Deli Associate job description: duties, skills and qualifications.

Core duties

16

O*NET task statements

O*NET occupation

Fast Food and Counter Workers

O*NET-SOC 35-3023.00

Preparation

Job Zone 1-2 of 5

very little to some preparation

Typical entry education

No formal educational credential

BLS 2025–35

Median pay

$31,200

BLS May 2025

Data Government data groups this job as Fast Food and Counter Workers (O*NET-SOC 35-3023.00). O*NET 31.0 lists “Deli Associate” as a job title for this occupation only (evidence: the U.S. Employment and Training Administration). Figures on this page are for that occupation. TryHired has no separate career page for this title yet.

1. Accept payment from customers, and make change as necessary. importance 4.4 of 5
2. Serve customers in eating places that specialize in fast service and inexpensive carry-out food. importance 4.4 of 5
3. Request and record customer orders, and compute bills, using cash registers, multi-counting machines, or pencil and paper. importance 4.4 of 5
4. Balance receipts and payments in cash registers. importance 4.3 of 5
5. Communicate with customers regarding orders, comments, and complaints. importance 4.3 of 5
6. Serve food, beverages, or desserts to customers in such settings as take-out counters of restaurants or lunchrooms, business or industrial establishments, hotel rooms, and cars. importance 4.2 of 5
7. Monitor and order supplies or food items, and restock as necessary to maintain inventory. importance 4.2 of 5
8. Perform cleaning duties, such as sweeping, mopping, and washing dishes, to keep equipment and facilities sanitary. importance 4.2 of 5
9. Brew coffee and tea, and fill containers with requested beverages. importance 4.1 of 5
10. Clean and organize eating, service, and kitchen areas. importance 4.1 of 5
11. Prepare daily food items, and cook simple foods and beverages, such as sandwiches, salads, soups, pizza, or coffee, using proper safety precautions and sanitary measures. importance 4.1 of 5
12. Prepare and serve cold drinks, frozen milk drinks, or desserts, using drink-dispensing, milkshake, or frozen-custard machines. importance 4.0 of 5
13. Wrap menu items such as sandwiches, hot entrees, and desserts for serving or for takeout. importance 4.0 of 5
14. Set up dining areas for meals, and clear them following meals. importance 3.9 of 5
15. Collect and return dirty dishes to the kitchen for washing. importance 3.8 of 5
16. Scrub and polish counters, steam tables, and other equipment, and clean glasses, dishes, and fountain equipment. importance 3.8 of 5

Work activities O*NET rates most important here: Getting Information, Performing for or Working Directly with the Public, Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates and Assisting and Caring for Others.

Also part of the job

Supplemental tasks O*NET lists for this occupation: less central than the core duties above, and not done in every job.

• Perform personnel activities, such as supervising and training employees.
• Add relishes and garnishes to food orders, according to instructions.
• Distribute food to servers.
• Select food items from serving or storage areas and place them in dishes, on serving trays, or in take-out bags.
• Notify kitchen personnel of shortages or special orders.
• Take customers' orders and write ordered items on tickets, giving ticket stubs to customers when needed to identify filled orders.

Knowledge areas: Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Food Production and Mathematics.

Software O*NET lists for this occupation: Facebook, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Windows, Aldelo Systems Aldelo for Restaurants Pro, Compris software. These are examples O*NET records for the job, not a list of tools every employer uses or a checklist of what you must know.

• Education: BLS lists no formal educational credential as the typical entry-level education.
• Experience: BLS lists no work experience in a related occupation as typical to enter.
• Training on the job: BLS lists short-term on-the-job training as typical once hired.
• Preparation: O*NET places the job in Job Zone 1-2 of 5 (very little to some preparation). Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience.
• Licenses and certifications: not listed here. A license is a legal requirement set by a state; a certification is a credential from a private or professional body. Rules vary by state and employer, and a missing entry on this page does not mean none is required: check with your state's licensing board.

Most deli associates surveyed by O*NET (56%) name less than a high school diploma as the education the job requires.

Job title: Deli Associate
[Company] · [City, State] · [Full-time or part-time] · [Pay range, where your state requires one]

About the role
[Company] is hiring a Deli Associate to perform duties such as taking orders and serving food and beverages.
[One sentence on your team and why this role matters.]

What you will do
- Accept payment from customers, and make change as necessary.
- Serve customers in eating places that specialize in fast service and inexpensive carry-out food.
- Request and record customer orders, and compute bills, using cash registers, multi-counting machines, or pencil and paper.
- Balance receipts and payments in cash registers.
- Communicate with customers regarding orders, comments, and complaints.
- Serve food, beverages, or desserts to customers in such settings as take-out counters of restaurants or lunchrooms, business or industrial establishments, hotel rooms, and cars.
- Monitor and order supplies or food items, and restock as necessary to maintain inventory.
- Perform cleaning duties, such as sweeping, mopping, and washing dishes, to keep equipment and facilities sanitary.

What we are looking for
- [Education: BLS lists no formal educational credential as typical for this occupation; set the level this role truly needs]
- [Experience: BLS lists no related work experience as typical to enter; set what this role needs]
- Strength in social perceptiveness, coordination and service orientation
- Working knowledge of Customer and Personal Service and English Language
- [Software your team uses, e.g. Facebook or Microsoft Excel]
- [Any license or certification your state or company requires]

[Schedule, benefits and how to apply]

Illustrative: every name, employer, school, date and number in these samples is fictional or a bracketed placeholder. Replace each bracket with your own true details; never copy a result you did not achieve.

Not a real job posting. This template is TryHired's illustration built from government occupational data. It is not an opening at any employer, and no employer wrote it.

For Fast Food and Counter Workers, the median annual wage was $31,200 in May 2025. The median hourly wage was $15.00. BLS estimates about 3,854,050 jobs in this occupation in the U.S.

BLS projects employment of Fast Food and Counter Workers to grow 5.8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 827,400 openings a year over that period, including openings to replace workers who leave.

• Read a real deli associate posting next to the core duties above. Duties it repeats, such as “Accept payment from customers, and make change as necessary”, tell you what that employer weighs most; anything it adds is specific to that team.
• Tailor your resume to the posting, not to this page: describe only deli associate work you have actually done, with your own results.
• Prepare a story for each of the top-rated skills (social perceptiveness and coordination): a real situation, what you did and what changed.