The career of bartending is just not to work in a bar. The varied career opportunities and places you can work in the bartending industry.
Bartending goes beyond just serving drinks to patrons, and like any other job, hard work, creativity, personality, and responsibility are key qualities that a bartender needs to be successful. Successful bartenders must be able to memorize hundreds of cocktail recipes, have unique knowledge to create their own cocktails, possess the skills to establish rapport with multiple customers and at the same time be able to keep an eye on the activities going on in the bar – keeping the bar organized, clean and adequately stocked for business. Does all of these not look like too much work for one person already? Oh well! Yes, it is so much work, and the beauty of the job that many people do not know is that a bartender does not have to continue to be a bartender forever. A bartending job could be open doors to varying opportunities for someone who knows their job well and are willing to put in the efforts.
Working as a bartender has its challenges, and these challenges cannot be overlooked. On some days, work gets incredibly hectic, and there are days that the job gets rewarding and enjoyable but overall, working as a bartender is one of the fun, enjoyable and rewarding jobs. However, a bartender job seems to have one or all of the following statements and questions hovering around it. Imagine telling someone you are a bartender and the next thing the person asks you is one of the following questions;
- What is your real job?
- You must be in college then, what are you studying?
- So, what is your life plan career-wise?
- How many jobs do you hold?
- But you cannot do this as a career, can you?
Getting questions like these after telling someone what you already do can sure get you irritated and annoyed at the same time. But putting those feeling aside, most of those who would ask you such questions do not mean it as an insult. They may just be ignorant about the intricacies of being a bartender and would want to make further conversations about your career life. But truly, wouldn’t we rather talk about the weather instead of making the job look like it is not a serious job?
BARTENDING GOES BEYOND SERVING DRINKS.
The thing that a lot of people do not know is that bartending can be a lucrative job as it requires a great deal of physical and mental skills. A bartender serves as the customer service representative, the salesman, the stock manager, quality control officer, the cashier, and the company’s representative. As a bartender, you have first contact with the clientele, and you have to interact with them as the clientele changes and increases. You will meet new people daily, and you are obligated to create a relationship with them and make them want to come back some other time. If you are in charge of cocktail, you must know a lot of drinks which could be over a hundred cocktails.
Also, factor in the knowledge, creativity, and decisiveness required to help those who cannot decide on what to drink. You will find yourself being asked a lot of times to make “something nice” and the onus lies on you to deliver just that – something nice.
We believe strongly that anybody who thinks or believes that bartending is not a real job should spend a week behind a bar and see what it is all about. Now, we have been about showing that bartending is a real job thus far in this article; do you know that you do not have to stop at being just a bartender? There are lots of career opportunities for you in the bartending industry which will suit the narratives that people prefer, and you might want to check those out below;
- Brand Sales Representative
A brand sale representative works directly with producers of liquor ranging such as wineries, breweries, and distilleries. As a brand sales representative, you work with the company producing drinks to ensure that their products are adequately supplied and delivered to bars, restaurants and liquor stores. You also have to ensure that the company’s brand is well-represented at places where people will have a drink or two. You also get to work with the wholesalers, promoting the products and organizing beer tasting and bartender education.
You also may need to keep an eye out for new opportunities for marketing purposes and coming up with more effective distribution strategies. To be a brand sales representative you need to have between one and three years of experience in the food and beverage industry, a certificate from a bartending school, excellent communication skills, and a great personality.
- Cocktail Expert/Career
If you are more inclined towards becoming an entrepreneur, you can establish your own business as a cocktail caterer. Similar to a food caterer, you get hired at events and parties to provide cocktail for the guests. Depending on the event, you may have to set up a simple wine and beer bar, a complete cocktail bar or create special signature drinks for the event.
- General Manager
After acquiring all the bartending education that you need to excel as a bartender, you could be in a well-qualified position to become the general manager of a restaurant or bar. Your job description will include overseeing all operations in the bar or restaurant such as staff hiring, setting standards for products, determining prices and managing the general operations. As a successful manager, you have to be an excellent communicator, a customer-centric person, a decisive person and someone all members of staff can look up to. You should also be versed in accounting, budgeting, inventory processes and doing the books.
- Liquor Sales Representative
A liquor sales representative works directly for liquor distributors and is assigned a location where he/she will make sure that all the bars and restaurants in that area get supplied with drinks. These distributors already have their client portfolios which include breweries and wineries. Your job is to make sure their products get to the bars and restaurants in the locations you are assigned. You need some years of experience in liquor sales to qualify for this position.
- Liquor and Wine Merchandiser
As a merchandiser, you work with liquor distributors to make sure the products from the distributors are displayed as they should, the various brands are positively represented, and the inventory levels are up-to-date. You do not require formal education for this position but an experience in the liquor industry but attending a bartending school can give you an upper hand.