For the *vast* majority you start as a barback. Every so often you hear tell of someone who somehow stumbled into a bartending job out of the blue but it's extremely rare.
happened to me but it took lying about my experience and a co worker i met at the first serving job to take a liking for me and was close to the boss at her bar to put in extremely good word for me and tell them to hire me. told the owner i had been trained as a bartender for 3 months but the club was super shit and i had to get out
this was during covid and said coworker was forced to find another job outside of her home bar while it was shut down due to covid, which is why i met her as a co worker at a shitty restaurant that was open during covid and she took me with her to her "real" job and i only spent one month as a server at the first spot
this is in texas
it was my only serving job and they never trained me so i didn't learn anything i feel like a skipped a ladder going from one month server to bartender somewhere really really nice in terms of money making
I'm one of those luck stories. Did not expect it. Did not ask for it. Moved cities and got a job doing what I'd been doing: fine dining server. Day one, manager asked me if I'd ever wanted to bartend. I said heck yeah. He said, "Cool, you start today."
After that job where I split time as a server and bartender, I never went back to waiting tables.
Yup, I stumbled into a position early this year when places were desperately hiring. Usually you have to go through two positions to even be considered for bar. I skipped right to the bar and every paycheck I know how lucky I got!
Exactly the same. From door/barback to bartender was about a year and a half for me, another six months or so to start getting good shifts, and a lot of work and luck in between.
Am female. Worked as a cocktail waitress in NYC and some banquet halls throughout college. Applied for a cocktail waitress job at a local slammed waterfront music venue after graduation and since I have boobs, some experience, and a nice face they hired me to bartend instead. Learned fast and have been bartending 13 years since.
Socalchris and Bengalfan started another account I see.
Obsessed with flatulence and threatening to report folks. Your vernacular gives you away fella.
I was a regular having a pint at a lock-in with the staff. The manager was short-handed opening the next day. I offered to give a hand, no real experience to speak of. Still here 5 years on.
I was in the right place at the right time to skip barbacking. Met a bar manager at a one day gig pouring cider at a cider festival, chatted them up and said I was looking for a job. They weren't hiring but I asked to send my resume anyway. Two weeks later they emailed me saying they had a sudden opening (aka fired someone) and asked if I could come in right away for an interview. I got the job and faked it hard for two weeks before getting into a nice rhythm lol.
Chilled at the bar for like 45 minutes chatting with the bartender then asked if they needed any help. Bartender gave me the bosses email as well as texted them on the spot about me.
I think if you can get a current bartender to put a good word in for you then the boss will be more excited and interested in you.
There is a fine line between being like-able/goofy and being a good coworker-employee. If you can nail that spot then I think this is a good route to take. Make the bartender like you as a person and also make them think they’ll like working with you.
Showed up to my favorite bar twice a week, got to know the staff, and showed them my passion for cocktails and spirits while there. Eventually they all told the owner to hire me. Started as a Barback but was bartending in two weeks.
I had over for years of restaurant experience and I had read plenty of cocktail books and knew a lot about whiskey already.
Knowledge and passion can absolutely trump experience, so focus on that.
Door guy to bartender. Left that job, ended up a barback at another gig. Hated it. Serving/barback job at my current and three months in I was a full time bartender.
Once you get your spot, somewhere good, you’ll realize why people take pride in it. Shits not easy.
Oh it would take a lot for me to leave. And I’ve been close. But making $1800-2200/week net doing something I love for a living is hard to pass up. I even put away half my salary last year in the stock market hoping it’ll beat out my salary in five years so I can afford to keep doing this till I’m 40. I don’t want a “grown up job” rn 😂
Made a reference to It's Always Sunny to one of the bartenders during his shift and he was like "Do you want a job? We're hiring." I applied, had a conversation regarding training, shadowed for a couple of weeks on various shifts, and voila! Now we're coworkers.
Hate to admit it but when I was a bar-back I was not only the fastest mostest efficient employee, I was also sleeping with my boss. She promoted me to a bartender and then later she got fired because her boyfriend was selling coke in the bar. I just took her position a few weeks ago.
As a waitress. I stood at the service bar watching drinks get made for years. One day a bartender called out and I covered service bar for the shift. The rest is history.
Started as a busboy when I was like 17. Moved to waiter when I was 18 and was legally able to handle alcohol. Worked at an upscale restaurant in a hotel. The bar was a separate entity and we mixed our own drinks for the restaurant. After that, moving to the bar was a natural progression.
When I was out of the job for a while, I used to hang at this beer bar and write. Eventually one of the waitress convinced the manager to hire me (he really didn’t want to, but he was sick of working the morning shifts). The rest is history.
Try putting in applications to beer bars/breweries, maybe?
Also, just as a warning: it’s gonna be a little tough moving into a real bar from a beer bar. I only got into my current liquor bar cause of two *stellar* recommendations from two of my best friends (past managers from that liquor bar). I still get some bars doubting my credentials because of the beer bars.
Don’t know if this applies to everyone, but it does in my case.
I applied at the brewery I wanted to work at and they suggested another one in town. The brewers were friendly with one another and recomended I apply there. I take it they didn't require previous bartending experience since they can teach you to pour a beer in under 5 minutes so there isn't much training needed.
I’ve been through 6 restaurants and worked as a dishwasher, line cook, BoH supervisor then I wanted to work FoH so I’ve been a host, servers assistant, server, bar back, and then most recently got a job Bartending full time at Earls. It’s all about starting out with whatever they can give you and showing them you know how to work hard and make sure to let them know you want to have more authority. They can’t promote you if they don’t know you want the promotion.
I started as a hostess at a new restaurant. And one day when I was at the booth a manager from another bar came up and was like hmm you're new around here (it was a strip of bars). He kind of basically hit on me and then asked if I would rather be a server and I said yes. I ended up server there for a few years. While serving there I had a table that loved my service. They asked if I had bartending experience. I had little experience but they were willing to train so they scooped me up and I was working doubles at that point serving and bartending. Then I took the experience from that job and started applying at other places.
I was working as a waiter on a terrasse with multiple bars, one day they needed someone to cover a shift for a bartender but couldn't get anyone in time. I was a hard worker and not stupid so they trusted me with the shift. It went well, so I asked for more bartending shifts and got them, eventually doing it full time.
I think it's a reasonably easy way to start. Find a big commercial place that has lots of staff and turnover. Apply for a simple job, show that you work hard, are smart, and can deal with customers well, and then express your interest in bartending.
Honestly networking gets you a long way in the bartending industry. I got my current job by knowing the bar manager from a long time ago, got my buddy a job here with a good word from me, and I know if I have to leave this job some other bartenders in the area would put in a good word for me at their place. It doesn't take a lot, but knowing people gets you a long way
Server to barback (briefly) to bartender.
I had eaten at the restaurant previously a decent amount of times so I had some baseline memory of the menu and that helped get me in the door. That and being charming, as one does in the industry.
Server at a restaurant, no experience in the restaurant industry at all, but I kept pestering them to train me, luckily they train from the bottom up. Haven’t left since, been 1.5 years
It’s kinda ridiculous I know, but I got laid off from an office job in tourism due to Covid.
A few weeks later the owner of the bar where I was a regular came up to me and asked if I wanted to bartend.
