What Makes a Strong Hospitality CV in 2026

The job market for experienced hospitality professionals in London is competitive. Operators are selective, and the difference between a CV that earns a callback and one that does not is rarely dramatic. It comes down to clarity, specificity, and an honest account of what you have done and where you can add value.

The first thing a hiring manager needs to understand is where you sit in the professional hierarchy. Your most recent role, your current title, and the type of operation you have been working in should be immediately visible at the top of your CV. A two-line summary that tells the reader your level, your specialism, and what you are looking for next is more effective than a lengthy personal statement about your passion for hospitality. For a clear picture of what different roles pay at each level, our London hospitality salary benchmarks for 2026 are a useful reference point before you begin negotiating.

Concision signals confidence. A skilled chef de partie does not need three paragraphs to establish their credentials.

Titles alone carry limited information. A Head Chef at a 12-cover private members club is a very different professional to a Head Chef at a 250-cover hotel restaurant, even though the titles are identical. Describe the operation alongside every role: the number of covers, the style of cuisine, the brigade size you managed, the type of clientele, and any notable achievements such as awards, ratings, or significant revenue figures.

For front-of-house roles, the same principle applies. A Restaurant Manager who oversaw 180 covers across lunch and dinner service, managed a team of 15, and drove a 22 percent increase in repeat bookings has given the reader something concrete to respond to. One who lists the title and a generic set of duties has not.

Numbers are your friend. How many covers did your section serve? What was the team size you managed? What was the revenue of the operation? Did you reduce food waste by a measurable amount? Did average spend per head increase during your tenure? Any figure that demonstrates impact is more persuasive than a description of responsibility.

Not every role will yield dramatic numbers, but most will yield something. Use what you have.

Gaps in employment history, whether for travel, personal reasons, health, or time out of the industry, do not disqualify a candidate, but unexplained gaps are a red flag. A brief, honest explanation in the context of the role removes the question from the interviewer's mind before the conversation begins.

A generic CV sent to every vacancy is less effective than one adjusted to reflect the priorities of the specific role. If you are applying to a fine dining operation, lead with your fine dining experience. If you are applying to a fast-growth restaurant group, lead with your experience in volume and team development. This does not mean fabricating experience you do not have; it means presenting genuine experience in the order most relevant to the reader.

Unless you are a senior executive with a career spanning multiple decades, two pages is the standard. A well-edited two-page CV that contains only relevant, specific, and well-presented information is more effective than four pages of comprehensive but unfocused history.

The goal is not to include everything you have ever done. The goal is to give the reader exactly enough information to want to meet you. When you are ready to take your next step, register with Cookaburra to access permanent roles across London's best venues.