How To Write a Bartender Server Resume
Your bartender server resume should demonstrate your ability to handle high-volume shifts and your knowledge of beer, wine, and spirits. Also, share how you promote a hospitable dining environment for guests. Review our list of tips, including examples, that can help you level up your resume.
- Entry-Level
- Mid-Career
- Senior-Level
1. Write a dynamic profile summarizing your bartender server qualifications
In a brief paragraph at the top of your resume, catch hiring managers’ interest by giving the key reasons you’ll excel as their next bartender server. For example, you might emphasize how you can mix inventive cocktails for customers in a fast-paced environment. Or, if they seek someone who can train new hires, cite any related leadership experience you have. If you continually streamline processes to help improve server efficiency, showcase this in your profile as well.
Senior-Level Profile Example
Bartender/Server with 7 years of experience. Recent demonstrated success in a training and coaching role. Skilled in helping managers set strategies for improved profit, efficiency, and service quality. Promote a safe, secure, and pleasant environment for both coworkers and customers.
Entry-Level Profile Example
Bartender/Server with 3 years of experience. Committed to surpassing customer expectations for service efficiency and quality. Fast learner who quickly adapts to new work systems and food and beverage menus. Well-versed in local and state alcohol laws.
2. Add an accomplishment-driven professional bartender experience section
Hospitality companies are interested in results and how you bring value to the dining experience. As a bartender server, you must be well-versed in local and state alcohol laws, along with server protocol. Your resume should demonstrate the value of these contributions by incorporating relevant sales figures, percentages, or other metrics. For example, you may highlight that you provided top-quality service at all points, helping a restaurant earn 20% higher average online ratings in four months.
Also consider describing your success working with colleagues from all aspects of a hospitality business. For instance, you could mention how you coordinated with chefs to create drinks that complemented a seasonal menu, worked with managers to predict necessary inventory for vendor orders, or trained the server staff.
Senior-Level Professional Experience Example
Bartender/Server, KNT Restaurant, San Diego, CA | August 2015 to Present
- Collaborate on a 12-person team to provide top-quality food and beverage service at this upscale bar-restaurant
- Recently moved into a leadership role training and coaching new hires
- Open, calculate, and close bar tabs as needed
- Identified new standard procedures that raised payment processing efficiency by 9%
- Provided top-quality service at all points, helping restaurant earn 20% higher average online ratings in 4 months
Entry-Level Professional Experience Example
Bartender/Server, GWR Restaurant, Boston, MA | August 2019 to Present
- Take and prepare food and drink orders for customers of this hotel bar-restaurant
- Welcome guests and provide food and drink menus
- Collaborate with barbacks and other team members to keep facility clean, organized, and well stocked
- Process customer payments quickly and accurately
3. List any education and certifications relevant to bartenders
While most employers are more interested in your bartending and service experience, obtaining additional credentials shows a commitment to advancing your career and staying sharp. For example, earning a state certification for responsible alcohol services illustrates your professionalism and can help you gain hiring managers’ trust in your abilities.
The below templates and examples will help you format these details on your resume.
Education
Template
- [Degree Name]
- [School Name], [City, State Abbreviation] | [Graduation Year]
Example
- Associate Degree, Hospitality Management
- Philadelphia Community College, Philadelphia, PA | 2020
Certifications
Template
- [Certification Name], [Awarding Organization], [Completion Year]
Example
- AACEA Massachusetts Alcohol Server Training, America’s Alcohol Certified Education Association, 2021
4. List key bartender skills and proficiencies
Add a key skills section to show the various ways you can add value as a bartender server. Include your relevant soft skills, like team collaboration, and your hard skills, such as drink order preparation, food safety, and cash handling. Below are key terms and skills to consider for this part of your resume:
| Key Skills and Proficiencies | |
|---|---|
| Cash handling | Conflict resolution |
| Customer service and satisfaction | Drink order preparation |
| Efficiency improvement | Food and beverage service |
| Food and wine pairing | Food safety and sanitation |
| Inventory monitoring | Menu memorization |
| Mixology | Payment processing |
| Personnel training | Point-of-sale (POS) systems |
| Process improvement | Task prioritization |
| Team collaboration | Time management |
| Work area maintenance | Workplace safety and security |
5. Emphasize your customer service and ability to collaborate
Bartender servers’ responsibilities extend beyond mixing drinks and waiting on tables. While it is helpful to emphasize these work areas on your resume, showing hospitality managers your collaboration and customer service skills is also important. Creating an outstanding customer experience — building relationships with guests — is a key role bartender servers play. Illustrate your ability to serve multiple customers efficiently. Also, show your ability to collaborate on a bartending and server team or coordinate with managers to create seasonal cocktails.