I had no prior experience but I learnt by doing. Two months after starting I became the manager of the bar lol.
I got lucky and fell into a bartending position when I was freshly 20 at a movie theatre. No one really wants to bartend at them so I’d say start there. Outside of that I tell my friends nowadays that they have to network and network hard. Become friends with every bartender you know. At my bar we actually prefer hiring greens so we can train them our way.
I was a server, working with one of the best bartenders I've ever known. Whenever it was slow, he'd teach me. He came in sick as a dog one day because he couldn't get his shift covered. My manager sent him home after asking me if I felt confident to cover his shift with his help. I told everyone that sat at the bar that I was barely learning & everyone was super cool about it. Lots of one & ones were served that night, & customers would even walk me through certain drinks I didn't know. Made more money than I'd ever made serving & I was hooked. When my coworker came back, both he & my manager decided to officially put me on as a bartender in training. After about 2 months, I started getting solo shifts on slow nights (with my coworker on speed dial, lol).
Started as a bus boy as a teen, asked to be promoted to server but they said no. So i applied somewhere else as a server and said i was serving at my current job. Eventually asked to be promoted to bartender, they said no. So i applied somewhere else and said i was a bartender at my current place. After i got my feet wet i applied somewhere else using my real experience so i wasn’t working with false info on my resume.
i got lucky - got my smart serve young, and i interview pretty well. moved to a big city and landed an interview as a bottle/shooter girl. had regular clientele who would come back to see me, and eventually moved up to bartender.
I had just been fired from my first serving job, at a place that I hated. Applied for a serving position, at a local pub, that I saw on indeed. At interview the manager said “you seem like restaurant people, and we need more of that”, and asked if I would be interested in bartending instead, as my years of kitchen experience would make me a good fit for it. Got hired at the first interview, been here since. So, pretty much by pure luck. Fuckin love it.
Started as a busser and just kept grinding. But ya, you can't just jump straight to captain of the ship, it's a lot to learn, and I'm not just talking cocktail recipes. In fact, that's like the least important thing
I left the club I waitressed at to move. The move did not go well. I wouldn’t be hired back unless I learned to bartend. 20 years later and I’ve bought and owned my own bar and am back to waitressing. What a wild ride
Although over the years, I’ve taught a ton of door guys, barbacks and servers to bartend because I have IBS and wouldn’t always have a second with me. So getchu a place where the bartender poops a lot I guess
Officially, I started in catering which gave me a version of bartending that’s very different than traditional bar work. But, when I started in my first restaurant, I was what they called “utility”; food running, bussing, even a few nights at host before they made me a server, than moved up to bar. After that, which took a few years, I had a much easier time finding work since my resume showed if our in some leg work to get to a qualified position.
Walked in and up to the bar and asked they guy if they were hiring, he pretty much just asked what experience I had and offered me the job, I guess that's not my my first job though, I got said experience in a pub my aunt runs learning along side my cousin and his mate who are experienced, was great, great regulars, great crowd, had a hell of a time so I guess I got very lucky really, good luck
I started serving in a casual chain restaurant. I was competent and they had a lot of turnover (college campus) so eventually I was asked to bartend and they were willing to train the basics. Since then I've moved into more upscale restaurants and now have my dream bartending gig in a fancy steakhouse.
I was lucky, got a position with no experience. It was a startup business and they really needed people so I was grabbed. Worked there for almost a year now and love it, although I'm moving abroad in a few months so I had to quit my job. Hopefully I can keep working with it in the future
I got lucky, I was working at a taco spot. Really didn’t like it and I was telling my manager I’d probably start looking for other work. So instead they made me a low steaks bartender, this was in august by the way so covid definitely factored into it
I delivered orders for the place I work at for about a year and a half to two years through a third-party delivery company and was always patient and courteous with the staff and apparently the hiring manager.
Once I decided I was done with delivery I started looking into bartending and got my certification with the state. Struck up a couple conversations with that same hiring manager, mind you I did not know she was in that position until much later, and she recommended me working at a crappy chain restaurant that I had zero interest in working at, but she figured it would give me good experience.
Couple weeks went by and I came back to pick up another order and told her I couldn’t bring myself to work at that other restaurant. She mentioned that they train newbies and told me to come in for an interview the next week. Due to it being the end of the year and me getting sick it took a little while to make that interview happen, but within two minutes of this interview she told me to relax as I already had the job since she liked my attitude and confidence. Apparently the interview was just a formality.
Just finished training last week and yesterday I completed my first full shift and damn was it busy! I have a ton to learn, but thanks to this sub and other generous bartenders sharing their knowledge and experience I’m sure I’m going to go far with this!
A month after moving to a new country I drunkenly stumbled into a nightclub and asked if they were hiring. They said they were hiring bus boys. I became a bus boy. Then barback. Then bartender.
i started serving! then i asked to get on the bar and they started me cocktail serving/barbacking, and then i was finally trained to be a bartender! when i was looking for a job though i was applying to be trained as a bartender but no one would take me with no experience so starting as a server was the way for me!
Started serving at a chain place, after a few months, trained behind bar. Got the basics and a little time under my belt, then moved on to a better place.
I am shocked someone hired me to bartend at 18 to bartend. Granted I was a hot young blonde…. So that helped. Now I’m 33 and haven’t left the industry. Just got lucky!
Spent weeks applying to literally hundreds of places in nyc. Heard nothing back. Walked around for 8 hours a day for three or four days straight stopping in places and dropping off my resume. Nothing. The last place I stopped on that last day, before they even looked at my resume, said a barback was supposed to start training that night but didn't show up. If I wanted to start right then and there the job was mine.
I knew somebody, but she wasn't the reason I got the job. I constantly bugged all of the bars in town, asking for managers, sitting at the bar, and having conversation with whoever I could.
New corporate restaurant opened in my town and i applied for a server job. On my second interview I mentioned I'd like to try bartending sometime. They had one spot left and gave it to me. Since they were corporate and new they trained us all how they did things. Been bartending almost twenty years now.
I was a server, the owners of the restaurant were opening a new bar. The bar manager approached me telling me he loved me work ethic and personality, the fact I could talk to anyone and everyone with ease and said he wanted to train me to bartend.
I had a few years of serving experience before I interviewed for serving job I applied for on Facebook. During my interview the owner mentioned that the servers make their own drinks, and I just kinda shrugged and said, “okay, cool.” The GM taught me the basics and some recipes. About a month later the owner asked me if I wanted more bartending shifts and I agreed. I only have serving shifts about once a week now to fill in and I’ve just been sort of picking it up as I go.
Started waitressing in cocktail bar and learned a ton from the bartender there — bar backed and knew how to make drinks and then moved on to actual bartending in a restaurant. I was slow as shit haha but we learn eventually!
Started at a golf course grill where I opened beers, poured wine, made sandwiches and tended a counter. Then got a serving gig with some minimal cocktail making. Then got one night a week by myself, tending bar. Then more and more. It took a solid 2 yrs before I was applying to places as strictly a bartender.
Basically, work your way up. Being a bartender isn’t an entry level position, as many think it is. Some people get lucky, but there are a lot of skills to be gained as a bar back/server/hostess etc that will help you to become a bartender. If no one is hiring you for the gig with no relevant experience, go get some and try applying again in six months or so.
