How To Become A Deli Worker: What It Is and Career Path

What is a deli worker and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

A deli worker specializes in recommending and preparing food, packaging and labeling products, and responding to customers' requests. You must maintain the cleanliness of the store and follow the rules and regulations, and provide services to deli counter customers by answering questions, making recommendations, and responding to inquiries and requests. You will also manage operations at the front-end to make sure that there are friendly transactions at checkout. Plus, you will prepare special orders and party trays and inform the inventory manager when you are running out of supplies. You are also to ensure that work areas are clean enough to serve customers and ensure you follow all food safety and sanitation guidelines.

As a deli worker, you need a high school diploma and a few years of experience at the deli counter. You should be able to lift heavy items and stand for long hours. Also, you must be courteous and customer-friendly. As a deli worker, you will earn an average salary of $25,029.

ScoreDeli WorkerUS Average

Salary

2.2

Avg. Salary $28,578

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

4.8

Growth Rate 2%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.89%

Asian 6.35%

Black or African American 11.00%

Hispanic or Latino 14.01%

Unknown 4.69%

White 63.05%

Gender

female 66.61%

male 33.39%

Age - 34

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 34

Stress Level

4.8

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

6.2

Complexity Level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

6.6

Work Life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a deli worker

Explore deli worker education requirements

Most common deli worker degrees

High School Diploma

47.9 %

Bachelor's

20.2 %

Associate

16.9 %

Start to develop specific deli worker skills

Skills	Percentages
Premier Customer Service	25.87%
Food Safety	7.48%
Customer Service	7.32%
Deli Meats	6.16%
Kitchen Equipment	6.09%

Complete relevant deli worker training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New deli workers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a deli worker based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real deli worker resumes.

Research deli worker duties and responsibilities

Open and close deli; schedule work hour coverage; manage and monitor deli cleanliness code; customer service.
Scan customers' groceries and accept payment.-Packaged, stock and take inventory of the deli salads.
Greet customers, keep check out area clean, bag groceries, and return buggies when need.
Experience in opening and closing procedures, cleaning fryers, doing dishes by hand and cash register use.

Prepare your deli worker resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your deli worker resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a deli worker resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Deli Worker Resume templates

Build a professional Deli Worker resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Deli Worker resume.

Apply for deli worker jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a deli worker job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do deli workers rate their job?