Get a Bartending Job
Lots of people want to learn how to become a bartender but dont know how to go about doing it. This article will expose some of the myths of how to get a bartending job and show you the steps to getting your first bartending job.
A key step to getting a bartending job is getting an interview. Without putting yourself in front of the people who do the hiring you can’t get a bartending job. This step seems simple enough but many would-be bartenders get caught up in the myth of they won’t hire me without any experience. Please don’t misunderstand me - some bartending jobs require experience, but most do not. Experience is required at high volume, super fast paced establishments. For these bartending jobs you must be extremely efficient at making drinks and serving customers - there is just no time to learn on the job. But most establishments are not high volume and super fast paced.
Experience is not as important as you might think when you are trying to get a bartending job. Lots of owners and managers look past a persons experience because they are sick of hiring people with bad habits and having to train those habits away. An applicant with no experience doesn’t come with bad habits, and if you can show a great attitude most owners and managers will give you a chance.
Your cover letter should tell a story that displays your winning attitude and ability to perform on the job. It doesn’t have to be a bartending job. Use the story to separate yourself from the crowd and get the readers attention.
The resume used in your bartending job search should be designed especially for bartending jobs. Do not just send out the same resume you would send to a temp office agency. Have fun with the resume, remember to put your personality into it, and make it relevant to bartending. Talk about your ability to handle conflict, desire to work with people and your responsibility.
Your resume needs to put forth your positive characteristics and job skills. Don’t include things like, I can type 50 words a minute, on a bartending resume. This detail is irrelevant and will bore the reader. Include things like, I am great at upselling, co-workers come to me for advice, I can read a situation and resolve conflict well. These are skills you need in any job but especially in bartending. If you have applied these general skills in other situation you can apply them bartending and learn how to become a bartender.
Bartending job interviews are much different than regular job interviews. Don’t buy the myth that you’ll have to make drinks and have recipes memorized. Most bartending job interviews are tests of personality and attitude. Display a winning personality and great attitude and it will be hard for the interviewer to not give you a chance.
During any job interview, but especially bartending interviews your goal should be to get the interviewer to like you. Most people want to work with other people like them and people that they like. Co-workers spend a lot of time together, so interviewers want to like the people they hire. If you can come off more as a friend than an applicant you will be half way to having the job already.
In conclusion, bartending jobs are not as hard to get as it seems. Aspiring bartenders just don’t usually know where to start. If you want to become a bartender take my advice and apply the ideas above. You will be working behind the stick in no time.