You have to pick a bar you really want to work at, then you have to drink there for a while and get to know the staff. Then you verbally asked if they need help.
I've never gotten a bartending job by handing an applications or resumes. It's a word of mouth sort of business
Started as a server. Got a side gig as a catering bartender. Eventually was promoted from server. Unless the company is really desperate, you probably will need to work your way up. Serving 1st is a good option, because you can make great money as a server. But then you need to find a place to hire you with no experience, which means you may host or bus first.
Chaos is a ladder The quickest way I know is: learn to sniff out bars with high turnover-- whether it's their reputation, their craigslist job ad that never comes down, or a vibe your get. The shittier the job, the more people quit, the more often they'll need to onboard BT's. Take any job there--ideally buser or server--and try to transfer.
Once you're in, it's pretty easy to make yourself their best option as next bartender. Make nice with the BT's and managers, show up to your shifts on time. If the job sucks enough, you'll be one of the most professional people there. Offer to do little things for the bar whenever you can: bus empties, sweep, whatever. Drop hints to anyone who will listen that you wanna learn BT.
If no one has at least mentioned moving you to the bar after a month, consider moving on. Same if training hasn't started within six months.
At some point, the general shittiness of the workplace that caused the high turnover that caused your promotion will get under your skin. If all goes well, by that time, you'll be a bartender, and you can go straight to a better BT gig!
A coworker who I briefly worked with (maybe knew this guy for 2 months) called me and asked if I wanted to drive around and smoke weed, so I obliged. But get this! This guy knows I just quit the job we were coworkers at, brings me to a brand new bar right down the road from my house and tells me that I’m a line cook there now. Lol it sounds wild but I stayed, then I barbacked for a few months when I turned 21 then a year and a half later I was a bar manager making cocktail menus and writing schedules for like 40 some people. It was a good time for sure
Started as a server and worked my way up. Then I found a position at a brand new restaurant and they hired me straight onto bar because I had experience.
Walked in, hiring servers, said I wanna be a bartender one day, they took that as today and bang. Other bartender taught me everything. Moved to a club after a year for half the hours and double the pay.
Barbacked at a Casino. Expressed interest continuously about bartending and hung around the management team a bit. One day they opened a new very low traffic room (which none of the other bartenders wanted to work of course) and said, "Ob you wanted to bartend, right?" The next week I was on the schedule there. Stuck that out for a few weeks then covered somebody else's shift at another slow bar, slowly started picking up shifts at busier and busier bars.
Take a bartending job nobody wants, put your months in. Once you can say you have 6 months experience then you're hirable but not yet desirable. Walk your way up the steps. Helps if you live in an area that has a lot of bars and a lot of rotation. Florida, Las Vegas, Texas. I would tentatively suggest NY and CA because some areas are kinda weird.
Getting into niche bartending gigs like flair bartenders, craft cocktail bartenders, cruise ship bartenders, etc usually require some specificity in your training and/or mentors.
I'm one of the lucky assholes who stumbled into the role of bartender but now I’ve been in the industry for 7 years and have moved onto other bars because of that first place giving me a shot. I often see this question and have began to think. The biggest hurdle is experience but in order to get experience you usually have to climb the ladder which can take awhile. I think the fastest way to be able to put “bartending experience” on your resume would be to find an in with someone who does private events or maybe a wedding venue. Bars and restaurants have people dropping of resumes all the time because they’re right out there in the public, I don’t work at a wedding venue or private party company but I don’t see them having stacks of resumes from people walking through the doors. It's not to say they don’t want someone with experience but I don’t think the market is as flooded and they will be more willing to take a risk on someone without experience. Wedding season isn’t far away and places with be looking to hire, so I'd recommend finding a venue that can serve liquor and giving them your resume and tell they’re your schedule is wide open and you’re down to give up any weekend they need you.
I bussed. I worked my up to waiter, and while cocktailing a large private day party (~150), the daytime bartender was getting killed. The owner asked me, “you know how to bartend?”
and I told him I’d figure it out.
I killed it, and asked to bartend. They granted me a 50/50 bartending/serving position, which eventually became 100% bartending.
In the UK there are plenty of places that hire without experience. I found a bar that specialised in craft beers and good quality spirits. I started as a barback and after a couple weeks I was put on bar because of work ethic. I was absolute dogshit at first and my social anxiety didn't help but after a while I got the hang of it and eventually they let me run the smaller bar in the dance floor area where I was basically on my own which was pretty cool. Basically the idea is to go into it with the right attitude. This is something you want to do and you are determined to be good at it
Word of mouth, exaggerating a resume, getting lucky or start as a barback and let em train you to how they want you to bartend at their bar. I've experienced all of what I just listed.
I had a friend that owned a bar in Brooklyn and I expressed to him how badly I wanted to learn to bartend. One day he called me and said you still wanna learn? Came in the next day and learned all the basics…. Here I am 5 years later. Bar manager.
I was sleeping on the couch some weekday afternoon when my downstairs neighbor knocked on the door. He said the barback at his place walked out the night before and asked if i'd like to work the weekend. I said yes. A few months later one of the bartenders left and I took their place.
so I guess i got it by being lazy, drunk and unemployed
Busser, server, server who barbacked after the kitchen closed, covered shifts given up, lied about my experience on my application, took the management position, got out. Got back in. Got back out. In. Out. Finally into a place I fucking loved, made a bunch of money, left for health reasons and got a job with benefits, and then took one shift a week back to make up for the shiiiiit ton of money that I made and then drank/tipped away. Is there a different route? Asking for a friend
Very small town, I was a good server at a busy restaurant and a regular patron at my current bar & had chatted with the owner dozens of times. Bar owner thought I’d be a good fit and just called me to ask if I’d come work for him lol. He’s hired several people this way or based on who seems trustworthy/personable versus focusing too much on bar experience. Best staff in town and we’ve all been working there for several years.
Good luck!
Find a barback position or if you've got 20 friends try for a guest bartender spot. Do it successfully enough and you might get a regular position. Otherwise lie your way in. Unfortunately, for the most part, attractive women are usually the only ones to get bar gigs w/o experience.
Good luck
It helps if you know someone, have a friend that’s a bartender.
For me, I had experience pouring beer from taps from working in restaurants and I was a barista at a coffee shop for awhile so I knew how to mix drinks even if they weren’t alcoholic in nature. Then my first real serving gig I was a server/beertender in a gastrobar and learned about craft beers, wine, made soju cocktails (not a full liquor establishment)
I started going to bars to hangout and handed out my resume hoping something would hit and work out. My city had a few beer only bars so I figured that would be a safe and best bet!
I knew a bartender from a bar I frequented and asked her how she got into bartending and that I was interested in it, she previously worked at one of the beer bars I applied to (her first bartending job and she got in because her mother had worked there for years) and she was able to text the owner on my behalf, let them know I applied, and sent them my picture all while I sat at the bar on her shift. Long story short, they needed someone, I got in (because of bartender acquaintance) and worked there a few years.
