee chain barista
Barista with 2 years at a high-volume drive-through coffee chain, making 90 drinks an hour at peak. Knows mobile order flow, hits speed-of-service goals and covers shifts on short notice.
Head barista
Head barista with 6 years in third-wave cafes, managing a team of 8 and a menu of seasonal drinks. Trains staff to SCA standards, runs public cuppings and grew cafe sales by 15% with a new pastry partnership.
Barista resume bullet points
Strong bullets start with what you did and end with what changed. Borrow the pattern, then use your own numbers.
- Kept average drive-through time under 50 seconds during the 6 to 9 a.m. rush.
- Created 3 seasonal drinks that made up 12% of fall sales.
- Trained 7 new baristas on espresso, milk texture and the POS, getting each ready to work bar alone in 2 weeks.
- Raised loyalty app scans from 30% to 52% of orders by asking every guest about the rewards app.
- Cleaned and backflushed 2 espresso machines daily and caught a failing gasket before it broke down.
- Sold $3,000 in whole-bean coffee during one holiday season with a gift-box display at the register.
- Handled 120 mobile orders an hour at peak by setting up a separate pickup station.
- Scored 100% on 3 health inspections for clean bars, labeled milk and logged fridge temperatures.
Skills for a barista resume
Skills job postings ask for
- Espresso and dial-in
- Milk steaming and latte art
- Pour-over, batch brew and cold brew
- POS (Square, Toast, Clover)
- Cash handling
- Mobile and drive-through orders
- Opening and closing procedures
- Food safety and sanitation
- Inventory and ordering
- Machine cleaning and basic maintenance
Skills to show in your bullets
- Speed under pressure
- Friendliness
- Consistency
- Teamwork behind the bar
- Remembering regulars
List the skills a posting names in its own words, and only the ones you can talk about in an interview. Qualities like these read best as results in your bullets, not as a list.
Tips for writing a barista resume
- 1
Show speed with real numbers
Drinks per shift, ticket times and drive-through times are what managers track. Put one in your summary, like "300 drinks on a weekend shift, under 3 minutes each."
- 2
Name your equipment and brew methods
La Marzocco, Synesso, Mahlkönig, V60, Chemex: specialty shops want to know what you can run on day one. Chain baristas can name the drink systems and mobile apps they use.
- 3
Mention opening and closing
Baristas who can open alone, count the till and close down the bar are worth more to a small shop. Say how often you do it.
- 4
Give a sales or waste result
Retail beans, pastry add-ons, seasonal drinks or less milk waste all help a cafe's thin margins. One bullet like that sets you apart.
Coffee training to mention
Coffee shops don't require a degree, but training shows you take the craft seriously. List a food worker card first, since it's often required, then any coffee courses or competitions.
- Your state or county food handler or food worker card
- SCA Barista Skills (Foundation, Intermediate or Professional)
- Training from a roaster or an in-house certification program
- Latte art throwdowns or barista competitions
- Cupping and sensory courses
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