Food Handler Career

*A job as a Food Handler falls under the broader career category of Food Preparation Workers. The information on this page will generally apply to all careers in this category but may not specifically apply to this career title.

Job Description for Food Preparation Workers : Perform a variety of food preparation duties other than cooking, such as preparing cold foods and shellfish, slicing meat, and brewing coffee or tea.


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Food Preparation Worker Career

What skills are required for Food Preparation Workers?

Importance Skills
  Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
  Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
  Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
  Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
  Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
  Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
  Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
  Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

What knowledge is needed to be a Food Preparation Worker?

Importance Knowledge
  Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
  Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
  Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
  English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
  Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
  Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
  Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
  Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
  Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

Work Styles

Importance Styles
  Self-Control - Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
  Cooperation - Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
  Integrity - Job requires being honest and ethical.
  Social Orientation - Job requires preferring to work with others rather than alone, and being personally connected with others on the job.
  Attention to Detail - Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
  Dependability - Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
  Initiative - Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
  Leadership - Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.
  Persistence - Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
  Concern for Others - Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
  Stress Tolerance - Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.
  Achievement/Effort - Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
  Independence - Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
  Adaptability/Flexibility - Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
  Analytical Thinking - Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.
  Innovation - Job requires creativity and alternative thinking to develop new ideas for and answers to work-related problems.