Do you enjoy mixing drinks and serving beverages? Are you a fun-loving person and enjoy interacting with people? If so, then you should consider learning how to become a bartender! As a bartender, you can work in bars, restaurants, hotels, and event spaces, as well as in banquet halls, to mix and serve drinks and beverages.
However, you’ll need to have the full knowledge of the various steps to become a bartender. This will further help you to decide if this career path is best for you. In this article, we’ll discuss extensively how to become a bartender, explain the necessary bartender skills, as well as their job role. Let’s dive in!
What Does A Bartender Do?
Bartenders are professionals who work in bars, restaurants, events, hotels, clubs, or other drinks-mixing establishments and serve them to customers. They often serve customers with the help of wait staff or directly behind the bar. In addition, most bartenders assist in maintaining product inventory and supplies for the bar.
Listed below are some common duties of a bartender. Let’s check it out!
- You will mix and serve alcoholic beverages, as well as other drinks to customers.
- You will also greet and interact with customers while you work behind the bar.
- Furthermore, you will take orders of drinks and mix them according to the customer’s preferences and recipes.
- You must also ensure that customers are legally old enough to drink.
- In addition, you will collect payments from customers.
- You must ensure compliance with established rules and regulations for alcoholic drinks, other beverages, and food.
Steps To Become A Bartender
We have compiled the necessary steps for any individual who is interested in becoming a bartender. Follow these steps on how to become a bartender if you have a passion for this career. Scroll down!
Earn A High School Diploma Or GED
Generally, the first step to becoming a bartender is to complete secondary school. While in school, it’s important to focus on math courses as this will prepare you for foundational bartender duties. These include managing cash float and making changes for customers. Furthermore, you can register for elective courses on food and nutrition to build your palate and understanding of flavor pairings.
Consider Completing College Or A Bartending Program
The next step is to earn a post-secondary certificate or diploma to qualify you as a more competitive candidate for bartending positions. While studying, you may request to learn how to mix beverages and wines, as well as learn the best business practices on how to relate with customers. However, there’s an alternative where you can complete a training program in a private bartending or mixology school.
Generally, these programs may last at least one week, and you will be able to learn different types of beverages. As well as applicable laws on alcoholic drinks and ways to build a customer base. Additionally, you may consider preparing for some entry-level wine courses to build your knowledge and be more employable at fine-dining restaurants.
Earn Relevant Bartending Certifications
Generally, bartenders must demonstrate their ability to mix and serve alcoholic drinks responsibly. Aside from being a legal adult, most employers will want you to complete a responsible beverage service (RBS) training program. This program is to educate you on ways to serve alcoholic beverages for consumption in establishments.
Furthermore, it aims to provide you with the skills to avoid any harm due to alcohol and ensure responsible service. Many provinces and territories have their distinct choice of RBS training. For instance, British Columbia has Serving It Right (SIR), a self-study program that’s overseen by the tourism industry in provinces and human resources association.
Irrespective of where you decide to work, RBS training programs will cover the following topics. Let’s check it out!
- How to know if a customer has had too much alcohol to drink?
- Your legal responsibilities when selling alcohol.
- Your care duties to customers.
- Ways to stop service whenever required.
Gain Bartending Experience
The next step to becoming a bartender is to obtain practical experience by completing a bartender apprenticeship. However, another alternative is to apply for a position as a barback before transitioning into a bartender role. As a barback you will support employees at establishments that serve beverages.
You will need to keep the bar stocked during busy shifts, however, you won’t directly interact with customers or make cocktails. In addition, you can learn from experienced bartenders as you prepare to start your career as one.
Promote Your Skills
Lastly, you will need to develop and promote your bartending skills. With this, you may become a more attractive candidate to employers. Furthermore, you’ll create a portfolio of your signature cocktails in case you want to demonstrate that you have experience.
And that you can also succeed in a bartending role. In addition, you should try to create a unique social media page that will be alluring and inviting. On such a platform, you can showcase your skills and share photos of the most impressive drinks that you make.
What Skills Does A Bartender Need?
Customer Service
Being highly experienced in customer service will enable you to interact well with customers and meet their needs. You need to develop these skills as a bartender to help you earn repeat business or referrals for the business. Meanwhile, knowing serving customers can also influence your professional success.
This is because customers prefer to work with personable bartenders. As such, you must improve your customer service skills by reviewing customer feedback to discover areas that need to be improved
Organization
During a shift, bartenders are known to mix several beverages. They often apply organizational skills to ensure that the establishment has ingredients for cocktails and alcoholic drinks. Meanwhile, you need to organize your ingredients well, this will assist you to also be more efficient and serve more customers during busy periods. You need to also enhance your organizational skills by prioritizing tasks and maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
Communication
Being able to effectively communicate is a great skill that a bartender must possess. Effective communication is a way of giving and receiving information for others to understand. As a bartender, you must be excellent in your written communication since it’s helpful when completing the inventory.
As well as entering the sales report forms and writing purchase orders for ingredients. On the same note, verbal communication skills are very essential to convey ideas to the manager and customers. You can also improve your communication skills by requesting feedback from your network.
Knowledge Of Bartending Tools
Working as a bartender, you will be required to use tools like bottle openers, cocktail shakers, and strainers. Therefore, you must understand how and when to use these tools, to help you remain efficient. Well, these bartending tools were explained to you during training programs and workshops.
Physical Stamina And Adaptability
As a bartender, you will perform most of your duties while standing and may sometimes need to lift heavy items. Based on this, you will need to have good stamina. Meanwhile, it is crucial to adapt to the required work rate while remaining calm and not losing focus. Enhance your physical stamina through physical training and education.
