Bartender Resume: 12+ Professional Examples & Tips

Bartender Resume (Text Version)

Contact Info:

Brandi Gill
[email protected]
1 (208) 555-5500
Boise, ID 83702

Summary Statement:

Bartender: Energetic, reliable, professional, and outgoing bartender with over 10 years of experience. Exceptional customer service skills and ability to multitask with speed and efficiency in a fast-paced environment. Passion for familiarizing out of town guests with local offerings.

Key Accomplishments/Areas of Expertise

• Detail Oriented
• Customer Service Skills
• Strong Physical Stamina
• Team Player
• Flexible
• Excellent Memory
• Mixologist
• Food and Drink Pairing
• Aloha POS

Professional Experience:

Boise Center | Event Bartender
Boise, ID | June 2016 – Present

• Engage with guests and assist them in making beverage decisions
• Deliver exceptional customer service throughout the entire event
• Set up, clean, & tear down mobile bar according to business safety standards
• Arrange bottles and glasses to create an attractive display to entice customers

Shore Lodge Whitetail | Bartender
McCall, ID | Aug 2013 – May 2016

• Substantial knowledge of cocktail mixers and presentation standards
• Focused attention to detail taking orders from customers & wait staff
• Provided a positive and friendly guest experience
• Maintained a sanitary environment and kept a well-stocked bar

Fuji Hibachi Grill and Sushi | Bartender
Idaho Falls, ID | Jan 2010 – June 2013

• Friendly, prompt, and attentive service for all customers
• Efficiently crafted every drink to perfection and served customers responsibly
• Extensive knowledge of food and drink menu

Education

BOISE ALCOHOL SERVER CERTIFICATION
TABC

When people think of writing their resumes, the first things that typically come to mind have more to do with what they want to say rather than how they want to say it.

Formatting should always be the first consideration when writing a resume.

It is estimated that recruiters only spend about 6 seconds reviewing each resume, so the overall look of your resume is critical when it comes to landing an interview.

You want the resume’s appearance to be professional and inviting.

In order to create this aesthetic, stick with clear and legible fonts and use proper spacing to guide the eye down the page.

List things in reverse chronological order so that your most recent accomplishments and your most impressive information comes first.

Utilize bullet points to separate information so it can stand out and don’t be afraid to bold or italicize essential details that you feel are significant.

If you format your bartender resume to keep things easy to read and follow, you should be off to a great start.

The summary of your bartender resume is where you are going to introduce yourself.

The goal of this section is to remain to the point (only use about three sentences); however, you also want to be detailed and specific.

The difference between making this section pop or flop comes down to your word choice.

Make sure that you use sharp and powerful keywords to describe your abilities as a bartender.

Here are some examples of what to do and what not to do when putting it all together in your summary:

The “Yes!” example uses strong and precise wording to describe the bartender’s skills and attributes that apply directly to the position.

The “No!” example attempts to be too concise and lacks the language necessary to set the candidate apart from others.

PRO TIP: Sometimes, writing your work history and education sections first allows you to brainstorm on what qualities are best to include in your summary. You can always leave this section blank and come back to it.

Perhaps the most eye-catching section of your bartender resume is your list of skills and qualifications.

This section is easy to notice because it’s not written in paragraph format and usually consists of a brief list of your most notable skills as a bartender.

Despite this section’s simplicity, it is one of the most important, due to its distinct appearance.

Key Accomplishments/Areas of Expertise

• Detail Oriented
• Customer Service Skills
• Strong Physical Stamina
• Team Player
• Flexible
• Excellent Memory
• Mixologist
• Food and Drink Pairing
• Aloha POS

As you start to list out the different skills and qualifications you have related to bartending, be sure to include a decent amount of both hard and soft skills.

Hards skills are often referred to as technical skills.

A hard skill usually needs to be taught or practiced in order to achieve it.

Soft skills are known as people skills.

A soft skill is more subjective, related to personality traits, and comes more naturally as opposed to being taught or practiced.

A well-balanced bartender needs both kinds of skills to manage their job.

Understanding mixology and having the ability to make appropriate recommendations are great traits to have as a bartender; however, this skill means nothing if you aren’t good at communicating with customers, and vice versa.

Make sure that when you write this section of your bartender resume you include a decent amount of skills that fall into either category.

PRO TIP: As you come up with what skills are the most important to include, always reference the job posting you are responding to. If the job post contains skills that they are seeking in a candidate, make sure to include those skills in your own resume.

(See below for a helpful table of some suggested hard and soft skills to include in your bartender resume.)

Your job history is the part of your resume where you have the opportunity to show off where your skills have been put to the test.

Depending on your experience, you will either have a lot to choose from or little to nothing to work with.

In either situation, it is still possible to draft a great bartender resume and land an interview.

If you have more than a few jobs to reference, a good rule of thumb is to list them in reverse chronological order; this allows your most recent work (likely your most impressive) to come first.

If you are new to the game and have some relevant stuff to work with, but not a lot, just make sure that you are selective in your choices.

If you had a position as a waiter/waitress and a job as an Uber driver in college, then it is likely that the former will have more relevant job duties to discuss in your resume.

If you are entirely new to the game, we will cover that in more detail in a separate section below.

Once you have decided what jobs you want to include in your bartender resume, list important tasks you completed while holding that position.

You should be able to cover enough useful details in about three to five bullet points.

Let’s take a look at a few examples.

The “Yes!” example uses more detail to describe the candidate’s abilities and how they apply to bartending and improving guests’ experience.

