Bartending for Beginners Blog

• Follow this advice to get a bartending job

  How to Get a Bartending Job from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit Bartending positions are highly desirable and equally hard to get. The job itself is fairly simple, but getting one's foot in the door is not. Here's some tips to help you score one of these fun, lucrative jobs. Steps Develop a plan. No matter which steps you decide to implement below, everything is easier with a plan. Getting a bartending job is no different. Write down 5 places you want to work. Get the contact info for the people who are doing the hiring at these five places. Implement the steps below with these five people in mind. There are a lot of myths out there regarding getting a bartending job, like you have to have experience and you have to start as a barback or server. To learn more and read about how to kick start your bartending job search check out this article.How to Become a Bartender Meet the right people. It's all about who you know. If you have a favorite watering hole, find out who the owner is and start talking him/her up. Befriend the bartenders, barbacks, and cocktail waitresses, and let them know you're looking for a bartending job. Tip well, go often, and generally be a happy, useful presence at the bar. Observe bartenders in action. There are little tricks to pouring a good beer, mixing drinks, and saving time behind the bar. Watch how your mixer handles drink orders. Most of it is not rocket science; the most commonly ordered drinks are liquor plus a mixer. Buy drink manuals to learn about the more complex drinks and practice at home. Consider whether you want to go to bartending school. Some say this is a waste of time and money, saying that it costs about $500 and you learn by mixing colored water, not actual alcohol. They teach you outdated drinks like "grasshoppers" that no one orders anymore, and most will claim to help you find a job. These "job leads" are generally terrible dives you wouldn't want to work at anyway. Most real bars will laugh at someone with a bartending school diploma and no actual work experience. Dress the part. If you want a gig at a fancy restaurant, dress professionally. If you want a job at a hip club, dress edgy. If a dive bar gig is fine by you, dress tough. Most bars are going for a certain look or image, whether they tell you that or not. Look for charity guest bartending gigs. Many big cities are now offering this option. You pick a charity, promote the event, and bring your friends in. In exchange, you and a couple friends get trained for the evening and get to mix drinks all night. It's a great way to get some experience and make contacts. If you impress the bar owner, it could lead to a job. Write a great cover letter and resume. Oftentimes a great cover letter and resume is enough to overcome a lack of experience. Some establishments prefer to hire bartenders with no experience because they won't have any bad habits to break. Experienced or not, the cover letter and resume need to be exciting and pop with personality. A great personality and attitude will elevate you above the competition every time. Prepare for your interview properly. Many bartending job applicants go into their job interviews unprepared. If you look at bartending as a quick fix or so easy to do that you don't need to prepare you will not get the job. The best way to prepare for your interview is to write a great cover letter and resume. You will have them to bring to your interview and the process of writing them will better prepare you for the interview. Tips Come up with a plan and take action. Like anything in life getting a bartending job requires some effort. The more you put in the more you will get out. Decide on the type of place you would like to work, build a list of 7 of these establishments. Write a great cover letter and resume and go to these establishments. Call ahead first so you will be speaking to the right person. Have anecdotes and stories ready and entertain when you get there. Good employees are very hard to find. If you can show that you will be a great employee, they will hire you or find someone who will. Do not b.s. as suggested in other areas - tailor your experience to present yourself as a great employee but never lie about it. More real advice like this is available in a "How to Get a Bartending Job" newsletter Catering companies are a good place to start. They are easier jobs to get, if you can b.s. a little bit, and you will learn a lot by doing basic drinks and pouring wine and beer. Become a barback first. Work your way up the ladder. Bussers have a good opportunity to barback, in some bar&grill joints you must become a busser before they consider you for barback. If you plan on going to a bartending school check their Better Business Bureau profile, be sure they guarantee job placement and that they give you a minimum expected pay rate, never pay for an orientation meeting, ever. Related wikiHows How to Get a Job After You've Been Fired How to Be Confident and Outgoing in a Job Interview When You Are Blind or Visually Impaired How to Get a Job How to Find a Job if You Are Disabled How to "Build" a Bar Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Get a Bartending Job. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

• He Doubled His Income by Bartending 2 Nights!

  If you are new to bartending or looking for a way to break in the this article is for you.... Please realize that you can do this - Believe in yourself, get off the internet... and go do it! Here's the article: I have been in the restaurant and bar business for over 12 years. The question I am asked the most, by a landslide, is "how do I become a bartender?" I have been asked this question by people already in the restaurant business and people with no experience just looking to make some extra money. I give them all the same answer, "Decide that you want to become a bartender and resolve yourself to doing it."Becoming a bartender is just ......... Read the full article here

• How to Get a Bartending Job with Little or No Experience.

  Lots of people want to get a bartending job but don't know how to go about doing it. This article will expose some of the myths of bartending jobs and show you the steps to getting your first bartending job.The first step in getting a bartending job is getting an interview..... Read full Article Here

• Cool Martini Recipes

  This is a great resource. I have been getting quite a few requests for specific, hip and cool martini recipes. I thought you would like to check out this recipe list from the folks at Swank Martini. Swank Martini Recipe List Swank sells stuff like martini shakers, glasses and all kinds of bar related stuff. They even have olives! I have a few of their modern martini glasses and they are great at parties but I don't want to get into that. I'm writing to tell you about their Martini Recipe List. They continually update it and its got to have more than 200 recipes on it right now. So if you're having a party anytime soon or want to feature some killer new martinis at your bar then check out Swanks Martini Recipes at: Swank Martini Recipe List I hope you enjoy;) Let me know which ones you like best.