Bartender resume examples from 2025

How To Write A Bartender Resume

Choosing to bartend as a career choice is often an incredibly lucrative and enjoyable job for those who like working with people, food, and spirits. Bartenders can work at restaurants, hotels, and other food service establishments. These individuals must work well under pressure by providing quick and efficient service.

Because this career does not require formal education or credentials, it’s a popular choice for many to enter the food service industry. You have the opportunity to make money quickly and will see plenty of opportunities to move into other areas of your place of employment or within the food service industry.

Key Takeaways:

• Consider highlighting qualifications and skills first on a bartending resume, with work experience and education highlighted second.

• So long as you have enough to fill a full page, consider only including relevant work history, education, and certifications.

• Don’t be afraid to let your personality and unique qualifications shine through on a bartending resume, as much of the job is reliant on personality.

What Should be Included in a Bartender’s Resume

When crafting a resume for a bartending job, it’s important to highlight the most significant information upfront. This resume will differ from the traditional corporate resume in that most businesses looking to hire bartenders are looking for the right qualifications and relevant skills to fill the role, rather than specific work history or education.

1. Highlight your qualifications first.

   As a bartender, qualifications matter most. Be sure you include the following:

   • Experience. Include the length of time you’ve been bartending or working in the service industry. For example, 15 years of bartending experience as a server, bartender, and bar back.

   • Knowledge. Working in the service industry arms you with knowledge about cocktails, wines, and beers. Include what level of knowledge you consider yourself at — extensive, moderate, or basic.

   • Statistics. If you have insight into any statistics you may have positively affected, include them in your qualifications. Something like a 15% reduction in customer complaints or a 20% improvement in sales on weekday nights will help you stand out from the competition.

   • Training. Another important component of bartending is your ability to train others. This is especially important if you are applying for a bar manager position. If you’ve trained any bartenders, including the number of trainees and the number of years you’ve been training.

   • Culture. Additionally, any impact you’ve made on past work cultures you’ve been part of is important to include. If you fostered a supportive, encouraging, or exciting environment that impacted employee turnover, be sure to include that under qualifications.

2. List your relevant skills

   While your qualifications speak to your accomplishments and achievements, your skills are related to specific abilities. Skills are incredibly important when hiring a competent bartender, and you should consider splitting them up into sections if you have more than one you’d like to highlight. Consider including the following:

   • Empathy. One of the biggest parts of being a bartender is connecting with your customers. Someone who excels in customer service typically has empathy or the ability to understand another person’s emotions and understand their point of view. This will always come across in your service and can impact your sales and tips.

   • Self-control. Working around alcohol can be a tricky thing. You will often encounter pleasant customers, but there are times you may encounter someone who is irate or critical of your skills. Having self-control in stressful or frustrating conditions is an important trait for a bartender to be successful.

   • Attentiveness. Bartenders usually work in fast-paced, stressful environments where they are surrounded by crowds. Being attentive is important for many reasons, including the safety of you, your staff, and other customers, as well as ensuring everyone receives prompt and efficient service to keep their experience pleasant.

   • Mixology. The main part of any bartending job is your ability to understand mixology and make a good beverage. Additionally, you’ll want to be able to speak to certain types of wines, beers, and liquors. Include any memberships and any accomplishments in mixology in this section.

   • Barware knowledge. As a bartender, you should know how different drinks are made, especially when it comes to mixed beverages. Barware knowledge is an important skill, including knowledge of how and when to use shakers, jiggers, bar spoons, strainers, muddlers, juice presses, knives, peelers, and zesters.

   • Food and wine pairing knowledge. For bartenders working in environments where both food and alcohol are sold, solid knowledge of food and wine pairing is essential. This delicate process can elevate the dining experience for your patrons. This technique matches complementary flavors for your diners.

   • Sales and marketing. As a bartender, part of your job is to sell the products sitting on your shelf. If you have any sales or marketing accomplishments, such as winning a challenge, starting a marketing campaign, or implementing new initiatives to increase sales, include them in this section.

   Some other skills you may want to consider can include:

   • Beverage Orders Skills

   • Company Standards Skills

   • Menu Items Skills

   • Guest Service Skills

   • Point of Sale System Skills

   • Communication Skills

   • Cleanliness Skills

3. Include your work history

   Depending on your time in the industry, you may have both relevant and irrelevant work history. So long as you have enough to fill this section, only include relevant work history within the service industry for this part. Consider including:

   • Position and company name. Label each work experience by listing your position, followed by the company name. If the restaurant has any achievements like a Michelin star or Zagat rating, include that here.