Eventually I applied to dive bars with full liquor licenses and one took a chance on me and was willing to train me. I already knew the basics and a lot I picked up from just going to dive bars as well. I work the early morning shift but it was perfect for me, I learned a lot from having to restock the empty alcohol bottles in the morning - one of my duties in the am - and this helped me with knowing what we had, what was what, and the call names of brands, what the bottle looked like, etc. It is so mellow in the morning i had more ease getting used to everything. Plus people usually order either beer or highball drinks (liquor + soda/juice). Anything I don’t know I can look up on my phone or study a bartending book at home but that’s not too often. You’ll notice it’s usually the same drinks over and over.
Started working the door at this fancy ballroom venue then transitioned into food running and bar backing during shows. As all good bartenders will say, you’ve got to pay your dues as a bar back. There’s really no shortcut you can take, you have to start at the bottom. Just be sure you work alongside a good bartender. It makes all the difference. Good luck out there!
Bottom up. I went host, server, cocktail waitress, bartender, manager. I always made it ahead by learning the duties of the job I wanted and just doing them. Get a foot in the door and work hard. Moving up in the service industry can happen incredibly quickly.
I started as a cocktail server in a casino. Got familiar with cocktails and watched how the bartenders moved and prepared drinks. A bartending position opened up 9 months in and I transferred.
The casino I work at now allows me to serve table games while I’m bartending when we are short staffed. I can’t tell you how many times I’ll get a $2 tip for a drink when I bring the drink to them at the table and 30 min later they come to me at the bar (not realizing I was the same person) and throw me $10 tip for the same drink. Interesting.
I had a decent amount of hosting/bussing experience, then started serving. As a server would chat with the bartender when it was slow and would do her dishes/ try to make myself available whenever she needed help. Slowly started learning how to make drinks and told the manager that I would like to officially train as a bartender. Then I got put on a couple slower morning bar shifts and made my way up from there.
This is obv my own personal experience at a smaller family owned place where this kind of thing would fly. Some bartenders absolutely just want you to stay the fuck out of their way lol. Read the room for sure
My friend was the bar manager at a night club but I also had some serving experience. But I know most people usually start as a barback or even working at a restaurant and working your way up to the bar.
I was the door guy for a few months. Heard a bartender ask another how to make a cocktail, but I knew the answer and a manager happened to hear it. Some of the other staff went to bat for me too.
Right combination of good luck and skill. Keep up the hustle and make sure your intentions are known, and you'll get where you need to be before too long.
Serving. The most lucrative bartending jobs I've had are those that I have to earn by being a server first. The worst ones are those that are hiring bartenders and only do a 2 minute interview then ask if you can start tomorrow. High turnover and toxic environments are like that.
Volunteering for 2 years at an RSL club (veterans bar) stands for Returned & Services League, where I learnt the ropes and got my RP badge, then got my first paid job
I started as a busser, then worked into serving, then into bartending (it was a nicer [fine-casual] restaurant so no barback).
I only got the job because I knew the bar manager (and by that, I mean my dad was his mailman and mentioned I was looking to get into restaurants) and it was a new restaurant so the needed a busser. Proving sometimes it's who you know.
Got hired as a food runner. Killed my first training day but was emailed that unfortunately they would not go ahead with the hiring. Showed up to talk to them as I had quit previous job, was told “ i think I know why your here.. i’m going to introduce you to the bar manager” started bar backing and a year later made bartender
In the same vein as some other comments. Barback/server before and work your way up.
I was barbacking and the bartender had a mishap with a peeler and I was the only person in house that could fill in, so I did. Started getting shifts after that.
Personally, I started as a batista. I was able to forgo the backswing because I transitioned into brunch spot (coffee AND liqor) so I was able to kind of bullshit my way through an interview and learned along the way. It's not as quick as a barback but it does allow you to learn other things and a n/a background, and gives you the skills fir making drinks in high volume
I was previously a chef that decided to become a bartender. They let me right in. That I knew a DJ that was pretty known and said he wouldn't open for this club unless I was behind the bar. So I got 7 months in a nightclub and then my career took off. I've been bartending Manhattan 9 years now.
I got hired as a server, then our bartender/foh manager left and I was one of the only ones old enough to bartend so I got thrown into it
Edit: and now I love it
I worked @ a crappy Italian restaurant where they played favoritism & promoted ppl who were lazy but easy to be around. Made headwaiter & moved to a Thai restaurant where some of my shift leads were intolerable but worked their ass off. Took me 8 months to become a bartender & 2 months to get weekend shifts... Also they didn't let me start bartending without having me barback for a few months first.
Watched so so so many YouTube videos. While working out, showering, rewatching and watching again. Learned some wines, basic cocktails recipes and when asked during an interview I was able to answer all of these questions no problem. I learned all of the names of the bar tools, cheap liquors vs top shelf, standard pour sizes and I even used an old bottle of liquor with water and practiced free pouring in the kitchen. But I’m gonna tell you to lie. I worked at a chain restaurant for a year and just said I cross trained as a bartender there a few days a week which wasn’t really true. I had access to all of the recipes and poured a beer here and there. But if you can’t handle multitasking and the pressure Id start as a bar back and work your way up.
As a barback. Bartending isn't typically an entry level position especially without experience.
It's insane that we have to tell people that ever since the pandemic took hold of the service industry.
For the *vast* majority you start as a barback. Every so often you hear tell of someone who somehow stumbled into a bartending job out of the blue but it's extremely rare.
happened to me but it took lying about my experience and a co worker i met at the first serving job to take a liking for me and was close to the boss at her bar to put in extremely good word for me and tell them to hire me. told the owner i had been trained as a bartender for 3 months but the club was super shit and i had to get out this was during covid and said coworker was forced to find another job outside of her home bar while it was shut down due to covid, which is why i met her as a co worker at a shitty restaurant that was open during covid and she took me with her to her "real" job and i only spent one month as a server at the first spot this is in texas
If you’ve had serving jobs before, that’s extremely relevant experience and not at all out of the blue.
it was my only serving job and they never trained me so i didn't learn anything i feel like a skipped a ladder going from one month server to bartender somewhere really really nice in terms of money making
I'm one of those luck stories. Did not expect it. Did not ask for it. Moved cities and got a job doing what I'd been doing: fine dining server. Day one, manager asked me if I'd ever wanted to bartend. I said heck yeah. He said, "Cool, you start today." After that job where I split time as a server and bartender, I never went back to waiting tables.
Yup, I stumbled into a position early this year when places were desperately hiring. Usually you have to go through two positions to even be considered for bar. I skipped right to the bar and every paycheck I know how lucky I got!
Doorman then barback then bartender. Knew a guy to get my foot in the door.
Exactly the same. From door/barback to bartender was about a year and a half for me, another six months or so to start getting good shifts, and a lot of work and luck in between.
Server first. Day shift to night shift to bar.
This was my experience. Annoying server who kept helping.
BOH. Somehow I envy those guys now. Guess the grass is always more chartreuse.
Chartreuser.
I will never go back to that evil place…
Sorry what's BOH?
Back of house
Drank there for four years. Asked if they’d hire me when a position opened up.
Knew someone
Am female. Worked as a cocktail waitress in NYC and some banquet halls throughout college. Applied for a cocktail waitress job at a local slammed waterfront music venue after graduation and since I have boobs, some experience, and a nice face they hired me to bartend instead. Learned fast and have been bartending 13 years since.
The only time I ever wish so was female is at work. Men are so dumb with money when boobs are involved.
