Bartending can be a fun and exciting job. It’s also not easy and to be successful requires dexterity and craftsmanship. You go to bars often and figured you too could do this job and be really good at it. Well what happens when you don’t have the experience and want to be a bartender? Here are some things you need to consider to bartend without experience.
Desire to Learn
It’s your responsibility to have an interest and passion to learn the art of bartending. Bartending can be tough and it takes time for you to learn both the field mixology and being a good customer advocate. Be patient and be committed to learning the field which doesn’t happen overnight.
Go to a Bartending School
Attending bartending classes and short mixology courses might be costly, but it helps you to enhance your skills as a bartender. Bartending schools conduct trainings and provide you with fundamental and in-depth knowledge about bartending such as bar management, customer service and bar sanitation.
Read Cocktail and Mixology Books
There are tons of books about mixology that will provide you more useful tips and techniques about cocktail mixing. This is an effective option if you can’t afford to send yourself to a bartending school. Get some bottles of alcohol and practice mixing cocktails at home with friends and family.
Watch Flair Bartending Videos
With the prevalence of digital revolution, it will be easier for you to find flair bartending videos and learn some basic routines and tricks daily. However, it would not be easy to learn at first, but as you keep on practicing, you will become much better. Bartending videos are also effective in learning mixology and how to win over a crowd at the same time. This is also a good alternative if you can’t go to a bartending school and remember as well that you need to practice daily.
Hop on Nightclubs
Explore nightclubs and observe how bartenders perform in this much fast-paced work environment. Try to be a customer for few times. Interact with the bartenders and keenly observe on how they deal with customers and their job. This is a great way for you to understand how it all works and improve your performance.
Work in a Restaurant Bar
This is important in your bartending career. Remember that it will be difficult for you to get a bartending job directly since the majority of hiring managers prefer applicants who have experience. You may have to take a job in a restaurant bar, which can be much slower-paced as a server to get experience, especially if it’s an establishment you want to be at long-term.
Befriend your Co-workers
Make friends with the staff in your workplace especially with the bartenders. Once you gain trust and successfully build a friendship with them, volunteer to help them perform their job such as cleaning the bar counter, bar stools and equipment and glasswares. This is a perfect way for your bartender buddies to recommend you to the bar manager that you can also be a great bartender.
Join a Local Bartending Competition
Joining a bartending competition can be an ideal option to being a bartender without experience as you will never know who those people are in the audience. Some of them might be owners looking for someone that has what it takes to be a bartender. In addition, judges can be bartenders or bar managers and if they like your performance, you may have the chance to be a bartender without ever having worked as one before.
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