Bartender Resume Example

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job outlook for bartenders over the next decade is quite promising. Between 2014-2024, employment opportunities are expected to grow by at least 10%.

At the most lucrative places for bartenders, such as fine-dining restaurants, cocktail bars, and high-end resorts, you can certainly earn more. However, getting hired for a bartending position at one of these establishments can be fiercely competitive. That’s why it’s important to have a resume that is tailored for the bar industry.

Follow our tips below to ensure that your resume has all the right ingredients.

1. Emphasize your Alcohol Server Certification

Although bartenders do not need to get a diploma from a bartending school, depending on their state or employer, they may need to obtain an Alcohol Server Certification. Currently, there are 30 states that regulate alcohol server training. Some of these states make server certifications mandatory, while others offer incentives – like reduced administrative penalties – for getting certified.

If your state or employer does require an Alcohol Server Certification, then it’s crucial that you include your certification early on in your resume. Other than your contact info, your certification is the second most important piece of information on your resume. The first thing a bar owner wants to know is whether or not you are even qualified for the job, so the first thing they will look for is your certification.

Important information such as this should be included in your resume introduction. For example, the candidate in the sample resume above mentions that they possess a “license certified by the District of Columbia” in the first sentence of their resume objective. Doing this helps save the employer time sifting through your resume and piques their interest in what qualities you might possess.

2. Address the Needs of the Bar

Job descriptions are useful tools when it comes to filling in your professional experience section. Many job seekers get caught up on this section because they aren’t sure what to write. They overlook the fact that job descriptions usually provide all the juicy clues they need.

Take a look at a piece of an actual bartender job description:

The job description above is littered with keywords that the employer is looking for. All you have to do is include them in the bullet points of your resume. Now, this doesn’t mean that you should just copy “Helping guests be aware of and choose menu items” in your professional experience section. Instead, a candidate for this position should address that key phrase like this:

• Took food orders from guests at the bar and recommended beverage pairings to go with their meals, which boosted spending by an average of $10 per customer

This bullet point is great because it not only addresses the key phrase, “Helping guests be aware of and choose menu items,” it also adds a simple, yet measurable statistic to your experience (boosted spending by an average of $10 per customer). Being able to add numbers to your resume accomplishments gives employers results to help them gauge your experience.

3. Add Bartender Action Verbs

Below is a list of common action verbs for a bartender resume:

4. Highlight Your Bartender Skills

On your bartender resume, skills are among the most vital elements to include. Hiring managers need to know that you can perform the job, and a quick glance at your skills section should prove that you have mastered the necessary skills a bartender should have.

A skilled bartender must have plenty of soft skills. Such abilities are related to your personality, and since you’ll be spending a lot of time interacting with customers, they are extremely important. Your people skills and communication skills need to be excellent, so clearly highlight them throughout your resume.

In our bartender resume sample, you’ll see that this is exactly what the candidate does: they highlight their customer service skills since they know they’re essential for the role.

You’ll also need hard skills among your bartender CV skills to prove you can actually bartend. These abilities require training, and you’re sometimes given a certification to prove you have them. In this resume sample, the applicant’s hard skills include cocktail preparation and Spanish as well as technical skills like point-of-sales systems.

Takeaways

Now that you know how to create your very own bartender resume, it’s time to get started — pick out your favorite resume template, insert your own information, and fire off your application.

If you’re in a rush, simply use our free-to-use resume builder and create an eye-catching resume in minutes.