Restaurants, cafés, hotel kitchens and lunch restaurants hire many international workers in Finland, as cooks, kitchen helpers, dishwashers and waiters. Managers often read CVs on their phone between shifts, so your CV needs to show the important things in seconds.
What Finnish employers look for in a restaurant CV
- Hygiene passport (hygieniapassi). In Finland, people who handle unpackaged, perishable food need a hygiene passport, a certificate of food hygiene knowledge from the Finnish Food Authority (Ruokavirasto). Employers often ask about it first, so put it near the top of your CV. If you are new, you can usually get it within your first months in the job, but having it already makes you easier to hire.
- Alcohol serving pass (anniskelupassi). Useful for waiters and bar staff. Mention it if you have one.
- Type and size of kitchen. A lunch restaurant serving 300 meals a day is very different from a small à la carte restaurant. Give the numbers.
- Special diets and allergies. Finnish restaurants handle many special diets, such as gluten-free and lactose-free food, and allergies. Experience with this is a real plus.
- Pace and teamwork. Show that you have worked in busy shifts, and say which shifts you can do.
Common mistakes
- Not mentioning the hygiene passport. If you have it, it is one of the first things an employer checks. Don't hide it at the bottom.
- Listing dishes instead of skills. Instead of a list of food you can cook, describe your station, volume and responsibilities.
- Unclear titles. Use common Finnish titles where they fit: kokki (cook), keittiöapulainen (kitchen helper), tarjoilija (waiter), ravintolatyöntekijä (restaurant worker).
- Leaving out food-safety work. Checking temperatures, labelling and cleaning routines all show you know how a Finnish kitchen works (often called omavalvonta, in-house food safety checks).
A short example
Quick checklist for a restaurant CV
- Hygiene passport near the top, if you have it
- Alcohol serving pass, if you have it
- Type of restaurant and meals per day for each job
- Special diets and allergy experience
- Food-safety tasks you did
- Shifts you can work and your Finnish level
Read more about the hygiene passport on the Finnish Food Authority's website, and find job boards and Finnish courses in our resource directory.
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Get your free CV reviewThis guide is general information based on publicly available Finnish guidance. Requirements can change and can differ between employers, so always check the job ad and the official sources linked here. It is not legal or professional advice and does not guarantee interviews or job offers.
Free Finnish CV template
A ready-to-fill Word template built for Finnish employers, with examples for care, cleaning and restaurant jobs.
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