What's the best way to become a bartender?!
What's the best way to become a bartender?
I know they have those bartending schools available, too, but most of those (if not all of them) seem shady to me. How would you get into the business?
Answers:
As a person who is responsible for hiring bartenders, I would say the main quality I look for is personality and presentation. I am not ashamed to say that I have been bartending for over twenty years and any monkey can learn how to "sling gin".
A pleasant person with a quick wit and the ability to control situations that seem impossible is what I look for. I have only hired one person to bartend that went to a "bartending school". It was a tragic mistake (remember those schools are run by people that don't make enough as bartenders to pay their bills) they usually teach bad habits and give their "graduates" a false sense of knowledge.
The best way to become a bartender is to work your way up learning everything you can along the way.
Ask to speak to the owners of small bars and ask for a job. Larger, busier bars want bartenders with experience. I've had friends go to bartending schools and they got jobs afterwards.
be a good listener.
There are bartending schools in which you learn to make a lot of mixed drinks and then take the test to become licensed. Check in your yellow pages or you can use this website to see if there are any in your area: http://www.abcbartending.com/.
Apply for a bartending job and you will learn how to make the drinks while on the job, I did!
go to bartender .com so you can know how to make a drink then get a job as a bar back and then ask the bartender questions
Getting into this job with no experience is very hard. What makes it harder is what you did before trying. I was a licenced mechanic for many years when I grew tired of working on other people's cars and decided to do what I always wanted to do, bartend. It took me almost six months of constant applying and interviewing to land a crappy part time job in a crappy little bar making $40 tips for 15 hours of work. Bars and restaurants will look at what you did before and ask why would they hire someone who is qualified to make allot more else where. They'll hire someone who will stay rather than someone who's looking for work between careers. You have to make sure it gets accross very clearly this is something you want to do long term.
Now, to get into this field. Experience is key. To get experience, you need to get a job. But getting a job with no experience is impossible. Especially in this trade. So, sadly, you have to lie. Go to bartending school and learn as much as you possibly can. Ask every stupid little question that pops into your head. The lesson plans in bartending schools is mixing drinks. That's pretty much it. YOU have to ask the questions to learn about everything else in bartending. And there is allot more. Buy books, read up on the ins and outs of this job. List what you learn as experience. You're resume is very important. Needs to stand out but don't be too flashy.
Lastly, get your licence from school but DO NOT list bartending school on your resume or even mention you went. Almost all bars and restaurants hate bartending schools. Just say you learned how to make drinks by making them while working in small rund down little bars that don't exist.
Read up on this website. She's a fantastic lady and will help you out.
www.MissCharming.com
Good luck. It was over 20 years ago that I decided to get into this line of work. It took me over 2 years to find stable, well paying work. I had to beg for the rent money from loved ones, I had to sell allot of my junk to survive. But today, I own and run three bars and make over $1000 cash a night. It's worth it.
I would have to say going to bar tending school.....I'm sure you could find some in the yellow pages of your phone book or yahoo yellow pages
I am a bartender and I started off at a small bar, learning how to mix drinks. Don't bother yourself with bartending school, most bars want experience, not bartending school. Start off either as a server or a bar back.