6. Add pertinent business skills
As a bartender server, you’ll handle cash, process payments, and potentially organize vendor orders for supplies. Your resume should include relevant business skills and experience to illustrate your professional experience beyond bartending and serving tasks.
How To Pick the Best Bartender Server Resume Template
When selecting your template, prioritize clarity and simplicity. Using too many colors or oversized graphics can distract a hiring manager from what matters most: your skills and professional experience. Ideally, use a resume template that effectively organizes information in a clean, readable way. Hiring managers are always more interested in what your resume contains vs. the template style.
Bartender Server Text-Only Resume Templates and Examples
- Entry-Level
- Mid-Career
- Senior-Level
Selena Ramirez
123 Santa Maria, San Francisco, CA 12345 | (123) 456-7890 | [email protected]
Profile
Enthusiastic Bartender/Server with 5 years of experience. Continually streamline processes to help improve service efficiency and quality. Committed to ongoing education about customer service principles and hospitality trends.
Work Experience
Bartender/Server, MNK Bar, San Francisco, CA | August 2017 to Present
- Serve various food and beverage orders to customers
- Distribute food and drink menus to customers and answer any questions about order options or daily specials
- Maintain a clean and orderly work area at all times
- Closely follow all food safety and sanitation guidelines
Hostess, TRE Restaurant, San Francisco, CA | June 2016 to July 2017
- Gained strong foundation in customer service, welcoming and seating guests at this upscale restaurant
Education
Associate Degree – Hospitality
City College of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Key Skills
- Customer Service & Satisfaction
- Food & Beverage Service
- Food Safety & Sanitation
- Process Improvement
- Time Management
- Work Area Maintenance
Frequently Asked Questions: Bartender Server Resume Examples and Advice
What are common action verbs for bartender server resumes?-
Action verbs help hiring managers visualize your contributions, but it’s easy to run short on action verbs during the resume-building process. Differentiating your word choice can enhance the quality of your bullet points and eliminate redundancy.
Try these action verbs to craft your professional experience section:
| Action Verbs | |
|---|---|
| Adapt | Assist |
| Check | Clean |
| Collaborate | Collect |
| Coordinate | Create |
| Customize | Deliver |
| Engage | Enhance |
| Ensure | Fill |
| Greet | Improve |
| Inform | Introduce |
| Measure | Memorize |
| Mix | Monitor |
| Offer | Order |
| Pour | Prepare |
| Prioritize | Process |
| Promote | Recommend |
| Refill | Resolve |
| Return | Serve |
| Suggest | Take |
| Upsell | |
How do you align your resume with a bartender server job posting?-
The Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts that jobs for food and beverage serving and related workers will increase by about 2% between 2022 and 2032.
You can get more interviews in this field if you tailor your resume for each application. One great way to do this is by adding brief descriptions of the dining places you’ve worked in [brackets] right next to or below the restaurant name. Restaurant descriptions let you show any similarities between your past employers and the one who posted the job. For example, maybe you’ve worked for restaurants of a similar size or cuisine. Or perhaps you’ve worked at organizations with a similar business model or service philosophy. By adding these details to your descriptions, you can make your resume more relevant to the job opening at hand.
What is the best bartender server resume format?-
Combination format is ideal for bartender server resumes. True to its name, this format combines two important features of other resume formats: the chronological format’s experience section and the functional format’s profile section. (The resume examples on this page all use combination format.)
Even at the entry level, it’s usually best to avoid the functional resume format. If you lack experience as a bartender server, describe any other service roles you’ve held in different industries that illustrate your ability to communicate, process transactions, and fulfill customer requests.
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Crafting a strong cover letter helps your chances of landing an interview during a job search. The key to creating a compelling cover letter is to customize your document for the organization you’re applying to. Read our bartender cover letter guide to learn how. For other related cover letter examples, see our server and restaurant manager cover letter guides.