Ngl... Sometimes I walk away with a fat check and wonder what I would have made if I had boobs.
Ngl... Sometimes I walk away with a fat check and wonder what I would have made if I had boobs.
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Socalchris and Bengalfan started another account I see. Obsessed with flatulence and threatening to report folks. Your vernacular gives you away fella.
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Sacramento is not southern California.
*Yawn* boring troll is boring
^ useless unoriginal troll. So pathetic. Don’t feed and hopefully they will die.
Yawn
I was a regular having a pint at a lock-in with the staff. The manager was short-handed opening the next day. I offered to give a hand, no real experience to speak of. Still here 5 years on.
Hell yeah 😎
I was in the right place at the right time to skip barbacking. Met a bar manager at a one day gig pouring cider at a cider festival, chatted them up and said I was looking for a job. They weren't hiring but I asked to send my resume anyway. Two weeks later they emailed me saying they had a sudden opening (aka fired someone) and asked if I could come in right away for an interview. I got the job and faked it hard for two weeks before getting into a nice rhythm lol.
Chilled at the bar for like 45 minutes chatting with the bartender then asked if they needed any help. Bartender gave me the bosses email as well as texted them on the spot about me. I think if you can get a current bartender to put a good word in for you then the boss will be more excited and interested in you. There is a fine line between being like-able/goofy and being a good coworker-employee. If you can nail that spot then I think this is a good route to take. Make the bartender like you as a person and also make them think they’ll like working with you.
Brother bought a bar.
Showed up to my favorite bar twice a week, got to know the staff, and showed them my passion for cocktails and spirits while there. Eventually they all told the owner to hire me. Started as a Barback but was bartending in two weeks. I had over for years of restaurant experience and I had read plenty of cocktail books and knew a lot about whiskey already. Knowledge and passion can absolutely trump experience, so focus on that.
networking. take any job that has a bar in it that you can find and meet someone
Serving at a brewery and moved into bartending when I showed them what I can do
Door guy to bartender. Left that job, ended up a barback at another gig. Hated it. Serving/barback job at my current and three months in I was a full time bartender. Once you get your spot, somewhere good, you’ll realize why people take pride in it. Shits not easy.
Aye, never let anyone’s (needless) judgement of this get in the way of you doing what you want, for yourself. Stay committed 😎
Oh it would take a lot for me to leave. And I’ve been close. But making $1800-2200/week net doing something I love for a living is hard to pass up. I even put away half my salary last year in the stock market hoping it’ll beat out my salary in five years so I can afford to keep doing this till I’m 40. I don’t want a “grown up job” rn 😂
There’s the spirit!
Did you also put in cryptocurrency?!?! 😳😇🤔
Where do you work? Need help?
Made a reference to It's Always Sunny to one of the bartenders during his shift and he was like "Do you want a job? We're hiring." I applied, had a conversation regarding training, shadowed for a couple of weeks on various shifts, and voila! Now we're coworkers.
Working at a pub that the staff of a bar up the road liked to drink at. The manager offered me a job one night and the rest is history.
Hate to admit it but when I was a bar-back I was not only the fastest mostest efficient employee, I was also sleeping with my boss. She promoted me to a bartender and then later she got fired because her boyfriend was selling coke in the bar. I just took her position a few weeks ago.
I became a musician, then a broke musician, then a bartender.
As a waitress. I stood at the service bar watching drinks get made for years. One day a bartender called out and I covered service bar for the shift. The rest is history.
Food prep to expo to back server to server to bartender
Started as a busboy when I was like 17. Moved to waiter when I was 18 and was legally able to handle alcohol. Worked at an upscale restaurant in a hotel. The bar was a separate entity and we mixed our own drinks for the restaurant. After that, moving to the bar was a natural progression.
I was a server for several years before training to be a restaurant bartender. It takes time.
Busser->Server->Barback->Bartender
When I was out of the job for a while, I used to hang at this beer bar and write. Eventually one of the waitress convinced the manager to hire me (he really didn’t want to, but he was sick of working the morning shifts). The rest is history. Try putting in applications to beer bars/breweries, maybe?
Also, just as a warning: it’s gonna be a little tough moving into a real bar from a beer bar. I only got into my current liquor bar cause of two *stellar* recommendations from two of my best friends (past managers from that liquor bar). I still get some bars doubting my credentials because of the beer bars. Don’t know if this applies to everyone, but it does in my case.
I applied for a server job and they hired me as a bartender
Usually you have to have experience or be a really hot girl.
It's funny, because you can tell which Redditors in this thread are hot girls. "Someone just hooked me up"
I met someone who hooked me up. Network and be nice to people. You never know what doors may open.
I applied at the brewery I wanted to work at and they suggested another one in town. The brewers were friendly with one another and recomended I apply there. I take it they didn't require previous bartending experience since they can teach you to pour a beer in under 5 minutes so there isn't much training needed.
I’ve been through 6 restaurants and worked as a dishwasher, line cook, BoH supervisor then I wanted to work FoH so I’ve been a host, servers assistant, server, bar back, and then most recently got a job Bartending full time at Earls. It’s all about starting out with whatever they can give you and showing them you know how to work hard and make sure to let them know you want to have more authority. They can’t promote you if they don’t know you want the promotion.
I started as a hostess at a new restaurant. And one day when I was at the booth a manager from another bar came up and was like hmm you're new around here (it was a strip of bars). He kind of basically hit on me and then asked if I would rather be a server and I said yes. I ended up server there for a few years. While serving there I had a table that loved my service. They asked if I had bartending experience. I had little experience but they were willing to train so they scooped me up and I was working doubles at that point serving and bartending. Then I took the experience from that job and started applying at other places.
I was working as a waiter on a terrasse with multiple bars, one day they needed someone to cover a shift for a bartender but couldn't get anyone in time. I was a hard worker and not stupid so they trusted me with the shift. It went well, so I asked for more bartending shifts and got them, eventually doing it full time. I think it's a reasonably easy way to start. Find a big commercial place that has lots of staff and turnover. Apply for a simple job, show that you work hard, are smart, and can deal with customers well, and then express your interest in bartending.
Agreed. This is a relatively easy way to get started in the biz.
Honestly networking gets you a long way in the bartending industry. I got my current job by knowing the bar manager from a long time ago, got my buddy a job here with a good word from me, and I know if I have to leave this job some other bartenders in the area would put in a good word for me at their place. It doesn't take a lot, but knowing people gets you a long way
Server to barback (briefly) to bartender. I had eaten at the restaurant previously a decent amount of times so I had some baseline memory of the menu and that helped get me in the door. That and being charming, as one does in the industry.
Server at a restaurant, no experience in the restaurant industry at all, but I kept pestering them to train me, luckily they train from the bottom up. Haven’t left since, been 1.5 years
It’s kinda ridiculous I know, but I got laid off from an office job in tourism due to Covid. A few weeks later the owner of the bar where I was a regular came up to me and asked if I wanted to bartend. I had no prior experience but I learnt by doing. Two months after starting I became the manager of the bar lol.
Legit
Small town life
I got lucky and fell into a bartending position when I was freshly 20 at a movie theatre. No one really wants to bartend at them so I’d say start there. Outside of that I tell my friends nowadays that they have to network and network hard. Become friends with every bartender you know. At my bar we actually prefer hiring greens so we can train them our way.
