6 tips to write killer job ads for restaurant servers

When it comes to recruitment in the restaurant industry, you want to attract the most qualified persons to ensure customer satisfaction, retention, and loyalty. Restaurant servers make up a large share of hospitality staff and play a vital role in the success of any restaurant.

Good service delivered by restaurant servers is one of the main reasons why people return and become regular customers. Naturally, poor service causes customers to choose another place to dine at. Therefore, it’s important to get an edge in luring the best restaurant servers to your business, which is something that quality job ads can help you with.

To attract attention, a job ad should be memorable and stand out so that applicants can’t ignore it. To achieve that, it should list what good candidates look for - essentially they are the key audience here and should be top of mind. Let’s see how you can do that! 

1. Use an engaging title

This is probably the first line that applicants will read before looking through the rest of your job ad, so try to use an interesting and straightforward title that will attract the right applicants. You can get creative, but within reason - you still need to keep it professional and simple, so an official name of the position, along with one or two descriptors that will hook potential recruits is ideal. 

For example: Restaurant Server with Bartending Experience, Flexible Schedule.

Stuck on ideas? Check out Quicksprout's guide to hiring here!

2. Communicate your work culture 

In the body of your job ad, there should be a description of your company’s culture. Recruits will want to know what it's like working at your business. When writing this part, keep in mind that using the language of your business is important because it can attract people who would like to work in the same culture.

“For example, if the culture of your restaurant is laid back and relaxed, using more conversational, natural language is a good idea,” recommends Josh Drexler, a talent acquisition expert at write-my-essay-for-me.com. “You just need to ensure that all job

ads you produce use the same language.”

Here are some examples for you: 

A  job advertisement for a restaurant server position using formal language:

• Server required – 1 st Street Pizzeria – 1 st Street is currently looking for servers with a minimum of 2 years food service experience and sommelier experience in a fine dining restaurant. Must have a responsible service of alcohol certificate, previous fine dining experience preferred. Please send your resume to 1ststreetpizzeria@gmail.com.

Here’s an example of an advertisement that reflects the restaurant’s laid back culture:

• Are you an experienced restaurant server? The 5 Star Hotel is looking for more professionals to join our team. Right now, we need servers with a minimum of 3 years fine dining, setting and wine serving experience. We offer flexibility, with regularly rostered days off and discounted meals during breaks. If this sounds like you, please send your resume to hotel5stars@gmail.com explaining why you think you’d be a great fit for this position. 
  
  

3. Mention the benefits for new recruits

Ask yourself, what would new recruits gain from working at your business? What would attract them? What will make them stay at your workplace? For example, your culture might be one of the main factors that set you apart from your competitors, so it’s time to mention that. This time, however, we’re going to be more specific.

For example, you could mention the following in your job ad:

• A fantastic benefits scheme
• Uniform provided
• Learning and development opportunities
• Values you stand up for (e.g. zero tolerance policy on bullying/harassment)
• Flexible days/rostered days off
• Complimentary/discounted meals
• Health services 
  
  

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4. Enhance ads with video 

Online marketers found that video has incredible power in driving engagement. Why not use this knowledge to enhance your recruiting? You don’t need expensive equipment to shoot a great video because most smartphones have a camera powerful enough for this purpose.

For example, you can make a video that tells the story of a typical day in your restaurant and uses interviews with other employees to show what it’s like to work there. Use this opportunity to also tell the story of your company, it's a great technique that allows you to humanize your company and connect with candidates on an emotional level. 

LinkedIn Talent Solutions has made an amazing video tutorial on making a great recruitment video with what you’ve got without sacrificing quality while conveying the culture of your organization. Try this next time your creating a job ad! 

5. Make it look professional

A job ad that appears like it was just copied straight from Microsoft Word is not a good look for your company or your reputation. You want to make it look professional so that candidates aren't put off from applying for your job. 

You don’t have to be a designer to make it look professional, though. For example, PosterMyWall, Design Wizard or Canva have a great collection of free hiring poster templates that you can use to make your job ad look amazing. 

When writing your job advertisements, you need to also ensure that there are no spelling errors. Can you imagine seeing a job ad from Apple with a mistake in the headline? Of course not, because they proofread it multiple times before publishing. Editing tools such as Grammarly and Hemingway editor are really useful for ensuring that your writing is error-free. 

6. Know the skills and experience needed

Importantly, what exactly are you looking for in a restaurant server? Ask yourself what key qualities need to be fulfilled in this role. Do they need to have years of experience and a specific skill set? Or can they have minimal experience and entry-level skills? It might help to think about what your servers will be doing in their day-to-day job to identify what you need.

For example, strong customer service skills, as well as food and beverage knowledge, are probably important requirements, as servers will need to draw on these when working and serving customers. 

Knowing what you're looking for will make the screening process easier when you reach the interview stage, and will save you time sieving through applications. In your job advertisement be sure to include the 'must have' qualities that you won't compromise on. Then you can mention any 'bonus' qualities that aren't a priority but are still attractive for you as an employer. 

Once you know this, it will make the process of writing your job advertisements a whole lot easier. 

For your job advertisements to be attractive to applicants, it should not only highlight the skills and experience you're looking for, but it should also draw on your workplace culture and values.  This way, you'll not only attract the most qualified applicants, but also the ones who are genuinely interested to work at your restaurant. 

Find out how online training platform, Typsy can help make hospitality training easy for you and your staff! Start today and get in touch at hello@typsy.com  

Tom Jager is a professional blogger who works at A-writer. He has a degree in Law and English literature. Tom has written numerous articles and online journals. You can reach him on G+ or Facebook.

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