When you think about a bartender, you probably think that being one is an easy job. That it doesn’t require much study or preparation. It seems like it is just a matter of practice more than anything else. However, becoming a bartender requires specific qualifications and skills to be learned.
There are several, but we are going to be looking into the most relevant.
Of course, if you want to learn a little more about the basics related to bartending. Also some more advanced skills. You can enter an online course or face-to-face classes. That way you will have more knowledge related to your profession. Which will never be a negative aspect. On the contrary, it could give you more job opportunities.
A bartender for hire needs to know how to serve and prepare alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. They can work at a bar or a restaurant and also nightclubs as well as other venues. On top of that, they have the responsibility of handling the inventory, cleaning the bar area. Also collecting money from the customers depending on the kind of event they are bartending.
The job has complexities
So being a bartender is not easy either. There are many things you must do and know in order to stand out above the rest. That is why it is important that you not only know the basic requirements to be a professional bartender. Also the skills and knowledge that you must have and apply in your work every day.
Now that we have gone over their responsibilities, what about studies? A bartender doesnโt require formal education. With that said, a bartender can have access to formal training programs plus on-the-job training that they will also likely receive.
Both the training and practice that you receive during the time you perform your bartending work. As well as any certification that supports some type of course that you received. It will be beneficial for your profession as a bartender and will undoubtedly open many more doors and possibilities.
Basic Requirements for Bartending Services
- The minimum age required is 21 to 30 years in some US states
- The average Salary according to a study made in 2018 is of $22,550
- Education: There is no need for any specific academic level in bartending, not even high school. Formal training and on-the-job training for bartending purposes is the most common thing to see.
What else do you need to know as a professional bartender?
Beyond these 3 basic requirements to be a bartender. There are other things that are important and that should be included in your resume:
A bartender training course will help you learn skills
As mentioned above, this is not always a fundamental requirement to become a professional bartender. However, if you don’t have a lot of experience and are just starting out in this bartending profession. Enroll in a program or in an intensive online course. It will give you the possibility of having a certificate that endorses your studies That keeps you competitive among your colleagues, despite having no experience.
Of course, these courses vary depending on the country where you are. For example if you take a course in the United States. If you are looking for a program or course make sure it is licensed by the Department of Education of the state in which you are living. If you consider, on the other hand, attending a bartending school, get to know all about the school first. Then ask for references and, above all, take a good look at who are the ones who teach the classes and if they are experts and professionals.
There are also online courses that are just as good. They are ideal at this time that the world is being affected by COVID19. The costs of these courses, both online and face-to-face, vary depending on many factors.
Formal Bartender training
As we said, a bartender doesnโt require a formal education. However, there are some other ways they can acquire techniques, and the basic knowledge for great bartending services.
Most of the training will happen on the job. Also most of the trainees normally work with experienced staff for over a year to gain knowledge. Moreover, to gain skills regarding bartending procedures. Also for learning proper bartending services, you can take formal training by attending a vocational, or technical school. These types of schools provide bartending as part of their programs.
During formal training, they will learn the following:
- The state and local regulations regarding the serving of alcoholic beverages.
- How to handle customers and how to choose the right kind of attire.
- All kinds of drink recipes, and other beverages.
With that said, there are other skills a bartending services student will be able to learn in some of these training programs. There are some great schools in Europe, the US, and other regions. All of which provide a fully professional bartender certificate.
Some of them offer courses like essential bartending programs for the international bartende., Even online bartending courses. Those courses teach people new skills, and general knowledge. For example, the responsibilities, and roles of a bartender, basic pour techniques, churning, shaking or stirring properly. They will also inform how to use a jigger, pour and blend cocktails. Plus workshops, theory sessions, and more.
Another thing that can be very useful to include in your resume is to memorize and learn the most common drink recipes. In the beginning, you may feel overwhelmed because you have to learn hundreds of cocktail and drink recipes. However, this is not quite true. The reality is that the drinks that people commonly order are not many, so what you should memorize at the beginning are those drinks and cocktails and the rest, you will learn to prepare them as you work in different bars and restaurants.
Some of those most common cocktails are:
Old Fasioned, Daiquiri, Martini, Margarita and Whiskey among others.
A description that may not appear on your resume. That every bartender must know in order to get good jobs. This is the ability to communicate assertively with customers and efficient customer service. This has more to do with the soft skills of the bartender. They are still important when you are looking for a new job and the employer decides to call where you were previously working. This is done to ask for a recommendation on your job. In this case, it will be important for your former boss to say that you have customer service skills.
As a bartender have to take into account that even if you are not an outgoing person, you can learn some exercises and learn communication skills that allow you to develop this characteristic.
You also have to be aware that you are going to make mistakes and what you should do is simply apologize to the client and try to correct your mistake.
I addition, you must also have the ability to handle uncomfortable, drunk or aggressive customers. For this it is necessary to have skills that go beyond knowing how to mix cocktails and learn skills in an online course, but all that develops over time and through experience that you are going to be acquiring.
Questions and Answers
Not always. Although there are some job descriptions that will apply to any bartender anywhere in the world, in other cases there will be differences such as the age at which a person is allowed to work as a bartender as well as regulations and policies about the sale of liquor and the operation of the bars and lounges.
It is not necessary, you can become an excellent bartender with only the experience that years of practice give you, however, having formal education of any kind, either in a face-to-face school or through an online course, can allow you to learn faster some techniques and skills that would take you more time to learn just by having the practice of the profession as such.
Both, the perfect combination that every bartender must have is formal education, which is what will provide you with diverse knowledge and skills and techniques such as mixing liquors and cocktails, and on the other hand, soft skills such as communication, confidence, security among others, they are essential in the development of their daily work.
As in any job or profession, the more experience in other jobs you have, the more skills you have and also the more courses or online classes you have received and the more certifications you have, logically your resume will be much more competitive and that will open you up more doors in the workplace.
Final Thoughts
Even when it is possible to learn bartending services by yourself, or with the help of experienced bartenders for hire. A bartending program is always a great idea if you want to learn the best techniques, and skills. They help to apply them properly on the job.
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