What You Need to Know to Get Hired as a Food Service Manager

If you excel in a leadership role, management is a great career choice for you to explore. As a food service manager, you are responsible for leading a team of food service workers to ensure that every customer is satisfied with their experience at your establishment and that everyone is doing their job to turn a profit for the business.

Whether you’re hired as the manager of a fast-food chain, a catering or banquet company, a grocery store, or a fine-dining restaurant, the education, training, and skills needed for these jobs are relatively similar. Overall, a food service manager’s general duties include overseeing daily operations, directing the staff, and managing the profitability of the business.

Do you think you have what it takes to thrive in this career? Let’s explore the responsibilities further by diving into the necessary training and reputable characteristics to have to get hired as a food service manager.

Food service manager jobs have one main objective: to manage. It may sound simple, but this “managing” covers many bases. There are various aspects of administration, customer service, and employee relations that managers are responsible for.

Examples of these duties include:

• Administration
  • Inventory management
  • Merchandising
  • Invoicing
  • Inspection of equipment, supplies, work areas, etc.
  • Distributing signage and other marketing collateral
  • Managing expenses, including budgeting and payroll
  • Managing employee records, bookkeeping, and business records
  • Arranging cleaning and maintenance services
  • Ensuring product and service quality

• Customer Service
  • Greeting and engaging with customers
  • Assisting customers with their questions and addressing their concerns
  • Responding to and resolving customer complaints
  • Offering food and beverage suggestions

• Employee Management
  • Hiring, training, overseeing, and terminating employees when necessary
  • Establishing employee standards of performance and ensuring that the standard is met by all employees
  • Creating staff schedules and assigning tasks
  • Evaluating employees and ensuring they are doing their jobs efficiently and effectively
  • Promoting employees when deserved

But that’s not all. Food service managers wear many hats within their establishment. They sometimes work with the executive chef or head cook to ensure there are no delays in service and that all food is prepared up to standard.

There may also be times that a manager has to step in and help serve food and drinks to customers, pass out checks or retrieve payments, or bus tables to move service along if things are busier than usual or if the shift is not covered.

There is no formal education or degree required to be hired for food service manager jobs. However, due to the nature of the job and responsibilities it entails, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says that it is commonly preferred that candidates have some kind of post-secondary education that includes the completion of a food industry-related internship to graduate.

Despite it not being a requirement, there are many options available for those who want formal training in food service management. Many college degrees and training programs can prepare you for this career path.

In some cases, the restaurant or food service company that hires you will offer formal workplace training that combines hands-on experience with classroom-structured learning. This type of training can be very beneficial, as it will teach you the specific company policies and procedures, security, personnel management, and record keeping details needed for managing that particular establishment. It also covers food handling, preparation, sanitation, instruction for using various equipment, nutrition, and pest control.

Examples of educational training to become a food service manager include:

• Certificate programs at a college or technical school
• Associate degree in food service management from an accredited college
• Bachelor’s degree in areas such as food service management, hospitality management, food service operation and restaurant management, or other similar majors from an accredited college

These programs will cover all the bases needed to succeed as a food service manager, including — but not limited to — nutrition, health and sanitation requirements, and food preparation. They may also include courses on how to start and run your own restaurant or food service establishment, as well as lessons on the administrative aspects of the job, such as accounting and business law.

There are also optional certifications that food service managers can receive, including:

• Foodservice Management Professional (FMP) Certification from the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation
• Food Protection Manager Certification from the American National Standards Institute

However, it is still possible to be hired as a food service manager without graduating from one of these programs. Many times, food service workers, including managers, gain the bulk of their knowledge of the trade through on-the-job experience.

An employee who starts in a non-managerial position, such as a server or a cook, can do their due diligence to listen, learn, and work hard to prove to their supervisors that they are capable of taking on increased responsibility. Eventually, they may make their way up to a manager position through a promotion.

Now that you know more about food service manager jobs, in addition to what kind of education and training is necessary to excel in this position, it’s time to consider your personal traits and characteristics.

Certain skills can make you stand out more than others when you interview to be hired as a food service manager. As mentioned, having expert leadership skills is crucial if you want to be a food service manager.

There are many traits that make someone a good leader. These are just a few examples:

• Communication and listening skills. You should be able to communicate clearly and concisely with your entire team regarding employee roles and responsibilities, expectations, and company goals. You must also be able to listen to their feedback and consider any constructive criticism for management procedures.
  
  
• Flexibility. As mentioned, there may be times when you need to jump in at the last minute to help your servers, bartenders, cooks, etc. This could happen at any moment, and you should be able to handle the tasks thrown at you. You also must be willing to make operational changes when necessary. Take both employee and customer suggestions into consideration and evaluate their pros and cons for the business. If a suggestion appears to be prolific for the business, you should be willing to make the necessary changes.
  
  
• Patience and positivity. There are going to be stressful times — times when customers complain or act inappropriately and times when you may just be having a bad day or feel overwhelmed. It’s those times when you, as the person in charge, need to be able to maintain a patient, positive attitude to set the tone for your employees. If you display negativity, it may project onto your employees, who then may act negatively toward customers, which could result in lost business.
  
  
• Interpersonal skills. Building relationships with customers is a sure way to keep them coming back. As the manager, your responsibilities include greeting customers and engaging with them at some point during their visit. Be friendly, courteous, and attentive in these situations. It helps you to be this way with your employees, too. If your employees feel cared about, rather than scared or intimidated, it will increase the morale of the entire work environment. Interpersonal skills also include problem-solving skills because you may run into a situation where you need to sort out employee-customer issues.

A good food service manager is also:

• Business-savvy
• Organized, clean, and detail-oriented
• Aware of their surroundings
• Able to endure long shifts on their feet

Using Joblist to search for food service manager jobs is easy. Simply browse through our Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism Management job category, and you’ll find a variety of food service job titles, including food service manager.

You can also search by your preferred city or state. Whatever career path you are looking to pursue, Joblist can connect you to millions of jobs all over the country and help you land your dream job.