Waiter/waitress to head waiter/head waitress
A waiter/waitress already meets 35% of what the head waiter/head waitress role asks for. The move turns on 23 required skills not yet in the profile.
72.1/ 100
1 How much of what a head waiter/head waitress is expected to do is already part of a waiter/waitress’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the head waiter/head waitress role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A head waiter/head waitress role treats 12 of its required skills as things a waiter/waitress already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- advise guests on menus for special events
- apply foreign languages in hospitality
- assist VIP guests
- assist clients with special needs
- attend to detail regarding food and beverages
- check dining room cleanliness
What stands in the way is 23 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 16 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A head waiter/head waitress role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a waiter/waitress background worth leading with.
- already held attend to detail regarding food and beverages handling and moving
- already held check dining room cleanliness information skills
- already held assist VIP guests assisting and caring
- already held advise guests on menus for special events communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held educate customers on tea varieties communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held sparkling wines engineering, manufacturing and construction
All 16 carried skills, including the 12 the head waiter/head waitress role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 29 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn brief staff on daily menu required
- still to learn plan menus required
- still to learn coach employees required
- still to learn execute opening and closing procedures required
- still to learn handle customer complaints required
- still to learn maximise sales revenues required
- still to learn train employees required
- still to learn manage restaurant service required
- still to learn manage stock rotation required
- still to learn monitor customer service required
- still to learn plan shifts of employees required
- still to learn recruit employees required
- still to learn supervise the work of staff on different shifts required
- still to learn inspect table settings required
- still to learn prepare tableware required
- still to learn greet guests required
- still to learn manage health and safety standards required
- optional, not held use resource-efficient technologies in hospitality optional
- optional, not held handle surveillance equipment optional
- still to learn check prices on the menu required
- still to learn control of expenses required
- still to learn monitor billing procedures required
- still to learn monitor work for special events required
- optional, not held monitor check-out point optional
- optional, not held monitor stock level optional
- still to learn store kitchen supplies required
- optional, not held ensure maintenance of kitchen equipment optional
- still to learn quality assurance methodologies required
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a head waiter/head waitress role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 brief staff on daily menu practise this
- 02 check prices on the menu practise this
- 03 inspect table settings practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 16 skills that carry over
- already held advise guests on menus for special events skill
- already held apply foreign languages in hospitality skill
- already held assist VIP guests skill
- already held assist clients with special needs skill
- already held attend to detail regarding food and beverages skill
- already held check dining room cleanliness skill
- already held identify customer's needs skill
- already held maintain customer service skill
- already held maintain relationship with customers skill
- already held measure customer feedback skill
- already held process payments skill
- already held supervise food quality skill
- already held educate customers on coffee varieties skill
- already held educate customers on tea varieties skill
- already held process reservations skill
- already held sparkling wines knowledge
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held food waste monitoring systems optional
6 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held food waste monitoring systems optional
- optional, not held monitor check-out point optional
- optional, not held monitor stock level optional
- optional, not held use resource-efficient technologies in hospitality optional
- optional, not held ensure maintenance of kitchen equipment optional
- optional, not held handle surveillance equipment optional
27 held skills the head waiter/head waitress role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role alcoholic beverage products knowledge
- not needed by the target role arrange tables skill
- not needed by the target role assist customers skill
- not needed by the target role clean surfaces skill
- not needed by the target role comply with food safety and hygiene skill
- not needed by the target role decant wines skill
- not needed by the target role detect drug abuse skill
- not needed by the target role dietary regimes knowledge
- not needed by the target role food and beverages on the menu knowledge
- not needed by the target role laws regulating serving alcoholic drinks knowledge
- not needed by the target role local area tourism industry knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain incident reporting records skill
- not needed by the target role maintain personal hygiene standards skill
- not needed by the target role prepare alcoholic beverages skill
- not needed by the target role prepare flambeed dishes skill
- not needed by the target role prepare hot drinks skill
- not needed by the target role prepare service trolleys skill
- not needed by the target role prepare the restaurant for service skill
- not needed by the target role present menus skill
- not needed by the target role recommend wines skill
- not needed by the target role serve beverages skill
- not needed by the target role serve food in table service skill
- not needed by the target role serve wines skill
- not needed by the target role take food and beverage orders from customers skill
- not needed by the target role use food cutting tools skill
- not needed by the target role welcome restaurant guests skill
- not needed by the target role work in a hospitality team skill
2 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn quality assurance methodologies required
- optional, not held food waste monitoring systems optional
Other moves recorded from waiter/waitress
- restaurant host/restaurant hostess 72% covered · adjacent
- sommelier 51% covered · moderate
- quick service restaurant crew member 46% covered · moderate
- hotel concierge 44% covered · moderate
- barista 40% covered · substantial
- club host/club hostess 40% covered · substantial
- bartender 38% covered · substantial
- hotel butler 36% covered · substantial
Common questions about this move
Can a waiter/waitress become a head waiter/head waitress?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A waiter/waitress already covers 35% of what a head waiter/head waitress is expected to do: 16 skills carry over, 12 of which the head waiter/head waitress role treats as required.
What skills does a waiter/waitress need to become a head waiter/head waitress?
23 required skills are missing, plus 6 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is brief staff on daily menu.
How hard is the move from waiter/waitress to head waiter/head waitress?
Its learning distance is 72.1 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.