Bartender Resume 2024: Examples & Templates
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You know your way around drinks, serving specialized cocktails with flair. Patrons return to be served by you at their third place with quality customer service and an empathetic ear that’s got their back. The resume of a bartender must showcase their drinks expertise and excellent interpersonal skills.
Let’s cover how to write a bartender resume that stands out, including tips on formatting, content, and how to highlight your achievements and skills.
Start by editing this bartender resume sample template or explore our 40+ resume templates to find the best one for you.
Bartender resume example (text version)
Abbey Elliott
Pasadena, CA 91103
(555) 555-5555
example@example.com
Professional Summary
Results-driven bartender with experience in the art of mixology and customer service. Adept at creating signature cocktails, managing inventory and maintaining a clean and organized bar area. Demonstrated ability to engage with diverse clientele and build lasting relationships. Committed to upholding the highest standards of hospitality and contributing to the success of a dynamic and customer-focused bar team.
Work History
November 2021 – Current
The Hotel Dena – Pasadena, CA
Bartender
- Ensure accurate and timely preparation of 500 drink orders per shift, minimizing errors to less than 2%.
- Conduct regular inventory counts for over 3,000 items to keep the bar and drink supplies stocked, avoiding expensive rush orders.
- Uphold high standards of cleanliness in the bar area, earning a monthly cleanliness rating of 90% or above.
September 2018 – October 2021
Noor Events – Pasadena, CA
Banquet Bartender
- Consistently exceeded the target, averaging 250 drinks per event, ensuring timely service and customer satisfaction.
- Successfully applied suggestive selling techniques, leading to a 25% boost in upsell revenue and contributing to overall banquet profitability.
- Implemented rigorous cleaning schedules and training programs, resulting in consistent scores above 97% in health inspections and compliance audits.
June 2015 – August 2018
Carrabba’s Italian Grill – Pasadena, CA
Bartender Assistant
- Streamlined bar setup procedures, decreasing preparation time by 25%.
- Successfully filled in for the bartender during peak hours, maintaining service standards.
- Processed an average of 150 drink orders per shift with 98% accuracy.
Skills
- Mixology and cocktail crafting
- Customer service
- Cash handling and POS systems
- Inventory management
- Upselling and promotion
- Adaptability
- Team collaboration
- Multitasking and time management
Education
June 2019
West Los Angeles College Culver, City
Associate of Arts Business
Hospitality and Tourism Management
June 2015
Long Beach Bartending School Long Beach, CA
Professional Certificate Bartending
Certifications
ServSafe Alcohol Certification – (Updated 2024)
Bartender Certification – (Updated 2023)
ServSafe Food Handler Certification – (Updated 2023)
5 essentials of a top bartender resume
Contact details
The contact details section for a bartender resume should include the candidate’s full name, phone number, professional email address and location. It is also important to include any relevant social media profiles and, if you have any, a professional website.
Personal statement
The professional summary of your bartender resume is your introduction. It should be concise, typically no more than two to three sentences. It should highlight the candidate’s relevant experience, skills and accomplishments. Customize the summary for each job application by including keywords from the job description.
For example:
“Experienced bartender with over five years of expertise in crafting cocktails, maintaining inventory, and providing exceptional customer service. Demonstrated ability to increase sales by 20% through creative menu development and upselling techniques. Skilled in maintaining a clean and organized bar area, managing multiple orders, and working collaboratively with team members to ensure a seamless customer experience.”
Skills
The skills section of a bartender’s resume should highlight both technical and interpersonal abilities. Hard skills such as mixology knowledge, inventory management and cash handling are essential for the job. Soft skills such as communication, customer service and problem-solving are also important for creating a positive customer experience.
Including both hard and soft skills can demonstrate a well-rounded skill set that is necessary to excel as a bartender. If this is your first job as a bartender resume, you can include transferable skills from other employment.
Work history
Build your work history using the bartender job description for resume. Use their resume keywords and write your work history in reverse chronological order. For each position, include three quantifiable accomplishments, the company name, location and dates of employment.
For example:
Bartender
The Lounge | December 2022 – Present- Increased sales by 25% by introducing a new cocktail menu and promoting featured drinks to customers.
- Managed a bar inventory worth over $10,000, ensuring adequate stock levels and minimizing waste.
- Maintained a high level of customer satisfaction, receiving an average rating of 4.8 out of 5 on customer feedback surveys.
If this is your first job, include relevant work experience that highlights skills you could use as a bartender.
Education
Keep it simple. For your bartender resume education section, include the school’s name, the degree conferred and graduation year, if it was in the last decade.
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Action words for a standout bartender resume
Using action words in your bartender resume, in combination with measurable achievements, can create powerful statements to highlight your customer connection and mixology expertise.
Here’s a sample of action words for a bartender resume:
- Serve
- Create
- Prepare
- Maintain
- Collaborate
- Provide
- Handle
- Corroborate
- Identify
- Monitor
- Assist
- Manage
- Greet
- Answer
With the help of our Resume Builder, you can effortlessly write a bartender resume in no time. Build your resume using our expert suggestions and download your finished product once it meets your expectations. We offer over 800+ resume examples to assist you in crafting the perfect bartender resume.