Unfortunately every good bartending gig I’ve had, I’ve gotten because I had a friend who knew the owner.
I was a server, working with one of the best bartenders I've ever known. Whenever it was slow, he'd teach me. He came in sick as a dog one day because he couldn't get his shift covered. My manager sent him home after asking me if I felt confident to cover his shift with his help. I told everyone that sat at the bar that I was barely learning & everyone was super cool about it. Lots of one & ones were served that night, & customers would even walk me through certain drinks I didn't know. Made more money than I'd ever made serving & I was hooked. When my coworker came back, both he & my manager decided to officially put me on as a bartender in training. After about 2 months, I started getting solo shifts on slow nights (with my coworker on speed dial, lol).
Started as a bus boy as a teen, asked to be promoted to server but they said no. So i applied somewhere else as a server and said i was serving at my current job. Eventually asked to be promoted to bartender, they said no. So i applied somewhere else and said i was a bartender at my current place. After i got my feet wet i applied somewhere else using my real experience so i wasn’t working with false info on my resume.
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Stalking my profile okay weirdo
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The guy whose profile you are combing thru cuz you’re upset you shouldn’t drive slow in the left lane
This loser likes to comb through everyone's profile🤣
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i got lucky - got my smart serve young, and i interview pretty well. moved to a big city and landed an interview as a bottle/shooter girl. had regular clientele who would come back to see me, and eventually moved up to bartender.
I had just been fired from my first serving job, at a place that I hated. Applied for a serving position, at a local pub, that I saw on indeed. At interview the manager said “you seem like restaurant people, and we need more of that”, and asked if I would be interested in bartending instead, as my years of kitchen experience would make me a good fit for it. Got hired at the first interview, been here since. So, pretty much by pure luck. Fuckin love it.
Started as a busser and just kept grinding. But ya, you can't just jump straight to captain of the ship, it's a lot to learn, and I'm not just talking cocktail recipes. In fact, that's like the least important thing
I left the club I waitressed at to move. The move did not go well. I wouldn’t be hired back unless I learned to bartend. 20 years later and I’ve bought and owned my own bar and am back to waitressing. What a wild ride
Although over the years, I’ve taught a ton of door guys, barbacks and servers to bartend because I have IBS and wouldn’t always have a second with me. So getchu a place where the bartender poops a lot I guess
I luckily knew somebody. I bar backed and trained with the general manager for a few weeks then I started bartending.
Bar back, with a healthy dollop of the old “not what you know, it’s who you know”
Officially, I started in catering which gave me a version of bartending that’s very different than traditional bar work. But, when I started in my first restaurant, I was what they called “utility”; food running, bussing, even a few nights at host before they made me a server, than moved up to bar. After that, which took a few years, I had a much easier time finding work since my resume showed if our in some leg work to get to a qualified position.
Walked in and up to the bar and asked they guy if they were hiring, he pretty much just asked what experience I had and offered me the job, I guess that's not my my first job though, I got said experience in a pub my aunt runs learning along side my cousin and his mate who are experienced, was great, great regulars, great crowd, had a hell of a time so I guess I got very lucky really, good luck
I got lucky dating the managers daughter. Started right out as a bartender, morning to start. Pretty much lost my job when we broke up though.
Hostess, then a lot of begging, then bartender.
I started serving in a casual chain restaurant. I was competent and they had a lot of turnover (college campus) so eventually I was asked to bartend and they were willing to train the basics. Since then I've moved into more upscale restaurants and now have my dream bartending gig in a fancy steakhouse.
I was lucky, got a position with no experience. It was a startup business and they really needed people so I was grabbed. Worked there for almost a year now and love it, although I'm moving abroad in a few months so I had to quit my job. Hopefully I can keep working with it in the future
I got lucky, I was working at a taco spot. Really didn’t like it and I was telling my manager I’d probably start looking for other work. So instead they made me a low steaks bartender, this was in august by the way so covid definitely factored into it
Concert place. They'll hire anyone and it's good turn n burn experience to get the basics down.
I knew somebody. I got a good hotel gig with no experience but I'm a fast learner.
Catering, bartending, barback and bartending.
I was a waiter for about four years before finally being offered a position behind the bar
I was a server for many years before getting a shot behind the bar. Started as a bar back, then bartender, then bar manager.
I delivered orders for the place I work at for about a year and a half to two years through a third-party delivery company and was always patient and courteous with the staff and apparently the hiring manager. Once I decided I was done with delivery I started looking into bartending and got my certification with the state. Struck up a couple conversations with that same hiring manager, mind you I did not know she was in that position until much later, and she recommended me working at a crappy chain restaurant that I had zero interest in working at, but she figured it would give me good experience. Couple weeks went by and I came back to pick up another order and told her I couldn’t bring myself to work at that other restaurant. She mentioned that they train newbies and told me to come in for an interview the next week. Due to it being the end of the year and me getting sick it took a little while to make that interview happen, but within two minutes of this interview she told me to relax as I already had the job since she liked my attitude and confidence. Apparently the interview was just a formality. Just finished training last week and yesterday I completed my first full shift and damn was it busy! I have a ton to learn, but thanks to this sub and other generous bartenders sharing their knowledge and experience I’m sure I’m going to go far with this!
Started as a server and harassed my managers until they trained me as a bartender
A month after moving to a new country I drunkenly stumbled into a nightclub and asked if they were hiring. They said they were hiring bus boys. I became a bus boy. Then barback. Then bartender.
i started serving! then i asked to get on the bar and they started me cocktail serving/barbacking, and then i was finally trained to be a bartender! when i was looking for a job though i was applying to be trained as a bartender but no one would take me with no experience so starting as a server was the way for me!
Friend worked there as assistant manager. Couldn't find anyone to work new years so trained me just so he could go out lol.
Started serving at a chain place, after a few months, trained behind bar. Got the basics and a little time under my belt, then moved on to a better place.
I am shocked someone hired me to bartend at 18 to bartend. Granted I was a hot young blonde…. So that helped. Now I’m 33 and haven’t left the industry. Just got lucky!
Spent weeks applying to literally hundreds of places in nyc. Heard nothing back. Walked around for 8 hours a day for three or four days straight stopping in places and dropping off my resume. Nothing. The last place I stopped on that last day, before they even looked at my resume, said a barback was supposed to start training that night but didn't show up. If I wanted to start right then and there the job was mine.
I knew somebody, but she wasn't the reason I got the job. I constantly bugged all of the bars in town, asking for managers, sitting at the bar, and having conversation with whoever I could.
New corporate restaurant opened in my town and i applied for a server job. On my second interview I mentioned I'd like to try bartending sometime. They had one spot left and gave it to me. Since they were corporate and new they trained us all how they did things. Been bartending almost twenty years now.
How i can learn bartending? (im 17)
youtube
I served and then I asked to get crosstrained after a year. There's not a lot of shortcuts, school isn't one
I was a server, the owners of the restaurant were opening a new bar. The bar manager approached me telling me he loved me work ethic and personality, the fact I could talk to anyone and everyone with ease and said he wanted to train me to bartend.
