Bartender resume: samples and tips

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics accounted for 13.13 million people working in the hospitality and leisure industry. In fact, even after the lockdowns of 2020, this industry remains thriving and full of opportunities for professionals and first-time job seekers.

It’s essential for you to be properly prepared and create an effective resume that will serve as your business card. And this is the right place for that. Here, you will be guided step-by-step about how to write an efficient resume that raises your chances of being hired.

Therefore, lots of competitions are in question; so, you should strive to step forward the other candidates with a good Bartender resume.

The format is crucial for your resume to look appealing. As a barkeeper, apart from being skilled in mixing and serving drinks for customers, you also need to demonstrate your writing skills. If you’re prepared and qualified to practice as a bartender, it’s necessary that you use an appropriate resume format of a barman.

These are the ground rules to follow:

• Use a reverse chronological resume format. This order puts your most recent accomplishments in the first place, which are the most important ones in your pursuit of a new job.
• Use subtitles that allow the information to be recognized easily. The structure should be simple, to the heart of the matter, and easy to visualize.
• Use easy-to-read fonts, such as Helvetica, Lato, and Arial, with the font size of 11-12.
• Use margins of 2.5 cm to 3 cm on the sides and a space between lines of 1.15.

What sections should be included?

Every good bartender resume needs to use an exact structure so that the recruiter knows where to look at. The most important sections are:

• Heading
• Contact details
• Professional summary
• Work experience
• Skills and abilities
• Additional information

A photo for your resume as a bartender?

It is not recommended to include a photo for your resume as company’s are often advised not to accept applications with a photo to avoid discriminating against applicants based on their looks. Although a photo in the food & catering area could be a friendly and intimate way of showing your personality as a barman, you are going to have to use your resume to show you know how to treat the customer in a friendly manner, at least until you get the interview.

Contact and personal data in a resume

Certainly, you should know the place where they prepare your favorite drinks and visit that place for spent a good time. If an employer decides that he wants your services, he must know how to contact you. The structure for the personal data section should be as follows:

• Full name and surname
• Address
• Email
• Telephone number

Job availability in your resume

Job availability is an essential basis for hospitality personnel. This profession requires long working hours, night shifts and early morning works. It’s important to remember that not always the work schedules will adapt to your requirements.

You should indicate if it’s possible for you to work at weekends, holidays, at night, during the day or other options. A clear example can be given as follows:

Time availability

• Monday to Thursday: Full day - Day shift
• Friday and Saturday: Total availability
• Sunday: No

There’s no default format to indicate time availability.

Professional summary for a bartender resume

There should be a professional summary as a cover letter for any resume. It’s a short description making you step forward amongst other candidates and make you get the post.

This section is an important one as recruiters check it; for this reason, you should pay a lot of attention on this section.

Resume examples

If you want to make the best first impression, you can use the following template:

This candidate described his experience, skills, and qualities that are basic ones for a barkeeper in a paragraph. You do not have to give excessive data; you should be to the point. This is an ideal description.

The following one is just an opposite bartender resume:

It isn’t an effective summary; it’s highly informal and uses repetitive language. It looks highly unprofessional, for this reason, it won’t be possible to get the job.

Professional objective: How and when to include it?

Many fresh high school graduates look for a position as a hospitality staff. It is a good option to make some income while trying to be a professional whether the position is related with their area or completely different.

If you don’t have much experience, it’s an ideal option to indicate a professional objective. The main difference with the professional profile is that the objective is focused on your skills and abilities.

The following one is a good example for this:

Since the candidate knows that he’s inexperienced, this professional objective will be considered a clear, brief, and sincere one. He also emphasizes his core skills and the goals he has for the company. The recruiter may positively evaluate it and even schedule an interview.

Professional experience for a bartender resume

Stating a very long list of previous jobs is one of the common mistakes made in this section. When an employee is selected, it’s the most effective method to attract the attention of an employer. You are supposed to indicate your achievements and benefits that you can provide for the company.

You should remember that we suggest you make a chronological order at first, so you will focus on your most recent jobs. In this section, you must include the following:

• Name of the position
• Workplace
• Beginning and ending date
• A short list of important achievements

Examples for experience section

For a bartender resume, the following one is a good example for your work experience:

A short, simple experience section explains achievements and skills in a short time and everything taking place in any job offer.

How not to write about work experience?

You must avoid giving a style like the following one:

First of all, this one isn’t a well-organized section; it contains very little information and doesn’t reveal any abilities. Probably, this candidate wouldn’t remain on the personnel selection list.

Best Skills to Include on a Bartender resume

Referring to the skills is essential for all people working in bars or restaurants. A good bar employee resume must include a specific section detailing capabilities. As a result, a barkeeper must be able to perform work with agility.

An unskilled bartender is like a mathematician who cannot perform additions or substractions. For this reason, it is important to include skills as it follows:

Recommended skills to include

• Preparation of cocktails
• Brainstorming and crafting new cocktail recipes
• Excellent public attention
• Good memory
• Patience
• Expert beverages mixing
• Organization and cleanliness
• Physical skillfulness
• Cash register management
• Adaptability and composure

These skills are directly related to a restaurant barman in a hotel. Before including them in your sample CV template, you should check what is required in the job posting to choose the most appropriate skills.

Soft skills required for bartenders

Soft skills are the ones that aren’t always explicitly related to the field of work. Rather, they focus on personal capabilities and qualities that will make you a better worker in every way. Of course, several of those most popular soft skills are automatically linked to hospitality:

• Friendly and cordial treatment
• Empathy
• Good communication
• Patience
• Working under pressure
• Teamwork

Other sections to be included in a bartender resume

A bartender resume, unlike other professional documents, is much simpler. You are supposed to get to the point and explain your most important attributes on a single sheet. If you want to include education and skills to make it more attractive, the followings are good alternatives:

Academic training

You don’t need a bachelor’s or engineering degree to be a bartender, but including your education never hurts. You can explain what your levels of study are, by using the same reverse chronological order.

A simple example of training is as follows:

Courses and certificates

There are certificates of bartender, a wine taster and customer service. Likewise, it’s also possible to take language, cooking and waiter courses or courses in any other branch enriching your presentation.

You need to be careful about not giving information that is irrelevant to the position. For example, if you have a barbering course, it’s unlikely to be interesting to a bar and restaurant employer.

Languages

If you know languages other than English, that section will be paramount. The command of languages is essential for any field of client attention. You never know when you might come across a customer who speaks another native language while working; and there is nothing better than offering them a personalized attention in their own language. For example, if the bar was at an international hotel with many foreign travelers, another language would prove to be very useful.

By placing languages in your resume, even if it’s at a basic level, you will significantly increase your chances to get the job.

Tips for preparing a good bartender resume

You already know the basic guidelines to write an effective bartender resume that captivates employers. For all these suggestions to work, you should consider some additional tips as well:

• Taking care of spelling at all times
• Avoiding text overload
• Not using too intense colors
• Speaking in plain language
• Being sincere
• Writing cordially
• Always being professional

In summary

A good view of a plate of food increases your appetite, and additionally, if it has been served elegantly, you will be attracted to it. The same is true for the bartender resume, which serves as a menu and by doing so, the employer knows what to choose. You’re required to make yourself known as a dedicated, professional person with significant skills and experience among other candidates.

If you want an exclusive, clear and professional design, be sure to look at our sample resume templates.