Bartender Follow Up

Reminding the bar manager that you're the best candidate for the job.

After dropping off your resume at the establishment you have two options. If you spoke with the bar manager send them a thank you card for taking the time to speak with you. If you weren't able to reach the bar manager wait about four to five businesses days then follow up via phone.

This is how it goes when I call:

Reciptionist: Hello, this is XYZ Bar, how many I help you?
Me: Yes, is _______ Bar Manager in? (We already got the names of the bar manager, remember?)
Receptionist: Sure, one moment please...
or
Receptionist: No, they're not available right now.
Me: When would be a better time to reach them?
Receptionist: 8 o'clock
Me: Thank you.

If the bar manager does answer it goes like this:
Me: Hi ______ Bar Manager, did I catch you at a bad time?
BM: No, what can I do for you?
Me: I'm calling to make sure you recieved my resume that I dropped off last Monday (insert when you did here) and see if there were any openings for bartenders with XYZ Company.

At this point the conversation could go many places. If he says no, simply ask if there will be any in the near future and ask if they know of any other bars in the area that might be looking for a qualified bartender.

If he says they might have an opening coming up ASK FOR THE INTERVIEW! State that you'd really like to be a contributing member of their team and would like a chance to prove yourself. The worse they can say is No.

Even if they answer no to you on all regards send a thank you letter. Bar managers don't get thank you cards everyday so they'll remember you in the near future if one of their bartenders quits.



I would recommend practicing role playing with a friend a little bit if you're not quick on the phone or if you feel you'll be too nervous on the phone.

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New Bartender Blues

A lot of times would be new bartenders simply can't find work. They run into a wall known simply as "lack of experience."

The great majority of bar managers want proven bartenders who aren't going to screw up drinks, drive patrons away, or slow down the already established bartenders. In most of my bartending experiences I've literally been thrown into the mix and if you make it great, if you don't - tough luck.

So how do you get the opportunity to become a new bartender and get thrown in the mix? Be in the spots where you have the highest likelihood of being needed.

If the bar is short staffed and you're working as a server or even barback you may be able to jump back and show you've got what it takes.

So what are the best transition jobs to becoming a new bartender?

Server - As a server you'll learn to work with customers and deal with a lot of the same issues a bartender does. You'll also get familiar with a lot of the drinks being served, but be sure to ask the bartenders questions and listen. A couple of weeks ago one of the new servers at our bar corrected me after I called a corkscrew a wine key. She embarassed herself in front of a couple of customers and didn't even realize it! Servers- listen to your bartenders - they know what they're doing.

Barback - These are the guys stocking the bar and making sure the bartenders have everything they need on a busy night. You'll build a great relationship with the bartenders when you're helping them make money. Best of all, you'll also be tipped out by the bartenders. This is an often overlooked position, but one that I started with, which was a great intro when I had zero bar experience.

Banquet Bartender - It's not nearly as fun as working behind the main bar, but if you can get a gig bartending for weddings, corporate parties, or other special events you'll learn the bar basics and have plenty of experience pouring beer.

So if you've got the new bartender blues chin up, you can quickly move up the restaurant ranks if you prove yourself in one of these easier to achieve positions. Just show that you're a hard worker, eager to learn, and good with people and you'll be bartending in no time.

Your Bartending Plan of Attack

Okay, you're ready to start dropping off your resume to local area bar managers. It's taken you a few hours of work to polish the resume, build a list of ideal bars, and get the names of the bar managers, but now you're way ahead of the game.

You're prepared!

I like to utilize my time efficiently so I make a list of bars I want to hit by physical location and times I'd like to be there.

First I take my list and divide it into times.

If the bar is open during the day I typically stop by between 2-4 which is after lunch, but before the dinner rush. Otherwise, I'll stop by bars that don't serve food during their happy hour times during the week which is usually between 5-8, depending.

After I have them categorized I literally take out a map and plot the best route to stop by each bar to save time.



Then I stack my resumes in the order of the bars I'm going and have the name of each bar manager written next to the list of Bars I'm going to.

Stopping by a bar takes no more than 5 minutes so you can be super productive if the bars are clustered near each other.

If the bar manager is there, all the better... Learn what to say when you stop in each bar.

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Who's Hiring You?

This is a biggie that a lot of bartenders miss. Finding out who's hiring you is one of the most important things, because without this knowledge, all your other hard work doesn't matter.

If you've followed the previous bartending job steps you've made your resume and determined where you'd like to work. Now you're ready to drop off your resume right?

WRONG!

Not until you have gotten the name of the bar manager or hiring manager should you even consider stopping by.

Why?

If you stop by a restaurant you're going to probably be greeted by the hostess or a bartender, who you'll drop your resume off with. Do you think it's in their best intrest to pass on your resume to the hiring manger?