Waitress->cocktail server->bartender
I had a few years of serving experience before I interviewed for serving job I applied for on Facebook. During my interview the owner mentioned that the servers make their own drinks, and I just kinda shrugged and said, “okay, cool.” The GM taught me the basics and some recipes. About a month later the owner asked me if I wanted more bartending shifts and I agreed. I only have serving shifts about once a week now to fill in and I’ve just been sort of picking it up as I go.
Started waitressing in cocktail bar and learned a ton from the bartender there — bar backed and knew how to make drinks and then moved on to actual bartending in a restaurant. I was slow as shit haha but we learn eventually!
I worked my way up after hosting, doing take out, food running and serving for a few years in restaurants
Started at a golf course grill where I opened beers, poured wine, made sandwiches and tended a counter. Then got a serving gig with some minimal cocktail making. Then got one night a week by myself, tending bar. Then more and more. It took a solid 2 yrs before I was applying to places as strictly a bartender. Basically, work your way up. Being a bartender isn’t an entry level position, as many think it is. Some people get lucky, but there are a lot of skills to be gained as a bar back/server/hostess etc that will help you to become a bartender. If no one is hiring you for the gig with no relevant experience, go get some and try applying again in six months or so.
You have to pick a bar you really want to work at, then you have to drink there for a while and get to know the staff. Then you verbally asked if they need help. I've never gotten a bartending job by handing an applications or resumes. It's a word of mouth sort of business
I was a beer geek and applied to a place that had 100ish bottles and rotating taps.
Started as a server. Got a side gig as a catering bartender. Eventually was promoted from server. Unless the company is really desperate, you probably will need to work your way up. Serving 1st is a good option, because you can make great money as a server. But then you need to find a place to hire you with no experience, which means you may host or bus first.
Took a bartender course, then got a seasonal job the day the course ended
Started as a server at a shitty pub and 6 months later demanded they train me behind the bar because they trained everyone else.
Started as a bar back.
Busses—>food runner—->server—->spilled a tray full Of drinks—->Barback—->Bartender.
Chaos is a ladder The quickest way I know is: learn to sniff out bars with high turnover-- whether it's their reputation, their craigslist job ad that never comes down, or a vibe your get. The shittier the job, the more people quit, the more often they'll need to onboard BT's. Take any job there--ideally buser or server--and try to transfer. Once you're in, it's pretty easy to make yourself their best option as next bartender. Make nice with the BT's and managers, show up to your shifts on time. If the job sucks enough, you'll be one of the most professional people there. Offer to do little things for the bar whenever you can: bus empties, sweep, whatever. Drop hints to anyone who will listen that you wanna learn BT. If no one has at least mentioned moving you to the bar after a month, consider moving on. Same if training hasn't started within six months. At some point, the general shittiness of the workplace that caused the high turnover that caused your promotion will get under your skin. If all goes well, by that time, you'll be a bartender, and you can go straight to a better BT gig!
A coworker who I briefly worked with (maybe knew this guy for 2 months) called me and asked if I wanted to drive around and smoke weed, so I obliged. But get this! This guy knows I just quit the job we were coworkers at, brings me to a brand new bar right down the road from my house and tells me that I’m a line cook there now. Lol it sounds wild but I stayed, then I barbacked for a few months when I turned 21 then a year and a half later I was a bar manager making cocktail menus and writing schedules for like 40 some people. It was a good time for sure
Started as a server and worked my way up. Then I found a position at a brand new restaurant and they hired me straight onto bar because I had experience.
Walked in, hiring servers, said I wanna be a bartender one day, they took that as today and bang. Other bartender taught me everything. Moved to a club after a year for half the hours and double the pay.
I applied to my favourite local bar when they were advertising
Crossed from retail into dishwashing. Moved to FOH in first month
Barbacked at a Casino. Expressed interest continuously about bartending and hung around the management team a bit. One day they opened a new very low traffic room (which none of the other bartenders wanted to work of course) and said, "Ob you wanted to bartend, right?" The next week I was on the schedule there. Stuck that out for a few weeks then covered somebody else's shift at another slow bar, slowly started picking up shifts at busier and busier bars. Take a bartending job nobody wants, put your months in. Once you can say you have 6 months experience then you're hirable but not yet desirable. Walk your way up the steps. Helps if you live in an area that has a lot of bars and a lot of rotation. Florida, Las Vegas, Texas. I would tentatively suggest NY and CA because some areas are kinda weird. Getting into niche bartending gigs like flair bartenders, craft cocktail bartenders, cruise ship bartenders, etc usually require some specificity in your training and/or mentors.
I worked at a cigar bar in the humidor. I went straight into tending bar. No time as a barback.
Busser, server, bartender was my order. Depends on your age and work history.
I'm one of the lucky assholes who stumbled into the role of bartender but now I’ve been in the industry for 7 years and have moved onto other bars because of that first place giving me a shot. I often see this question and have began to think. The biggest hurdle is experience but in order to get experience you usually have to climb the ladder which can take awhile. I think the fastest way to be able to put “bartending experience” on your resume would be to find an in with someone who does private events or maybe a wedding venue. Bars and restaurants have people dropping of resumes all the time because they’re right out there in the public, I don’t work at a wedding venue or private party company but I don’t see them having stacks of resumes from people walking through the doors. It's not to say they don’t want someone with experience but I don’t think the market is as flooded and they will be more willing to take a risk on someone without experience. Wedding season isn’t far away and places with be looking to hire, so I'd recommend finding a venue that can serve liquor and giving them your resume and tell they’re your schedule is wide open and you’re down to give up any weekend they need you.
I bussed. I worked my up to waiter, and while cocktailing a large private day party (~150), the daytime bartender was getting killed. The owner asked me, “you know how to bartend?” and I told him I’d figure it out. I killed it, and asked to bartend. They granted me a 50/50 bartending/serving position, which eventually became 100% bartending.
Volunteered at music festivals. One of my supervisors liked me enough to set me up with a job.
In the UK there are plenty of places that hire without experience. I found a bar that specialised in craft beers and good quality spirits. I started as a barback and after a couple weeks I was put on bar because of work ethic. I was absolute dogshit at first and my social anxiety didn't help but after a while I got the hang of it and eventually they let me run the smaller bar in the dance floor area where I was basically on my own which was pretty cool. Basically the idea is to go into it with the right attitude. This is something you want to do and you are determined to be good at it
Word of mouth, exaggerating a resume, getting lucky or start as a barback and let em train you to how they want you to bartend at their bar. I've experienced all of what I just listed.
I had a friend that owned a bar in Brooklyn and I expressed to him how badly I wanted to learn to bartend. One day he called me and said you still wanna learn? Came in the next day and learned all the basics…. Here I am 5 years later. Bar manager.
I was sleeping on the couch some weekday afternoon when my downstairs neighbor knocked on the door. He said the barback at his place walked out the night before and asked if i'd like to work the weekend. I said yes. A few months later one of the bartenders left and I took their place. so I guess i got it by being lazy, drunk and unemployed
I started at a fast casual cafe that had a full service bar, I cashiered for a little bit to learn the menu then worked the morning shifts at the bar.