   • Any relevant achievements. Rather than listing your job duties, list your most impressive achievements in each of these roles. If your resume is done right, your job duties will have already been communicated in the skills and qualifications sections. Whenever you can, use numbers to contextualize your accomplishments.

4. Include any relevant education and training

   If you feel so inclined, include any relevant education or training you may have gotten during your career. This can include:

   • Secondary education. If you received a degree, especially in business, business management, or customer service, it’s important to include that on your bartender resume.

   • Bartending certifications. Many bartenders attend additional schooling where they are trained in mixology and other skills. If you have obtained certification, this is the place to include it.

   • Additional languages. In many areas, being able to speak multiple languages is a huge advantage to the company’s ability to cater to all patrons. Include this in this section, if applicable.

5. Add a summary or objective statement.

   All resumes should include a summary statement. This is one to three sentences that quickly summarize who you are as a professional and what you can offer the business.

   This may include your length of time in the service industry, along with any key skills you’re hoping to highlight to the employer. A good tip is to check the job description for the skills the company is seeking.

   Example summary or objective statement for bartender resumes may look like this:

   • Bartender with seven years of experience in the service industry seeking a position at Company Name to help improve customer experience and team morale.

   • Bar Manager with over a decade of experience in the service industry seeking a position at Company Name to use mixology skills to create custom cocktails and personalized drinks to increase overall sales.

   • Bartender seeking a position with Company Name to utilize hospitality skills, attention to detail, and excellent customer service skills to improve the customer experience.

6. Format your resume properly

   All resumes, no matter which job you’re applying for, should include the following information in clear text at the top of your document.

   • Name. This should be bold at the top of your resume in legible text. Be sure to use the name you’d like to be referred to.

   • Address. Include your address so that the employer knows whether or not you are local to the restaurant.

   • Phone number or email. Depending on how you prefer to be contacted, include both your phone number and email address or just one.

Five Key Resume Tips For Writing a Bartender Resume

1. Keep it short and sweet

   It’s a good rule of thumb to try and keep your resume to one page, two at most. This is because you don’t need to include all of the details on paper. Give your potential employer the basics and follow up with additional proof and experiences when you go in for your in-person interview. Keeping things simple makes it easier for the employer to get through your resume.

   Ensuring your resume is straight to the point also demonstrates you are organized and have the ability to cut through the noise. In a fast-paced environment of a restaurant or bar, this is an important skill for a bartender. Cluttering your resume up with every detail of your work history can leave a bad first impression.

2. Highlight qualifications and skills over education and work history

   As mentioned above, qualifications and skills are the most important things bartenders bring to the table. While there is a lot of value in education and work history, they should not be front and center on a bartender’s resume. Sometimes employers only have a few minutes to skim over a resume. Consider what you want them to see first when formatting your resume.

3. Reread the job description

   A lot of times, the employer will give great insight into their initial job description. Sometimes the description can be broad, but other times, it may be very specific in what they are looking for. Choosing some skills listed in the description and including them in your resume shows the employer that you not only read the description but may fit in perfectly.

   Additionally, rereading the job description reminds you why you chose to apply for this job in the first place. It may also remind you of accomplishments or skills you may have forgotten or overlooked when writing your resume. It’s always a great idea to revisit the job description before submitting your resume.

4. Let your personality shine through

   Though customer service is one of the most important skills a bartender can bring to the table, your personality can make or break your ability to land the job. If you can, allow your uniqueness to shine through on your resume. Implementing a little light-heartedness in your descriptions could show your employer that you have a humorous attitude.

   Additionally, if the job you’re applying for is in a more formal environment, you may want to adjust your resume to read a little more formally. To that point, if you’re applying for a job at a dive bar, you may want to be a little more casual in your language.

5. Pay attention to the details

   Although a bartending job can be considered a little more casual than other jobs, it’s still important to pay attention to the little details. Always give your resume a proofread and, if possible, have a trusted colleague or peer look over it for you. Be sure your formatting looks correct, and your resume is printed on a clean piece of paper.