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So, you want a job as a head bartender. A well-written CV is a great place to start! Our guide to crafting an effective head bartender CV will help you make the most of your customer service and interpersonal skills, so you can get the job you want.
Get started by editing this head bartender CV template, or peruse our library of CV templates to find the best one for you.
Head bartender CV example (text version)
Caleb Josef
Seattle, WA 98012
555 555 5555
example@example.com
Summary Statement
Reliable bartender with over 10 years of professional experience serving drinks at multiple bars. Liquor, beer and wine expert with a proven track record of success in satisfying customers and serving drinks quickly and accurately. A candidate who combines excellent organization with strong multitasking and customer service skills, while prioritizing communication with customers as well as other staff.
Core Qualifications
- Mixology techniques
- Cash handling
- POS systems
- Scheduling
- Vendor relations
- Inventory management
- Time management
- Attention to detail
Education
- South Seattle Community College Seattle, WA
Bachelor of Applied Science Hospitality Management - January 2006
Seattle School of Bartending Seattle, WA
Associate of Science Mixology
Work Experience
June 2017 – Current
Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants – Seattle, WA
Head Bartender
- Maintain large knowledge of drink selection and serve drinks to customers quickly and correctly.
- Arrange bartending staff to best accommodate the changing density of guests.
- Create a schedule while taking labor costs into consideration.
- Boost 50% of bar profitability, mentoring 12 team members on routine procedures, sales and bartending strategies.
- Perform the closing process on a nightly basis, including locking up, cleaning, preparing for the next business day and guiding guests out of the establishment.
- Maintain customer satisfaction rating consistently above 90%.
February 2012 – May 2017
Levy Restaurants – Seattle, WA
Bartender
- Took drink orders from an average of 200 customers per shift and filled them quickly without error.
- Rotated inventory and keeping track of stock, making recommendations for ordering.
- Aided head bartender in administrative tasks and report creation.
- Developed relationships with regular customers while encouraging others to become return customers through excellent customer service.
- Kept track of tabs accurately and handled money responsibly and provided change accurately.
- Maintained a secure cash drawer of over $4,000 promptly resolving discrepancies in daily totals.
January 2007 – January 2012
The Capital Grille – Seattle, WA
Bartender Assistant
- Developed foundational bartending skills by shadowing the head bartender closely and observing carefully.
- Practiced the entire drink catalog of 30 drinks, refining technique until met with the head bartender’s approval.
- Interacted with customers professionally and put interpersonal communication skills into practice to build relationships.
- Provided excellent customer service to all guests at all times, paying special attention to accurately filling drink orders.
- Polished glassware, bussed tables and removed debris to keep customer areas clean.
Conference Attendance
- Bartender’s Circle Summit – (2023)
- Seattle Cocktail Week – (2023)
- Mixology Conference – (2022)
- Worldwide Distilled Spirits Conference – (2021)
Honors and Awards
- Seattle’s 2022 Spirited Awards, contestant – (2022)
- Bartender Spirits Awards 2022, finalist – (2022)
- Best Bartender and Mixology Recognition 2019 – (2019)
Professional Affiliations and Memberships
- National Bartenders Association, Seattle Chapter – (2022)
- International Bartender Association – (2021)
- United States Bartender’s Guild – (2019)
Certifications and Licenses
- Food Safety Manager Certification – (Updated 2022)
- State Licensed Bartender Certification – (Updated 2021)
- OSHA Safety Certificate – (Updated 2021)
Profession Relevant Skills
- Excellent customer service skills and extensive professional communication experience.
- Experience in retail, handling money responsibly and counting change accurately.
- Organized and talented multitasker with planning, sales and management skills.
- Strong administrative abilities and familiarity with filling out reports on daily earnings.
- Experience leader with the ability to attend to diverse customers.
Languages
- English
Native or Bilingual - Spanish
Professional Working
Hobbies and Interests
I enjoy traveling and immersing myself in cultures different from my own, thus developing my interpersonal communication skills. I stay fit by running daily and playing basketball. I also volunteer my time in a biannual charity event.
5 essentials of a top head bartender CV
Contact details
Without contact information, hiring managers cannot ask you for an interview. Create a section at the top of your CV for it. Display your contact information as follows: Your full name, then your city, state and ZIP code, followed by your phone number and professional email address. If you have a LinkedIn profile and professional website, add those as well.
Personal statement
A personal statement, also called a professional summary, is your chance to shine. It’s where you introduce yourself to the hiring manager and pitch your best technical and soft skills and relevant work experience. A head bartender CV personal statement should include one or two of your notable professional accomplishments to grab the hiring manager’s attention.
Skills
Hiring managers want to know if your skills match their needs. Show them you have what it takes by creating a separate section and using bullet points to display your top hard and soft skills — from mixology to time management — as demonstrated by our head bartender CV sample. If you are applying for your first job, include transferable skills, which are soft skills, such as communication, that you can use in any job.
Work history
Your CV must have a detailed employment history section, even if you don’t have work experience as a head bartender. List current and previous employers in reverse-chronological order and provide bar names, locations and the dates you worked for each. Add three bullet points of measurable achievements for every job you list. If you don’t have work experience in the field or if this is your first job application, display extracurricular activities, volunteer experience, community service, professional and personal projects — anything that shows you have relevant work experience.
Education
In your CV for a head bartender job, add all the educational institutions you’ve attended after high school. Use bullet points for each school and display the name of the school and the year you graduated, unless it was more than 10 years ago. List your high school information and any post-high school classes taken if you did not attend college.
