Tag Archives: bartending

Bartender Jobs – An Excellent Source of Extra Cash

Posted on March 7, 2010 by BJ WIlliams

While there are some initial training objectives that must be met before you can become a bartender, it is well worth the time investment for anyone who has a need for consistent extra income. While many people think of bartending as an exciting job that puts them at the center of every party, there are actually some downsides which have to be considered as well. For instance, you will from time to time have to deal with someone who has had too much and needs to be cut off from further drinks. You may also have to adjust to the long, late night hours most bartenders have to work.

There can be a lot of stress with a bartending job. You have to strike a balance between making demanding, expectant customers happy on the spot and satisfying a boss who believes raking in the money is of the utmost importance. You have to be able to service your customers quickly while still communicating in a manner that makes them want to tip you. Throw in dealing with those who have had too much but still want more, and you have a stressful job that needs to be thought about seriously before taking.

You will have to remember what everyone wants, how to make it and the prices for everything. You also have to be on the lookout for underage drinkers because if anything happens to them, you will be responsible for their actions. You will need to handle your job with style and remember you’ll be working for tips. Sometimes, this can be a good thing while others it may not be. Often, it isn’t enough. Depending on where you work, the tips can be horrid.

While mixing drinks doesn’t seem like a demanding job, it does require a lot of skills. You will need excellent communication skills to deal with customers and math skills to add up the tab for each customer and quickly hand back the proper amount of change. You will also have to work with others behind the bar, especially when there is a large crowd around the bar area. Finally, your personality has to be considered. A great bartender is someone who can remain calm under any amount of pressure and who can keep a smile on their face no matter how they may be feeling inside.

If you are still interested in earning some extra cash with bartending, make sure to find a good school to prepare you ahead of time. Look for a short term school that will teach you how to mix a wide variety of drinks in a very short period of time. You should be able to take seven hour classes for a week or two and get all the skills you need to begin working.

Those who don’t attend a good bartending school tend to have a more difficult time finding jobs, since employers are looking for people who already know how to mix their drinks, which tools should be used, and who understand that different drinks require different types of glasses.

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How to Write a Bartending Resume

Posted on March 26, 2009 by BJ WIlliams
by BJ Walker

Writing a resuming to get a bartending job is essential. Your bartending resume needs to take the skills you gained in other jobs and make them relevant to bartending. Try to use the below examples to brainstorm more skills that you have gained in other jobs and turn them into bartending skills. If you can show the ability to understand what an owner needs in a bartender the better your chances will be at getting the job.

Every job these days requires that you be a people person. No matter where you have worked in the past, you have had interaction with customers. This interaction is often an opportunity to influence a customers buying decision. In the bar business this is called up-selling. If a customer asks for a vodka and the bartender asks which kind, the bartender has moved the customer into a situation where he will more likely order an upscale drink, increasing revenues for the bar. Owners love when their bartenders have the ability to up-sell.

A job skill you may have gotten in another job is conflict resolution. Bartenders deal with conflict on an almost daily basis. Whether it be between 2 staff members or with a slightly drunk customer, you are guaranteed to face conflict in a bartending job. Speak on your resume to your ability to resolve conflicts peacefully and maintain customer satisfaction.

Anticipating customer needs and exceeding customer expectations have become buzzwords in the service industry. They are buzzwords for a reason, they are essential skills in todays service economy. The food and drink service business has become very competitive in the last few years. It is essential that customers leave satisfied and that they tell their friends about the experience. If you can anticipate the customers needs and meet them before they ask you will have exceeded their expectations and generated positive word of mouth for the bar or restaurant.

If you have ever had to maintain an inventory, you have taken part in a skill that is essential to bartending. Inventory and stocking of the bar takes place on a near daily basis. The refrigerators and liquor shelves will need to be restocked daily and replenished at least once a week. Having the ability to stay organized and on top of the inventory is a skill that all bartenders need.

Money management is one of the most important skills of any bartender. Bar owners and managers need to trust their bartenders because thousands of dollars are handled by them every day. The sad truth is many bartenders find a way to steal and skim off the top. If you can show that you have been trusted with money in the past, it goes a long way to developing trust with a bar owner or manager.

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