Find a bartender job: Pounding the pavement

April 30, 3:37 AMBartender ExaminerKathleen Neves

Previous Next

4 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Bartender Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

You can find almost anything on craigslist, but when it comes to looking for a bartender job, sometimes the best way to find one is by doing it the old fashioned way, pounding the pavement.

Pounding the pavement does not mean printing up a bunch of resumes, walking into a number of different bars and leaving the resume with the bartender on duty. A couple things can happen when you leave your resume with a bartender. First, your resume is not the bartender’s priority. Sometimes the resume is set-aside for the manager and ends up getting lost behind the bar or register, never to reach the hiring manager. Or a bartender could see your resume as a threat and throw it in the garbage as soon as you leave the bar. Even if your resume does reach the hands of the hiring manager, the hiring manager doesn’t have any idea what you look like or have a feel for your personality.

Pounding the pavement consists of doing specific bar research by visiting a number of bars in-person. First of all, pick a specific part of the city you want to work in. Park your car and walk the area you have decided to target, on foot. As you come across a bar that you think you might be interested in, go inside and order a drink. The drink doesn’t have to be an alcoholic drink. The idea is that you are going to pose as a customer and “buy” the bartender’s time. If you come in off the street and start asking the bartender a series of questions without buying a drink, the bartender is going to suspect your motive. You don’t want a potential employer or potential co-worker to have a bad first impression of you.

After you order your drink, try to strike up a conversation with the bartender. Don’t start off the conversation by asking if the bar is hiring. Instead, ask the bartender how long they have worked there and how they like it. Ask what type of crowd comes into the bar. When are their busy times? When are their slow times? Is there a specialty cocktail menu? Do they serve food? What are their hours of operation? Ask the name of the hiring manager and when a good time would be to come back and speak to them. Also, don’t forget to get the bartender’s name, thank them their time and don’t forget to tip them. You are only ordering one drink so try to tip a little more than you normally would, especially if the bartender was helpful in answering all of your questions.

While you are in the bar, be sure to note specific things you see such as the different brands stocked on the back bar, beers on tap and/or in the bottle and what the bartender was wearing. If you can, take with you a food menu and a specialty cocktail menu so you can look it over in detail at a later time, after you leave the bar.

Once you have finished your specific bar research, you will now be armed with a wealth of knowledge. Your next step would be to come back into the bar, with a copy of your resume, during the slow time when the hiring manager is available. When you come back to the bar for the second time, you will have the name of the hiring manager, be dressed like you already work there and will have a better chance of getting to talk to the hiring manager directly.

The goal with pounding the pavement is not how many resumes you drop off at different bars, but the number of hiring managers you actually talk to. It’s the hiring manager that is going to hire you, not the bartenders whom you left your resume with.

Other “Job Search” Related Articles:
Find a Bartender Job: Resume
Find a Bartender Job: Attitude vs. Experience
Find a Bartender Job: Interview
Responding to Bartender Job Listings on Craigslist
Benefits to Going to a Bartending School

Can’t Decide Which Type of Bar to Work At?
Benefits to Bartending in a Local Neighborhood Bar
Benefits to Bartending in a Nightclub
Benefits to Bartending in a Restaurant