The “No!” example attempts to be to the point so much so that it lacks compelling details, so it fails to explain how the candidate’s knowledge and skills create the best experience for the customer.

(If you lack work experience, see below for a helpful section.)

More About Bots

Anytime you write a resume, it is important to consider who your target audience is.

A target audience is whoever you are writing for – for resume writing, that answer is usually a hiring manager or owner of some kind.

In today’s world, you must also consider not a who, but a what.

Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), or bots, are programs designed to sort through and decipher resumes before a hiring manager reads them.

Bots look through resumes for specific keywords to decide if the resume has “good candidate potential.”

Due to the increased use of bots in the hiring field, some resume experts now recommend writing your job descriptions in paragraphs instead of bullet points in order to pack more keywords into your bartender resume.

Let’s look at the difference.

Standard Bullet Point Format:

Boise Center | Boise, ID | Event Bartender | June 2016 – Present

• Engage with guests and assist them in making beverage decisions
• Deliver exceptional customer service throughout the entire event
• Set up, clean, & tear down mobile bar according to business safety standards
• Arrange bottles and glasses to create an attractive display to entice customers

Paragraph Format:

Boise Center | Boise, ID | Event Bartender | June 2016 – Present

Engage with guests and assist them in making beverage decisions. Deliver exceptional customer service throughout the entire event from taking drink orders, making suggestions, and delivering beverages in a timely and accurate fashion. Set up, clean, and tear down mobile bar according to business safety standards. Arrange bottles and glasses to create an attractive display to entice customers.

When writing your job description using paragraph format, you can also include bullet points to list out additional details.

Boise Center | Boise, ID | Event Bartender | June 2016 – Present

Engage with guests and assist them in making beverage decisions. Deliver exceptional customer service throughout the entire event from taking drink orders, making suggestions, and delivering beverages in a timely and accurate fashion. Set up, clean, and tear down mobile bar according to business safety standards. Arrange bottles and glasses to create an attractive display to entice customers.

• Memorized over 100 cocktail recipes
• Aloha POS

At Big Interview, we recommend sticking with bullet points to keep things easy to read and follow.

You can still include a substantial number of strong keywords to catch the eye of a bot using this format if you are intentional.

Yes, even as a bartender, your education section can be necessary.

As you likely know, certain bars and states required a certification to become a bartender.

Some jobs still want to know that you graduated high school or got your GED, so make sure you read the job posting before you fill out this section.

In many cases, simply including your bartending certification will suffice.

Example:

Boise Alcohol Server Certification
TABC

If the job does require that you graduated high school, you can list it below any relevant bartending certifications.

Example:

High School Diploma
Timberline High School, Boise, ID
Class of 2008

Possible Sections to Include

In some instances, you might have more accomplishments or qualifications that didn’t quite fit into the previous bartender resume sections we have discussed.

If you fall into this category, it is acceptable to include additional sections.

Some additional sections to consider including are:

• Awards and honors
• Publications
• Noteworthy Projects
• Social Media Influence
• Speaking Engagements
• Hobbies/Interests
• Volunteer Work

What if You Have No Experience?

If you are just starting out and don’t have any relevant work experience to speak of, you will want to make a few adjustments.

Start by moving your education section below your resume summary.

If you have more relevant education accomplishments to speak of than a certification and a high school diploma, you will want to highlight those details.

For example, if you graduated with a degree related to restaurant work or bar management, include those accomplishments and add in additional information on bartending coursework you have completed.

If you lack education and work experience, bartending can be a highly competitive field to work your way into.

Seek out job postings for barback positions and try to gain as much restaurant and bar-related work experience as possible.

Always include additional sections whenever possible, especially if your job history and education sections don’t have much to work with.

Internships and volunteer work can go a long way to improving a resume that lacks paid work experience.

When it comes to landing the job you want, try to let your confidence and character shine through, you might be surprised at how far your personality can take you.

It’s all about variety

Make sure that when you are writing about your skills and your work experience, you start each bullet point with a powerful new keyword. Don’t reuse the same word twice.

Review your work

Make sure that you take the time to read over your bartender resume more than once. If you have someone who can review your resume for you, that is always a plus. If you can’t get a second opinion, try reading your resume aloud to yourself. This will help you hear how it’s going to sound when someone else reads it.

Use what was given to you

When writing a resume, it can be challenging to figure out what words to use and what skills to include. Always look at a job posting to see what they say they are looking for in a candidate. Don’t shy away from using their exact language, either. If the posting says they want a candidate with “5+ years of experience,” and you have that, say so directly right away.

Don’t talk too much

If you are one of those lucky candidates who has a lot of work experience to speak of, make sure you are narrowing things down to only the most impressive and relevant. Keep your bartender resume on one page and one page only. No one, not one hiring manager alive, has ever been impressed by a two-page resume.

Don’t ignore the basics

It can be easy to get caught up in all the resume “dos and don’ts,” however, don’t let all the “rules” distract you from the basics. Make sure that you always include your name and contact information right at the top of your resume.

Avoid the fancy stuff

Don’t try to catch someone’s eye by using a silly font or a crazy new format. Let your skills and experience do the talking. Your bartender resume format should always appear professional and be easy to read.

(See below for a helpful table of some suggested power words.)

Power Words

• Administered
• Founded
• Adept
• Formulated
• Built
• Implemented
• Created
• Improved
• Consolidated
• Initiated
• Coordinated
• Launched
• Developed
• Pioneered
• Designed
• Organized

Skills List