I would like to think everyone in the world is ethical, and most of the time it will be passed on, but just added to the pile. If you stop by the establishment, ask for the manager, and personally introduce yourself in a positive way, you'll actually be remembered when that manager starts to look at the stack of resumes.

It's also important to get the hiring manager's information before you apply because:

-You can tailor your resume to address this particular person.
-You'll want their contact information for following up.

My strategy:
Before I even apply for any of the jobs I call ahead and ask the following questions:
Who's the bar manger?
Do you know if you're currently hiring for bartenders?

This took me about 3 hours of total time to get the names and numbers of 100 bar managers in the greater Honolulu area. It's simple.

Return to Finding a Bartender Job

The Many Bar Styles

Each Bar is unique so bartenders can be specialists in the many areas and types of bars.

Here's a list of the many bar styles

Wine Bars


Clubs / Nightclubs
The ability to hold a beat, smile while you're running your ass off, and make a ton of drinks at once is required. A keen ear might also be great or the ability to read lips as you'll often be blasted out by the loud music.



Fine Dining
Adorned with tiny candles, fine linens, and service demanding customers fine dining is for those who are articulate, bright, good with words, polite, and who have a passion for high end liquors and food. This bartending is focused more quality over quanitity so the ability to speak in an intelligent manor to customers is essential.

Country Bars
The ability to stand country music is essential - I don't think I could ever do this. Line dancing, getting up on the bar and making it a bit crazy tends to be the norm in these kinds of bars.

English Pubs
Cozy pubs with many regulars and a constant stream of Guiness, Harpers, and european bears, this is the place for chill conversation, laughs with good friends, and stories of yesteryears. Typically a crowd of 30+ and one of the best places to work at for an extended period of time.

Hotel Bars
You'll meet a lot of guests from all around the world who appreciate your ability to hold a conversation since they're often on the road alone. Keep them company, recommend a good meal, and you'll get a decent tip on their expense account.

Live Music Venues
These are short term gigs that can bring in a decent amount of money. They're also fun because the atmosphere is great and you may even be able to catch some of the show.

Wedding - Banquet Bars
Banquet bartenders often have a limited bar with previous arrangements according to the function. You won't be able to foster any long term customers, but there's still decent money to be had doing these kind of events. Maybe you can even jump in for the Chicken Dance or Conga.

The Bartending Job Search

Now that you've polished your Bartending Resume it's time to figure out which lucky establishments will receive your decree for employment!

Sure you can apply for jobs that are on craigslist or through the local newspaper, but it's best simply to go for volume with your search and be persistent. Using this strategy you'll be able to meet more bar managers and pick the types of bars you'd ideally like to work for.

Now, if you haven't considered this yet, think about the many Bartending Styles. Each bar is unique and serves a different style of drinks, food, and has a unique clientele - be aware of this.

A couple of questions to ask when you're thinking about places to work:
Who will my co-workers be?
What kind of music will they be playing?
Will I be serviing food?
Will I be dealing with a lot of really drunk people?
Are there fights here often?
How late are they open until?
What is their typical clientelle like?
Are they busy, or are there not many people there?

My ideal bar is this:
Either a night club where I'm running my butt off all night and constantly pounding out drinks or a pub style atmosphere where I can get to know patrons and have regulars. Either one works for me, but that's just my style.

I also know that I don't like country music, bars that serve a ton of food, bars that are known for having a lot of fights, or bars that only hire female bartenders (because I'm male!)

So now that you've made a short list of your criteria go through the local phonebook and match your priorities to the local bars that fit your bill. You could also find such a list online as much larger cities offer nightclub directories and reviews with pictures.

In my case I've made a list of 100 bars in Honolulu where I'll be moving. I won't post the list on here, but it's basically 100 of the busiest restaurants based on reviews and online information sight unseen before I arrive.

This should be the funnest and one of the easiest parts of your search.

Finding Bartending Jobs

My Strategy, Experiment, and Advice for finding a sweet bartending gig

So I'm moving to Honolulu, Hawaii in about three weeks and I know one thing for certain. I want a bartending job there once I arrive.

There are a couple of reasons why... of course there's the usual list of reasons to be a bartender, but for me I really want to meet people who live in Honolulu. I won't know anyone once I get there, so bartending would be a great way to do this. It sure beats sitting in cubicle calling people who hate my guts!

So here's what I'm doing to land a great bartending job in Honolulu. I'll follow up with the results as well and track my progress so that you can see if it actually works.

Step 1:
Your Resume

Step 2:
Starting Your Job Search - Stop looking on craigslist and find a bar that would be a great fit for you.

Step 3:
Who's Hiring You? - Discovering who holds the decision making power to your bartending job.

Step 4:
Mapping your bartending plan of attack - and stopping by.

Step 5:
Following up

Step 6:
The Interview

Step 7:
Accepting and Negotiating the Job

Hopefully you'll find this a great resource for finding bartending jobs. Like anything you truly want in life, it'll require some hard work, but the rewards will be well worth it when you land a great job.