Learn to Bartend

While it may seem too easy, the key to finding a bartender job is to focus your search and redouble your efforts. Getting a bartending job has often been shrouded in mystery but it really can be achieved in just 5 easy steps. Follow this outline and you will get a bartending job in no time.

One step is to narrow your search to 15 or 20 top prospects. Think about your personality and what kind of bar you would be most interested in working in. If you have never been to a nightclub, then that scene may not be for you. List out these prospects and research the hiring managers at these places. Keep their contact information at the ready.

You need to write a bartending specific resume. You need to have a resume that highlights the skills needed to bartend even if you have never done so. Almost all jobs require some level of inventory management, people skills, conflict resolution or customer service. All of these skills are essential to being a good bartender. Your resume needs to highlight these skills no matter what job you had when you gained them. And don’t include irrelevant details like proficiency in word or excel.

You should always write a cover letter to go with your resume, even for just a bartending job. Many candidates will not go this extra mile so you separate yourself from the crowd simply by having a cover letter. This letter should be good of course, but the mere act of having one will gain you recognition. A good cover letter should show the reader how you handled a tough situation or how you grew at one of your previous jobs. Be as specific as possible, tell a story if you want to. Its alright to put your personality on display a little bit in your cover letter. Have fun with it and tell a good story. An engaged reader is a hiring reader.

Getting a bartending job is going to require that you knock on some doors and get face to face with the people who do the hiring. You are going to need to be persistent and go to all of the bars on your target list. You may have to some of them more than once. Never just leave your information behind, there is a chance the manager wont even see it. If a manager isn’t available you will just have to go back when they are. This require some planning and patience but getting face to face is a key component to getting the job.

If you are going to get a bartending job you are going to need to master a bartending job interview. Job interviews are enough to make anyone’s palms a little sweaty and a bartending job interview is no different. You have to fight through that nervousness and put your personality on display. Service jobs are about having a great attitude and personable personality, everything can be taught. Without going out on the limb a little bit you will not get a bartending job.

I hope these tips have illuminated the bartending job search process for you. It really isn’t nearly as difficult or mysterious as bartenders make it out to be. If you develop a plan, show initiative and persistence, and maintain a positive attitude you will easily get a bartending job. I wish you luck o your search. Happy Hunting.