Top skills for a bartender resume
To catch the recruiter’s eye, craft a skills section that showcases your top strengths. Refer to the job description for bartender resume to align the necessary qualifications with your own.
Your skills might include:
- MIxology
- Customer service
- Safety and regulations
- First aid
- Inventory management
- Cleaning
- Cash handling
- Food safety
- Time management
- Creativity
- Adaptability
- Point-of-sale (POS) systems
- Problem-solving
Certifications for a bartender resume
Obtaining certifications as a bartender can increase job opportunities and earning potential.
A few examples of bartenders’ certifications include:
- ServSafe Alcohol Certification
- ServSafe Food Handler Certification
- BarSmarts certification
- Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET)
Remember to include the issuing organization and, if applicable, the expiration date.
Pair your resume with a matching cover letter
Bartender resume FAQ
How to write responsibilities as a bartender and server?
When writing responsibilities as a bartender and server, focus on specific tasks such as preparing and serving drinks, taking orders, handling cash and maintaining cleanliness. Use action verbs to describe these tasks and quantify achievements where possible. Additionally, emphasize customer service skills and the ability to work in a fast-paced environment.
What skills should I list in a bartender resume?
Your bartender resume should highlight the skills needed to perform the job. Use the skills section to list your strongest job-relevant skills and the work history to highlight how successful you’ve been in using those skills. Include hard and soft skills.
Hard skills help you perform, like:
- Equipment operation
- Inventory management
- Sales
- Cocktail presentation
Soft skills show how you work and can help you stand out. For example:
- Teamwork
- Stress management
- Communication
- Cultural awareness
Use the bartender job description for a resume to include skills the employer is seeking first. Then, include more useful skills for the job based on your company research.
How should my bartender resume look?
A bartender resume should be clean, easy to read, and highlight the most important skills and experiences. Use a good resume font, bullet points to make it scannable and focus on achievements rather than just responsibilities.
Our 40+ resume template collection offers professionally designed options to fit your style and our ATS resume checker helps optimize your professional document.
What format should a bartender resume use?
Your bartender resume format depends on your years of experience:
- For 10+ years of experience, use the chronological resume format which focuses on your work experience.
- If you’re starting your career, the functional resume format will focus on skills and abilities, not your lack of experience.
- For candidates with three to nine years of experience, a combination resume format will balance the skills and experience.
Do’s and don’ts for building a bartender resume
- Use measurable achievements to describe your bartender resume skills and experience.
- Use action words to make an impact on your bartender resume.
- Tailor your resume to your target bartender job.
- Use keywords from the job description throughout your bartender resume.
- Format your bartender resume so that it’s easy to read by ATS software and human eyes.
- Lie about your bartender resume experience and skills.
- Boast about your “incomparable” bartender resume abilities.
- Include irrelevant personal information such as your ethnicity and age.
- Add skills and experience that do not pertain to a bartender role.
- Forget to proofread. A bartender resume with errors is unprofessional and will get discarded.
Top 4 tips for acing a bartender resume interview
Research the company before your interview.
Researching the company before your interview is crucial to making a good impression and standing out as a strong candidate. By learning about the company’s mission, values, products or services and recent news or accomplishments, you can demonstrate your interest and knowledge during the interview.
Additionally, researching the company can help you prepare thoughtful questions to ask the interviewer. Take advantage of online resources, such as the company’s website and social media pages, to gather information and gain a better understanding of the company’s culture and goals.
Practice at home.
Prepare for your interview by practicing commonly asked questions, like:
- Persuasion & Convincing Someone to See Your Way
- You Needed to Cope With a Stressful Scenario
- Good Judgement & Logic in Problem–solving
- Experience with Suggesting Process Improvements
- Following Company Policies With Which You Disagree
Find more interview questions and an interview partner, someone whose opinion you can trust. Ask them to perform a mock interview and give you feedback on your answers and body language. Work on improving ahead of the interview. This preparation will help your confidence.
Be proactive and ask questions.
During an interview, not only are you being evaluated as a potential employee, but you are also assessing the company to see if it aligns with your career. To gain a better understanding of the company and its role, it is essential to prepare at least three open-ended questions. Here are five examples:
- Can you tell me more about the company culture and how it supports the mission and values?
- How does this role contribute to the overall success of the company?
- Can you walk me through the onboarding process and what training opportunities are available?
- How does the company promote career growth and development for its employees?
- Can you share any upcoming projects or initiatives that the team will be working on?
Remember to take notes during the interview and ask follow-up questions to gain a deeper understanding of the company’s values and culture.
Gather your references.
Gathering references is an important part of the job search process. It allows potential employers to verify your skills and experience with people you’ve worked with in the past. Be sure to choose references who can speak positively about your work ethic and abilities. Always ask for permission before using someone as a reference.
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Bartender Resume Example
Nilda Melissa is a Certified Professional Resume Writer who has written for The Washington Post and Latina Style Magazine. She has a master's in Journalism from Columbia University and is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.
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