Bartender Resume Sample

1. Go with a functional format

Beer, red wine, and cocktails are all great, but they fit different occasions. The same is true with resume formats.

In our bartender resume sample, the applicant starts off strong with a great introduction. This is the first key to a great functional resume. Next, he dives into his customer service skills, mixology abilities, and salesmanship numbers.

By placing these skills higher up on the page, the reader focuses more on them and less on the work experience section. Notice how much space the intro and skills take up on the page:

Only once you’ve taken a hiring manager on a tour of your awesome skills should you outline your work history and education. Skills are more relevant for a bartender, so there’s no reason you can’t emphasize them!

Also, if you have gaps in work experience, don’t put the dates in your work history section. If they like your resume enough, they’ll get you in for an interview, at which point you can explain things further.

2. Choose the perfect resume introduction

Your introduction can make or break your resume, so you better make it count! If you’re looking for a job as a bartender, your introduction type should be determined by the amount of experience you have bartending.

A summary of qualifications is most suitable for veteran bartenders. If you’ve made more cocktails (and probably consumed more) than you care to count, go this route. Writing a summary of qualifications (or “qualifications summary”) requires a nice chunk of experience, and is an effective way to quickly show what you bring to the table.

It should include the number of years you’ve bartended or worked in the service industry, your relevant work achievements, key soft skills, and some hard skills as well. Anything you’ve done that is quantifiable and solidifies yourself as a competent applicant is good here.

If this seems best for you, learn how to write a solid qualifications summary and start your resume off stronger than a triple whiskey coke.

Career objectives are great for people starting out in the industry. One of the nice things about applying for bartending work is that experience isn’t absolutely necessary. You should have some precursory knowledge of cocktails and beverages, but it’s okay if you’ve never spent a night behind the bar!

A career objective is a three sentence statement that tells the reader,

• Who you are (including your greatest marketable attributes)
• What role you’re applying for (in this case, a bartender)
• Why you’re an awesome fit as the newest slinger of drinks at your target establishment

Even if you’ve never worked before, impress the hiring manager by writing an awesome resume objective and you will land an interview.

3. Highlight some of your top soft skills

Although every bar has its own style, clientele, and pace, there are two constants — alcohol and customers. As key cogs in the service and hospitality industries, bartenders must get along well with the people they serve (or at least do a damn good job faking it). Proving that you thrive in this area is half the battle for most bartending applications. How can you do so?

One way is to have some relevant soft skills listed throughout your resume. Check out how this was done in our example:

Even if you can make a martini that would make James Bond shed a manly tear, you (probably) won’t land bartending work if you lack people skills. Mix some of these throughout your resume and it will make you a more appealing candidate.

Still a bit fuzzy on how to incorporate this information into your resume? Check out our ultimate resume skills section writing guide and hammer out your soft and hard skills.

4. Quantify your past work experience in the service industry

The best way to quantify anything is to use numbers, so make sure you have some included in your resume. If you have no experience in customer service, no problem! Academic projects, extra-curricular activities and volunteer work can all be used as evidence of your abilities.

Ask yourself some of the following questions, and if you can answer them with numbers then incorporate them into your writing.

1. How many years have you worked in the service industry?
2. How many people have you worked with?
3. Have you managed people in the past?
4. What number of cocktails/drinks do you know how to make?
5. Have you affected the profit margin of your bar through excellent service/skill?
6. How much money are you responsible for handling each day?
7. Have you implemented any programs that boosted business? What was the effect? (tip: list only positive ones)
8. Have you won an award? How many people were you up against?

Are you ready to put together your resume yet? You can save some time formatting by using our free resume template packs. If you’re in a rush and want to knock it out immediately, we have a resume generator that can build yours in mere minutes.