Find a bartender job: Interview

June 17, 1:33 PMBartender ExaminerKathleen Neves

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You’ve mastered how to appropriately respond to a bartender job listing on craigslist. You’ve pounded the pavement and done your research on the specific bar you are applying to bartend at. Now comes the moment of truth: the interview.

What Should I Wear?

A bartending interview is going to be different from an interview that you go on for a desk job. A successful bartender interview is going to be somewhat informal and conversational. The hiring manager isn’t going to be impressed if you show up wearing a suit and tie. In the bar industry, stiff clothes translates to a stiff personality. There aren’t too many hiring managers out there who want to hire a stiff personality to run their bar. So dress appropriately for the bar in which you are interviewing for.

If you really want to prepare yourself for the interview, I suggest paying a visit to the bar a couple days before your interview. Take note on specific things you see in the bar such as the different brands that are stocked on the back bar, the beers that are on tap or served in a bottle and what the bartender is wearing. Then when you come in for your interview, wear something similar to what you saw the bartender wearing. This way, the hiring manager wont have a difficult time picturing you working behind their bar because you will already be dressed like you work there.

When in doubt, always dress in all black for a bartending interview. Make sure you are clean cut, practicing good hygiene (yes, I strongly suggest taking a shower before the interview) and that your clothes are both stylish and in good shape. No jeans, holes or patches. Ladies, if you want to feature of body part, make sure to pick only one. You don’t want to come across as being trampy to a female hiring manager.

Other things you should wear during your interview are your smile, a positive attitude and eye contact with the hiring manager.

Relax

When it comes to any type of interview, preparation is key. The more research you have done on the bar ahead of time, the more prepared for the interview you will be. Part of preparing for an interview is having an idea of the types of open-ended questions a hiring manager may ask you and the answers you will want to give. For example:

Tell me about yourself.
What are your strengths and weaknesses?
Give me an example of how you handled a difficult customer.
Tell me about your previous work experience.
Why do you want to bartend here?

It’s a good idea to know ahead of time what you would say to a hiring manager if they asked any of these sort of open-ended questions during your interview. It’s better to be over prepared and have in mind what you would say than to be asked and not have any idea what your answer would be. Or even worse, not have an answer at all.

Not only is it important to have an idea of what questions hiring managers could ask you, but have in mind questions you would want to ask the hiring manager. Asking questions during your interview shows a genuine interest and helps to determine for you if the bartending job you are interviewing for would be a good fit for you. Examples of some questions to ask a hiring manager:

How long is a typical shift?
Will you provide training?
What kind of schedule will I start with?
If there is a specialty cocktail menu, ask to see the menu.

Bring Your Resume

Don’t assume that because you emailed a copy of your resume to the hiring manager that they are going to have a copy of your resume in front of them for your interview. Always bring multiple copies of your bartender resume with you to your interview. Sometimes you might meet with the hiring manager and the bar’s owner(s). It’s a good idea to have a copy of your resume to give to everyone with whom you are interviewing.

Guest Bartending

A great way to close a bartender interview is to offer to guest bartend. Guest bartending is a great way for you to get behind the bar and show the hiring manager how good of a bartender you are, see how good of a fit you would make with the staff and a way for you to see if you would be happy working behind the bar. Most people don’t think to offer to guest bartend so this would be an excellent way to help you stand out among all of the other candidates.

Don’t Be Late

And of course, don’t be late for your interview. In the hiring manager’s eyes, if you are late to the interview, you will probably show up late for your scheduled shifts. Don’t give the hiring manager a reason to not hire you. When coming in for an interview, it’s always best to show up at least ten minutes early.

Good luck!

More Examiner.com bartending job search related articles:

Navigating the bartending job market part 1: Self analysis
Brittany Byron, Boston Bartender Examiner

Bar job hunting
Kristine Bottone, LA Bartender Examiner

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