Food Service Workers

Any volunteer or paid experience serving food to others will be useful for aspiring food service workers.

Food service workers generally must be free from any physical disabilities that would impair their movements on the job. They must possess strong physical stamina, because the work requires many long hours of standing and walking. Waiters and food counter workers need to have a congenial temperament, patience, and the desire to please and be of service to the public. All food service workers must be neat and clean in their personal hygiene and dress. Those who serve the public should present a pleasant appearance, be able to communicate well, and be able to use basic arithmetic skills to compute customers' checks. In some restaurants that specialize in the foods of a certain country, servers might need to speak a foreign language. A good memory and persuasive skills are additional personal assets for this occupation.