Stand Out with This Bartender Resumé Guide

You’re interested in applying for a bartending position but aren’t sure what the hiring manager is looking for or what you should include in your bartender resume. We’ve got you covered with this bartender resume guide.

Resume Basics

The formatting for a bartender’s resume should be as follows:

  • Layout: A good resume will stick with the reverse chronological format, which lists the jobs starting with the most recent on top, followed by past positions.
  • Subheadings: The subheadings should be bolded, so that bar managers can easily find what they’re looking for.
  • Fonts: Resumes should have fonts that are easy to read, not curly or bulky fonts.
  • Font Size: Regular text should have a standard 11pt or 12pt sized font.
  • Margins: There should be a one-inch margin on each side of the resume.
  • Line Spaces: Set line spacing as single line, so there’s room for everything.
  • File Type: Unless the job description space otherwise, save the resume in PDF format.

Bar Resume

Within a resume for a bartending position should be the following information.

  • Header: Within the header should be the appropriate contact details, like a phone number, address, and email.
  • Summary of Skills and Qualifications: Under the section should be a small paragraph that explains why you are an excellent candidate for the position.
  • Work Experience: List your job history and what your past duties were in that position. The list should be in bullet point format. If you have no work experience as a bartender or behind a bar in general, list any duties in previous positions that may be relevant to bartending.
  • Education: Give a quick recap of your academic history. If you have college experience, there’s no need to list your high school academic history.
  • Skills: List the skills that you bring to the position. These skills should be bartender relevant. If you do have bartending experience, demonstrate your knowledge of making better cocktails with premium barware.
  • Extra Sections: In other sections, you can include licenses, languages you speak, certificates, etc. If you have a mixology certification, you can include this here.

Tips

Now that the basics of what should be included within a bartender’s resume have been covered, below are a few tips to follow when putting your resume together.

One-Page

A resume should not be more than a single piece of paper. Often, bartender positions receive a lot of applicants, and managers don’t have the time to read through multiple pages; often, they quickly scan a resume for the information they need. If your resume is too long, it may be discarded altogether. Instead, keep it concise with the most recent information and to a singular page.

Spell Check is Your Friend

Pay very close attention when proofreading your bartender resume. It’s common to make simple grammatical or punctuation errors, but a resume that is riddled with them does not make a good impression. Run your resume through spell check software before submitting it, or have a fresh pair of eyes read it over.

Distinguish Yourself

Try to distinguish yourself as much as possible. Remember, managers are receiving many different applications and resumes; yours needs to stand out. One of these ways is to list accomplishments you’re proud of from previous positions. Not only will this help your resume stand out to the manager, but during an interview can help steer the conversation.

Don’t Lie

Truthfulness is one of the more important aspects of a resume. Often, people lie on job applications and resumes, but there is no need. Don’t exaggerate your qualifications or skills; when you’re hired, these lies are bound to unravel. If you have no experience, be honest. Likely, you’ll start as a bar back instead of a bartender, but you’ll have the opportunity to learn the proper skills.

Customer Service

For bartenders, customer service is a large part of the job. In your resume, you have to show that you are personable and that you have customer service experience. When detailing your previous work, focus on duties that involve aspects of customer service.

Visually Appealing

Don’t send a generic bartender resume; put some thought and effort into it to make it visually appealing. There are hundreds of free resume templates online, and many of them have attractive displays. Peruse them to find an option that looks good. If you’re not tech-savvy, you can hire someone to create the template for you.

Details

Besides grammatical and spelling errors, check all of the details of your resume before submission, even the minor details. Snip out any unimportant or excess information so that only what’s necessary is included.

Make sure your information is correct. It’s easy to mistype a phone number or email address, so it’s important to give your contact information an extra glance over. If this information is incorrect, you are unlikely to get the position.

For many positions, including bartender positions, managers do contact references listed. It’s how they get a genuine review of your work abilities and character. If reference information is not up to date and they can’t get a hold of any references, for some jobs that is a deal breaker.

FAQs

Below are the FAQs for bartender resumes.

What if I Don’t Have Experience?

At some point, everyone has to start off with no experience. If you have a work history, focus on any customer service or hospitality aspects of that position. If you’ve been a part of a restaurant staff or used a register, include that information underneath your job history.

If this is your first job, include any sports or activities you engage in that require you to work in a group. Bartenders and other restaurant positions need to work together, so the interviewer needs to know you are a team player.

Should I Include a Cover Letter?

The answer to this question depends on how you submit your application. If the submission is through an email, a brief introduction and relevant information can be included in the body of the email.

If the submission of the application is in person, then a cover letter would work well. Cover letters are more formal, so it may not be necessary for a casual neighborhood bar.

Should I Email My Resume or Submit it in Person?

The best option is to submit a resume in person. If possible, try to hand it to the hiring manager. Not only does this give you an opportunity to introduce yourself, but it shows effort.

By employing the information in this article, you’re well on your way to developing an outstanding bartender resume.