A first job resume is built from what you have already done, before anyone paid you for it.
It counts what you did before any job
What changes when this is where you are
The questions are written for the job you name. These are the ones that change because nobody has paid you for it yet.
Your skills sit above your job history, so what carries over is read first.
The duties of the job you are aiming at are never handed to you as your own experience. Skills carry over; the work itself has to be yours.
You are asked which days and shifts you can work, because these jobs turn on it.
You can say you have no work history yet and keep going.
School, volunteering, helping family, sports and fixing things all count, and are asked for by name.
Nothing here is a setting you have to find. It is how the questions come out when you choose this.
School, helping out, fixing things
What Rung draws out
There is more on your side than a job history. The questions go looking for it.
School, and anything you were good at there
Helping family, volunteering, sports, fixing things
What you can already do, before anyone has paid you for it
$37,390
Median pay a year
1,409,890
People do this work
6
Resume lines ready for you
Pay and headcount are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The lines are written from what the US Department of Labor records about this work.
An example
A first job resume, filled in
Every line below comes from the same public record as the rest of this page. The greyed parts are the ones only you can answer.
Cooks, Restaurant
Summary
Cook preparing, seasoning, and cooking dishes like soups, meats, and desserts in a restaurant. Responsible for food safety, cleanliness, and ensuring freshness of ingredients while serving meals to patrons
Skills
Hands-On Work
Cooking foods, Mixing ingredients
Core Skills
Checking food and supply quality, Cutting foods, Assessing equipment functioning, Measuring ingredients, Determining menu item prices, Estimating supplies, Planning menu options, Inspecting facilities
Experience
Volunteer, Community Kitchen
Where you worked
Month Year to Month Year
Regulated temperature of ovens, broilers, grills, and roasters to ensure food was stored and cooked safely
Inspected and cleaned food preparation areas, including equipment and work surfaces, for safe food handling
Portioned, arranged, and garnished food, then served it to waiters or patrons in the restaurant
Checked freshness of food and ingredients, kept track of old and new items, and rotated stock
Seasoned and cooked food according to recipes or personal judgment and experience in the kitchen
Baked, roasted, broiled, and steamed meats, fish, vegetables, and other foods for meals
Washed, peeled, cut, and seeded fruits and vegetables to prepare them for consumption
Education
High School Diploma Your school, Year
Yours will not say this. It will say what you did, in your own words, and Rung writes it with you one question at a time.
Nothing to write from scratch
What to put on a Restaurant Cook resume
These are the real duties for the job in the example above. Inside Rung you choose the ones that were yours, for whichever job you name.
What did you do each day?
Choose what fits, or say your own.
Checked food temperaturesCleaned food prep areasServed food to waitersChecked food freshnessCooked food by recipesPrepared fruits and vegetables
becomes
On your resume
Checked food temperatures to ensure safety and quality standards were met
Served food to waiters, maintaining a smooth flow of service during peak hours
These are written the way a resume line reads. Rung asks which ones are actually yours, keeps your own words, and never claims work you did not do.
Then it asks for one more thing
The line that could show more, and the fact that lands it.
Make it stronger
A few lines could show more. Each one is asked, and answered by choosing.
Add how often you checked food temperatures.
The line
Checked food temperatures every hour during shifts to ensure safety and quality standards were met
Add how often you checked food temperatures.
Pick one that fits
Every hour during shiftsSeveral times each serviceAt least once per dish
Or add your own.
In your wordsAdd it
Adding it to the line…
Added to your resume
Show what improved once the service flow was maintained.
The line
Served food to waiters, maintaining a smooth flow of service during peak hours
Show what improved once the service flow was maintained.
Pick one that fits
Reduced wait times for customersImproved customer satisfaction ratingsKept kitchen running efficiently
Or add your own.
In your wordsAdd it
Adding it to the line…
Added to your resume
Every ready answer is in plain words, never a figure. Nothing is invented to fill a gap.
Free resume help
Start where you are
Answer a few small questions and leave with a resume. Your answers stay on your own device.
A truly free resume that is yours to keep
You leave with a PDF and a Word file, and a cover letter if you want one.
Nothing to pay when you download, no account, and the resume saves to your own device.
Every question can be read aloud, and answered out loud.
Nothing to write from scratch: the lines are ready, and you choose the ones that were yours.
What Rung asks here is set by its own journey configuration, published in this repository. What the work involves comes from O*NET 30.3, the US Department of Labor's occupation database, refreshed July 2026. Pay and headcount come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS release for 2025. Rung is an independent service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by either agency. How Rung handles accuracy is on the accuracy page, and the full data credits are on the credits page.