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I'm sure it's been hashed to death but on the topic of bartending school, I really think it's a YMMV thing. Personally, I hear a lot of people say "Bartending school is a waste of time/won't get you a job/start lower down" etc, and I feel like that is probably the case for some people and some schools. That being said, the thing that bartending school can give you is a sense of confidence behind a bar (provided you go to one that has functioning wells) and an in with most chain/bigger businesses (which you can later parlay into better venues). It's been my experience that most hiring managers and HR people know jack poo poo about bartending and so they equate "bartending school" with "masters program" or some similar poo poo and convince themselves that you're an "educated" person. In reality, this more than likely isn't the case, but if you've developed a decent sense of confidence behind a well, you can demonstrate it if you have a chance to. I'm sure there are fly-by-night, scammy bartending schools out there, and I'm sure they're an arm and a leg. They'll tell you "job placement" blah blah blah, when in reality all they're doing is compiling a list of Craigslist openings and "talking to their connections." I went to bartending school, landed a job as a banquet bartender, moved to service bartender and then ended up in front bar in under 90 days. If you have the drive, the people skills and the drink skills, sometimes you just need an in. For me it cost $399 for a 40 hour program and I would definitely do it the same all over again. The class paid for itself after 1.5 front bar shifts. -Do your research and ask questions (Do you have functioning wells? Can I sit in for part of a class? Do you have arrangements to hop behind a live bar for a night? If yes/yes/yes, it's probably a decent spot) -Check them out on Yelp/Social media (if they have 5 reviews, it's all from employees) -When interviewing, don't reference bartending school as if you learned everything. Say that you took it to gain live experience handling bottles behind a well, to increase your knowledge of popular drink recipes etc. Don't act cocky, don't act like you know it all and definitely say you're willing to be taught, etc. Bartending school might not be for everyone, but for myself I can say with certainty that it gave me an in to the industry and helped give me the practice and confidence behind a well that I thought could only come with live experience.
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Aug 21, 2012 00:40
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| # ¿ May 6, 2024 00:27 |
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leica posted:...The school was just for me personally to get my confidence where I wanted it to be in terms of just making drinks and being fast. I didn't even finish to get the "certificate" haha. Bingo, this is the main place I'm going with this. I get what everyone else is saying about the circular file and I totally believe that as it pertains to smaller, neighborhood joints, but two of the three places I've worked (Hilton Corporation and a restaurant chain in San Francisco) had hiring managers/HR divisions that weeded through resumes- not bartenders. Yes, eventually I was interviewed by bartenders, but getting through to the interview process required getting past HR first. In both instances they mentioned "bartending school" in a positive light. When I applied for my local sports bar, I left it off my resume entirely since experience trounces it dramatically. It's obviously YMMV, but I'm just putting out a success story that originated from bartending school (paired with a ton of hard work and desire to move up, of course) since it seems like everyone likes to poo poo on it.
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Aug 21, 2012 19:05
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