Dietary Aide Resume—Sample, Job Description, & Skills

The exact duties of a dietary aide can vary between jobs—in some places, you’d be assisting in the kitchen, in others running a full-scale dining service for patients or residents. 

But there’s something every vacancy will have in common: lots of competition. Secure your spot by serving up a dietary aide resume that meets every requirement. 

In this guide:

• A dietary aide resume sample better than most.
• How to make the perfect dietary aide job description for resumes.
• How to write a resume for dietary aide jobs that stands out.
• Expert tips and examples to boost your chances of landing a dietary aide job.

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Take a look at some of our other resume examples and guides: 

• Caregiver Resume Example
• Certified Nurse Assistant Resume Example
• Healthcare Resume Example
• Home Health Aide Resume Example
• Line Cook Resume Example
• Medical Assistant Resume Example
• Medical Student Resume Example
• Nursing Student Resume Example
• Patient Care Technician Resume Example
• Server Resume Example
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Dietary Aide Resume Example

Dietary aides work in healthcare settings, preparing and serving meals for patients with adherence to food safety protocols and to each person’s dietary requirements. A successful dietary aide resume should show that you have the necessary teamwork, communication, and cooking or serving skills. 

Here’s how to write a dietary aide resume that’s just right: 

1. Use an Appropriate Format for Your Dietary Aide Resume

Clean, crisp, professional—Those apply to everything from your appearance and conduct to the dining areas you oversee and the kitchen workstations you use. So, let’s make sure your job application fits the bill, too. Here’s how to format your resume to give it a fine-dining look: 

Dietary Aide Resume Format

• Choose the reverse-chronological layout for your resume—start with your most recent experience and work your way back through previous jobs and education. 
• Use an easy-to-read resume font—the default in your word processor (Arial, Calibri, Helvetica) is just fine. 
• Apply standard margins to your resume—one inch on all sides. 
• Keep to the recommended resume length—one page only. If your information doesn't fit on one page, try cutting down on the amount of detail you include—or use a premade resume template that’ll help you distribute your content on the page. 
• Structure your document using the following resume sections: an eye-catching resume header with your contact details, profile paragraph, work experience, education, key skills, additional information. 

As for the design and style of your resume, try to keep it simple. Healthcare is a pretty formal field, so excessive use of graphics or color won’t do you any favors. This is doubly true given that many organizations use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to scan incoming resumes, and this type of software has trouble reading images and graphics. A simple resume template will make your resume ATS-compliant and appropriate for your industry. 

Once you’re done, submit your resume as a PDF file to make sure it displays the same on every device. The only exception is when the employer specifically asks for resumes in a different file format. 

2. Provide a Taste of Your Skills in a Dietary Aide Resume Profile

In a perfect world, recruiters would read every resume from top to bottom. But, as evidenced by the fact that you don’t have the option to present every single patient with their favorite dish every day, the world’s not perfect. 

So, recruiters skim resumes, initially looking for something to catch their eye—relevant experience, skills, or accomplishments. Make that search easier for them by condensing all of that information into a resume profile paragraph that goes something like this: 

1. An adjective that describes your work ethic (efficient, reliable, personable)
2. Your job title (dietary aide)
3. Years of experience (2+, 5+)
4. How your skills can help the employer (eager to prepare tailored meals for XYZ’s patients in full compliance with relevant regulations and best practices)
5. One or two of your most relevant accomplishments to date (prepared meals for 100+ residents per day, collaborated with kitchen staff to ensure 100% of meals were delivered on time)
6. A few key skills or qualities

The dietary aide resume sample up top features an example paragraph written according to this structure—see if you can adapt it for yourself! It’s what’s called a resume summary statement—ideal for candidates with a few years’ worth of dietary aide experience. 

If you haven’t worked in this role yet, write a resume objective statement instead: focus on accomplishments from your education, other jobs (especially relevant ones, like restaurant or healthcare positions), and volunteering. 

It’s common to hit writer’s block at this point—if that’s the case for you, skip your profile for now and move on to writing the rest of your resume. You can come back to the profile at the end, it’ll be easier to write it once your experience is all laid out on the page. 

