What Makes a Strong Hospitality CV in Australia in 2026

The job market for experienced hospitality professionals in Perth and South West WA 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.

Concision signals confidence. A skilled chef de partie does not need three paragraphs to establish their credentials. For a sense of where different roles sit in the current WA salary market, our Perth hospitality salary benchmarks for 2026 are a useful reference before you begin negotiating.

Titles alone carry limited information. A Head Chef at a twelve-cover fine dining restaurant in Fremantle is a very different professional to a Head Chef at a two-hundred-cover hotel restaurant in the CBD, 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 Good Food Guide recognition, industry awards, or significant revenue figures.

For front-of-house roles, the same principle applies. A Restaurant Manager who oversaw 150 covers across lunch and dinner service, managed a team of twelve, and implemented a wine program that increased average spend per head by 18 percent 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 guest satisfaction scores improve 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.

In Australia, most hiring managers will also want to confirm that you hold the relevant certifications for the role. Food safety supervisor certification is a standard requirement for chef roles. Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) is mandatory for anyone serving or supervising the service of alcohol in WA. If you hold these, list them clearly. If your RSA or food safety certification has lapsed, renew it before you start applying.

For South West WA roles in particular, any experience in regional or destination dining, farm-to-table operations, winery restaurants, venue events, is worth highlighting specifically. These operations attract a distinct clientele and require a particular kind of professional sensibility that is genuinely valued by regional employers.

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 for your next permanent step, register with Cookatoo and let us connect you with WA's best venues.