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Action words for a stand-out head bartender CV
Action words convey confidence and strengthen CVs because they tell the hiring manager exactly what you did. Combine them with numbers to really make an impact!
Here’s a short list of perfect action words for a head bartender CV:
- Create
- Prepare
- Manage
- Lead
- Serve
- Mix
- Provide
- Develop
- Train
- Organize
- Perform
- Mentor
- Sell
Want more inspiration? Explore our library of more than 300 CV examples.
Need an excellent head bartender CV job now? Our CV Maker has all the tools you need to create a professional CV in minutes. You can make edits on the fly, download your CV and save it as a PDF, .doc or plain text when you’re finished. Yes, it really is that easy!
Top skills for a head bartender CV
Review the job description carefully and match the required skills to your skills and traits.
Your skills might include:
- Attention to detail
- Time management
- Agility
- Flexibility
- Prioritization
- Administration
- Creativity
- Conflict resolution
- Patience
- Customer service
- Leadership
- Planning
- Multitasking
- Mixology
- Scheduling
- Cash handling
- POS systems
- Sales
- Inventory management
Certifications for a head bartender CV
Head bartenders typically do not require a certification, but having one or more certificates on your head bartender CV will help you to stand out.
Certificates for head bartenders include:
Pair your CV with a matching cover letter
Head bartender CV FAQ
What Does a Head Bartender Do?
In addition to serving drinks to customers and processing payments, head bartenders manage the rest of the bartending staff and perform organizational or administrative duties. They may also be involved in the hiring process since new bartenders will work under the head bartender directly. One of the most important attributes of a head bartender is strong communication skills, so we suggest you emphasize that skill, along with management, decision-making and interpersonal skills in your head bartender CV.
What’s the best format for a head bartender CV?
A CV for a head bartender job can be in any format that fits the industry, job, work experience and goals. For instance, if you’re applying for your first head bartender job or are changing careers, it’s best to use a CV format that emphasizes your education or skills. However, if you have a steady career as a head bartender and have progressed through the ranks, you might want to showcase your work experience.
How can I create an excellent head bartender CV?
A head bartender CV provides a comprehensive look at your career. Include everything that can help you stand out from the pool of candidates.
For example:
- Create a section for each: extra training, certifications, awards and honors.
- Include a section for projects you’ve collaborated on and state what you accomplished.
- Add a section focused on community initiatives and volunteer work.
- In the skills section, create subcategories to divide your skills by group. For example, soft skills, hard skills, interpersonal skills and so on.
- If you have bartending- related hobbies, add a section for them and list them with bullet points.
Do’s and don’ts for building a head bartender CV
- Use measurable achievements to describe your head bartender skills and experience.
- Use action words to make an impact on your head bartender CV.
- Tailor your CV to your target head bartender job.
- Use keywords from the job description throughout your head bartender CV.
- Format your head bartender CV so that it is easy to read by ATS software and human eyes.
- Lie about your head bartender’s work experience and skills.
- Boast about your “incomparable” head bartender abilities.
- Include irrelevant personal information such as your ethnicity and age.
- Add skills and experience that do not pertain to being a head bartender.
- Forget to proofread. A head bartender CV with errors is unprofessional.
Top 4 tips for acing a head bartender interview
Learn about the hotel or bar before your interview.
Learning about the hotel or bar’s history, goals, values and people before the interview is important. It shows real interest, dedication and commitment — traits that hiring managers look for in top job candidates. Plus, having a glimpse of it before will give you an idea of what to expect on arrival so that you can feel confident.
Practice!
A little practice now will go a long way during your interview. To practice for your interview, start by reviewing the most common interview questions, such as:
- Why Did you Choose This Career?
- Describe a Time When You Needed to Cope With a Stressful Scenario.
- Describe a Situation Where You Had to Arrive at a Compromise or Lead Others to a Compromise.
Ask a friend to interview you so you can get comfortable with the questions and imprint the answers in your mind. Ask them for feedback on your performance and answers, and write down their suggestions that resonate with you. You’ll feel confident and ready when it’s time for the real thing.
Be proactive and ask questions.
Your interviewer will ask if you have any questions at the end of your session. You should always have at least three questions ready to ask; job candidates who don’t ask questions are not as likely to get hired because hiring managers assume they aren’t interested in the role or won’t put much thought into it.
Some questions you might ask for a head bartender job are:
- What do you expect from someone in this position during the first 30 days?
- What is your management style?
- What do you like most about working here?
Have references ready.
Having professional references before your interview will prepare you in case the hiring manager decides to move forward. Create a list of two former colleagues and a former manager willing to speak to your abilities to perform the head bartender job and who you know will give you a stellar review. Even better if they write a letter of recommendation for you.
If you are applying for your first full-time job and don’t have former colleagues or a manager for reference, it’s acceptable to get references from a former instructor, volunteer coordinator, internship manager, classmate, or community leader who will provide a positive review about your ability to perform the job.
Resume examples for the next step in your food service career
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- Bartender Resume
- Fast Food Server Resume
- Hostess Resume
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- Fast Food Team Member Resume
- Restaurant Server Resume
- Cafeteria Worker Resume
- VIP Hostess Resume
- Food And Beverage Server Resume
- Cocktail Server Resume
- Bar Supervisor Resume
- Coffee Shop Worker Resume
- Food And Beverage Manager Resume
- Barback Resume
- Barista Resume
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Head Bartender CV Example
Kellie is a Certified Professional Resume Writer with extensive experience in digital media. She is passionate about helping job seekers navigate their careers. She earned a B.A. in English and writing from Temple University.
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