Bartending is an active and high-speed career with space for imagination, adaptability, and the ability to welcome new faces daily. It's a career in which hospitality and imagination converge, and even the skill of creating a drink is a social act. If you need a full-time or part-time career, bartending is a career with a combination of education, experience, and skills. If you're prepared to mix the ideal cocktail and serve excellent customer experiences, follow these five steps to launch your bartending profession.
Learn the Basics of Bartending
There is a need to master the art of bartending before getting behind the bar. This means understanding the types of alcohol, popular cocktail preparations, pouring techniques, and proper bar etiquette. Most prospective bartenders start by reading bartending textbooks, taking online courses in bartending, or taking courses in mixology to gain some basic knowledge about the profession.
Practice in your own home is also allowed. Create a mini-bar setup and practice serving cocktails with experiment fluids. Getting control over the count to pour and acquiring the techniques to dress the glasses with garnish will make you better than your competitors at that first real job.
Get Certified
You might be required to get a bartending license or certification if you live where you wish to work. Bartenders may be required to take an alcohol server course in certain states or nations to help them get instruction in responsible service of alcohol and legislation for the area regarding the service of minors and intoxicated patrons.
Bartending schools offer short, intensive one to two-week courses that teach drink recipes, pouring techniques, bar etiquette, and customer interaction skills. Schools like Local Bartending School can be a great advantage, especially for beginners. This is one of the higher-end ways of receiving the certification you need and the on-the-job training to achieve success.
Get Hands-on Experience
You may start to work as a barback when you are inexperienced. Here, you will work under the bartender's support, handling activities such as stocking, rinsing glasses, and arranging garnishes.
You may also gain practical experience by volunteering to work in events, private functions, or temporary bars. The longer you work within the actual working conditions of the bar, the better you will adapt to serving the clients, processing orders of drinks, and performing under stress.
Develop Customer Service Skills
A bartender who can read a room and adjust their style to match it will create an experience people will be talking about. Bartenders are the business face, so interpersonal skills and communication are essential.
By watching experienced bartenders, you can learn how to handle busy nights and make customers happy. A friendly demeanor, being accessible, and understanding what the customers have as house drinks will go a long way with great tips and repeat customers.
Finding Bartending Jobs
Begin by writing a professional resume pointing out your strengths, training you may have completed, and major prior experience. Visiting the bars personally and making deals with the managers will also help you get employed, as most premises prefer walk-in and referral hiring over online applications.
If bartending employment continues to slide by you initially, don't hesitate to take jobs with restaurants, hotels, or catering companies. They all serve behind the bar and are good stepping stones into the field.
Endnote
Being a bartender requires dedication, skill, and hospitality. Mastering the fundamentals, breaking in your hands, and learning how to get along with everyone will prepare you for success in the trade. With the proper attitude and perseverance, you'll already be halfway to shaking and stirring cocktails and creating memories for patrons.