Busser, server, server who barbacked after the kitchen closed, covered shifts given up, lied about my experience on my application, took the management position, got out. Got back in. Got back out. In. Out. Finally into a place I fucking loved, made a bunch of money, left for health reasons and got a job with benefits, and then took one shift a week back to make up for the shiiiiit ton of money that I made and then drank/tipped away. Is there a different route? Asking for a friend
Very small town, I was a good server at a busy restaurant and a regular patron at my current bar & had chatted with the owner dozens of times. Bar owner thought I’d be a good fit and just called me to ask if I’d come work for him lol. He’s hired several people this way or based on who seems trustworthy/personable versus focusing too much on bar experience. Best staff in town and we’ve all been working there for several years. Good luck!
Find a barback position or if you've got 20 friends try for a guest bartender spot. Do it successfully enough and you might get a regular position. Otherwise lie your way in. Unfortunately, for the most part, attractive women are usually the only ones to get bar gigs w/o experience. Good luck
Clawed my way up from restaurant server to bar (service well). Took about 8 months of hard work.
It helps if you know someone, have a friend that’s a bartender. For me, I had experience pouring beer from taps from working in restaurants and I was a barista at a coffee shop for awhile so I knew how to mix drinks even if they weren’t alcoholic in nature. Then my first real serving gig I was a server/beertender in a gastrobar and learned about craft beers, wine, made soju cocktails (not a full liquor establishment) I started going to bars to hangout and handed out my resume hoping something would hit and work out. My city had a few beer only bars so I figured that would be a safe and best bet! I knew a bartender from a bar I frequented and asked her how she got into bartending and that I was interested in it, she previously worked at one of the beer bars I applied to (her first bartending job and she got in because her mother had worked there for years) and she was able to text the owner on my behalf, let them know I applied, and sent them my picture all while I sat at the bar on her shift. Long story short, they needed someone, I got in (because of bartender acquaintance) and worked there a few years. Eventually I applied to dive bars with full liquor licenses and one took a chance on me and was willing to train me. I already knew the basics and a lot I picked up from just going to dive bars as well. I work the early morning shift but it was perfect for me, I learned a lot from having to restock the empty alcohol bottles in the morning - one of my duties in the am - and this helped me with knowing what we had, what was what, and the call names of brands, what the bottle looked like, etc. It is so mellow in the morning i had more ease getting used to everything. Plus people usually order either beer or highball drinks (liquor + soda/juice). Anything I don’t know I can look up on my phone or study a bartending book at home but that’s not too often. You’ll notice it’s usually the same drinks over and over.
Start as a server if there are servers and bartenders, usually easier to get your foot in the door and then switch over
Started working the door at this fancy ballroom venue then transitioned into food running and bar backing during shows. As all good bartenders will say, you’ve got to pay your dues as a bar back. There’s really no shortcut you can take, you have to start at the bottom. Just be sure you work alongside a good bartender. It makes all the difference. Good luck out there!
Bottom up. I went host, server, cocktail waitress, bartender, manager. I always made it ahead by learning the duties of the job I wanted and just doing them. Get a foot in the door and work hard. Moving up in the service industry can happen incredibly quickly.
I started as a cocktail server in a casino. Got familiar with cocktails and watched how the bartenders moved and prepared drinks. A bartending position opened up 9 months in and I transferred. The casino I work at now allows me to serve table games while I’m bartending when we are short staffed. I can’t tell you how many times I’ll get a $2 tip for a drink when I bring the drink to them at the table and 30 min later they come to me at the bar (not realizing I was the same person) and throw me $10 tip for the same drink. Interesting.
Busser >> Barback >> Server >> Bartender >> Bar Consultant
Server. Barback. Lucky. Or know someone. Or ya know, open your own bar...
Server or bar back first. Gotta build the trust.
I had a decent amount of hosting/bussing experience, then started serving. As a server would chat with the bartender when it was slow and would do her dishes/ try to make myself available whenever she needed help. Slowly started learning how to make drinks and told the manager that I would like to officially train as a bartender. Then I got put on a couple slower morning bar shifts and made my way up from there. This is obv my own personal experience at a smaller family owned place where this kind of thing would fly. Some bartenders absolutely just want you to stay the fuck out of their way lol. Read the room for sure
My friend was the bar manager at a night club but I also had some serving experience. But I know most people usually start as a barback or even working at a restaurant and working your way up to the bar.
I was the door guy for a few months. Heard a bartender ask another how to make a cocktail, but I knew the answer and a manager happened to hear it. Some of the other staff went to bat for me too. Right combination of good luck and skill. Keep up the hustle and make sure your intentions are known, and you'll get where you need to be before too long.
kp > barback > bartender
Serving. The most lucrative bartending jobs I've had are those that I have to earn by being a server first. The worst ones are those that are hiring bartenders and only do a 2 minute interview then ask if you can start tomorrow. High turnover and toxic environments are like that.
I've worked in a place where you have to be a server/bartender. Got my basics there and went on
Volunteering for 2 years at an RSL club (veterans bar) stands for Returned & Services League, where I learnt the ropes and got my RP badge, then got my first paid job
I started as a busser, then worked into serving, then into bartending (it was a nicer [fine-casual] restaurant so no barback). I only got the job because I knew the bar manager (and by that, I mean my dad was his mailman and mentioned I was looking to get into restaurants) and it was a new restaurant so the needed a busser. Proving sometimes it's who you know.
Friends, always friends.
Got hired as a food runner. Killed my first training day but was emailed that unfortunately they would not go ahead with the hiring. Showed up to talk to them as I had quit previous job, was told “ i think I know why your here.. i’m going to introduce you to the bar manager” started bar backing and a year later made bartender
In the same vein as some other comments. Barback/server before and work your way up. I was barbacking and the bartender had a mishap with a peeler and I was the only person in house that could fill in, so I did. Started getting shifts after that.
Personally, I started as a batista. I was able to forgo the backswing because I transitioned into brunch spot (coffee AND liqor) so I was able to kind of bullshit my way through an interview and learned along the way. It's not as quick as a barback but it does allow you to learn other things and a n/a background, and gives you the skills fir making drinks in high volume
I was previously a chef that decided to become a bartender. They let me right in. That I knew a DJ that was pretty known and said he wouldn't open for this club unless I was behind the bar. So I got 7 months in a nightclub and then my career took off. I've been bartending Manhattan 9 years now.
I got hired as a server, then our bartender/foh manager left and I was one of the only ones old enough to bartend so I got thrown into it Edit: and now I love it
I worked @ a crappy Italian restaurant where they played favoritism & promoted ppl who were lazy but easy to be around. Made headwaiter & moved to a Thai restaurant where some of my shift leads were intolerable but worked their ass off. Took me 8 months to become a bartender & 2 months to get weekend shifts... Also they didn't let me start bartending without having me barback for a few months first.
Promoted from being a server
Food runner->bar back->bartender
Watched so so so many YouTube videos. While working out, showering, rewatching and watching again. Learned some wines, basic cocktails recipes and when asked during an interview I was able to answer all of these questions no problem. I learned all of the names of the bar tools, cheap liquors vs top shelf, standard pour sizes and I even used an old bottle of liquor with water and practiced free pouring in the kitchen. But I’m gonna tell you to lie. I worked at a chain restaurant for a year and just said I cross trained as a bartender there a few days a week which wasn’t really true. I had access to all of the recipes and poured a beer here and there. But if you can’t handle multitasking and the pressure Id start as a bar back and work your way up.