Cooking and social media: an additional skill to showcase to an employer

Do you cook and also know how to photograph a dish, edit a short video or write a clear caption? These skills can strengthen an application to a restaurant, snack bar or catering business in Cameroon. To make them useful to an employer, show what you can produce and the setting in which you can do it.

Your cooking experience remains central to the application. Content creation is an additional asset when a business wants to showcase dishes, explain its services or communicate with customers.

1. Describe the skills you actually have

“I know TikTok” tells a recruiter little. Specify the tasks you can perform:

• Photographing a plated dish with suitable lighting and framing.
• Recording stable shots and editing a short video.
• Adding readable subtitles and a caption containing approved information.
• Suggesting posts based on the menu and product availability.
• Reading available statistics and preparing a simple report.

Distinguish content production from publishing and responding to messages. Making a video for your personal account does not mean you have managed a business account. Name the tools you actually use and explain how independently you can work.

2. Build a portfolio with three examples

A small folder that opens easily on a phone helps an employer assess your work. For each item, state the objective, your contribution and the context. The following ideas are fictional: adapt them to your own work and label personal practice projects clearly.

A photo of the daily special

Show a dish you actually prepared, with a caption naming it and inviting viewers to check availability. For a practice project, use placeholders: “[Dish] — available [day], at [location], subject to confirmation by the business”. Do not invent a price, address or commercial offer.

A short presentation video

For example, use three shots showing an approved preparation stage, plating and the finished dish. Add a simple line: “Discover today’s preparation”. State whether you cooked, filmed, edited or wrote the text. If you only edited the footage, say so.

A proposed posting schedule

A sample week could feature a dish on Monday, an approved answer to a common customer question on Wednesday and a catering service on Friday. This is a proposal to discuss according to the business’s activity and resources.

3. Show your method, even with a small following

An employer can assess image quality, readability, accurate information and your ability to follow a brief. Present the original objective and explain your choices: product framing, concise wording, subtitles or clearer editing.

If you have results, state the period and source: views, shares, profile visits or enquiries, according to the data you can actually access. Distinguish paid promotion from distribution without advertising. Views do not prove sales; attribute orders to a post only when reliable tracking supports that conclusion.

Just starting out? Two well-explained practice projects are more credible than a promise to “make the restaurant go viral”.

4. Plan filming with the supervisor

Ask permission before filming in a kitchen or publishing on behalf of a business. Agree on a time that respects the team’s work and hygiene instructions. Avoid handling a phone while preparing food; plan an appropriate arrangement and place a stable support outside the working area.

Have prices, opening times, availability and contact details approved before publication. Do not show customers, identifiable colleagues, private messages or confidential recipes without the necessary permission. Only use images, music and other material authorised for the intended use.

For account access, use the permissions arranged by the business rather than informal password sharing. Establish who approves, who publishes and who handles orders.

5. Present this asset on your CV

Adapt this template to your actual experience:

“Cook — [business or catering work], [dates]. Preparation of [specialities]. Additional skill: smartphone food photography and short-video editing with [tool]. Portfolio: [link]. Personal projects / work produced for the business with the supervisor’s approval [choose the accurate context].”

For an application message:

“Hello, I am applying for the cook position. My experience includes [tasks]. I can also produce food photos and short videos; here are two examples: [link]. If this matches your needs, I would be happy to discuss it alongside the kitchen responsibilities. My CV is attached. Thank you.”

6. Clarify the additional responsibilities

If the employer is interested, discuss the expected number of posts, time allocation, equipment, internet connection and approvals. Establish whether messaging, advertising or customer responses are included, then agree on the corresponding pay arrangements.

Suggest a first piece of content with a limited scope, clear objective and deadline. Your value comes from well-presented dishes, reliable information and an approach that fits the kitchen’s service.

Browse vacancies on Kamerjob. Read also: creating videos for a business with your phone and showcasing your cooking speciality.

Cover photo: Ron Lach / Pexels. Illustrative image, separate from the work described in the examples.

The Kamerjob team