3. Include the Right Ingredients in Your Dietary Aide Job Description and Resume Skills

Just as meals in hospitals and care facilities are adapted to suit patients’ dietary requirements, your resume needs to be targeted to each employer’s expectations.

Mass-sending the same copy-pasted, generic resume is a recipe for disaster. Instead, your resume’s work experience section should address each employer’s specific needs. 

Here’s how to write a tailored dietary aide job description for resumes: 

1. Open the job ad. What skills does the employer mention? Do they require any experience with specific tasks? Those will make for excellent keywords to use on your resume. 
2. Think about your previous jobs and see if you can come up with examples of when you used those skills or performed those tasks to a high standard. For instance, if they want a team player, can you think of a time when you worked well as part of a team? 
3. Turn those examples into short bullet points that start with a verb (achieved, delivered, collaborated, etc.) and include numbers wherever possible. This way, you’ll turn your duties into accomplishment statements for your resume. 
4. Try to come up with up to 6 bullet points for each of your previous jobs. Remember to also list details like your job title, the name of the company, and the dates you worked there, in the same format for each entry. 

Looking good! While you have those skills from the ad fresh in your mind, work on putting together your resume skills section—Pick up to 10 of the most relevant skills from the job advertisement and from your own experience of what abilities are most useful in the role of a dietary aide. We’ve compiled a list to make the task easier: 

Dietary Aide Resume Skills

• Communication skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Problem-solving skills
• Nutrition
• Food allergies
• Meal preparation
• Following recipes
• Cooking skills
• Sanitation
• Food handling
• Safety guidelines
• Operating cooking appliances
• Teamwork
• Collaboration
• Cultural awareness
• Knowledge of religion-based dietary restrictions
• Reliability
• Cleaning surfaces
• Disinfecting equipment
• Equipment maintenance
• Time management skills
• Multitasking
• Inventory monitoring
• Attention to detail
• Organizational skills
• Critical thinking skills
• Conflict resolution skills

Short on skills or experience? Consider looking for volunteering opportunities—you could pick up valuable insights about working in healthcare environments by volunteering in hospitals or assisted living facilities. 

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4. Serve Up the Details of Your Education

Even when the job doesn’t require specific schooling, an education resume section is a must. What changes is how much detail you include.

If you have a few years of work experience, you can go with the basics. List your highest level of schooling, where you obtained it, and when—and that’s it! 

For resumes with no experience, however, a few extra ingredients will come in useful. Add bullet points below your diploma or degree, outlining things like academic achievements, relevant coursework, extracurricular activities, or projects. Focus on things that show you have the skills needed for the job. 

In case you’re still studying, mention your previous diploma as well. So, if you’re currently in college, list the details of your in-progress degree followed by your high school diploma. 

5. Garnish Your Dietary Aide Resume with a Few Extra Sections

Finish off your resume by including any other information that will work in your favor, such as: 

• Licenses and certifications
• Volunteering experience
• Foreign languages you can speak
• Your hobbies and interests, but only if they’re relevant to the job (e.g. if you’re into gluten-free cooking or general nutrition that’s definitely worth mentioning)

Finally, write a cover letter to accompany your dietary aide resume—it should be tailored to the employer and highlight the ways in which you’d be a valuable addition to their team. 

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Key Points

Here’s a recap of how to write a dietary aide resume that’s sure to score more interviews: 

• Apply standard resume formatting to your document, dividing the page into easy-to-find sections. 
• Open by introducing yourself with a relevant accomplishment in your profile paragraph. Focus on what you can achieve for the employer, not the other way around. 
• Build your work experience section around accomplishments that show specific skills—ideally those listed by the employer in the job advertisement. 
• Outline your education and mention any additional information that could help your application, like a relevant certification or the ability to speak a foreign language. 
• Submit a cover letter with your resume to draw the recruiter’s attention to the most relevant or impressive parts of your experience. 

Thanks for reading! How did you find our dietary aide resume sample? Did you have any trouble working out what to put in your dietary aide job description? Start a discussion in the comments section below, we’ll be sure to join in! 

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