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Archive for Metro’s Bartending Advice

Would You Make a Good Bartender?

If you’re interested in taking bartending lessons from our school, learning the craft of bartending, and you like people, then you probably already have the ambition and positive attitude needed to succeed.

One Secret of Becoming a Bartender

There is a little secret that veteran bartenders all know: Being a great bartender isn’t as much about knowing drinks as it is being a good host. In other words, it’s a profession that requires you to like people and be a good listener. If you can manage that, then the rest is likely to come to you easily.

Good Bartenders are Good Professionals

Another trait that good bartenders have is that they remain professional at all times. To think of this another way, you should treat your employer with the same kind of courtesy and respect you would a guest that might tip you. Showing up on time for work, in clean clothes and with the right attitude, is something that sets you apart from other employees and makes managers want to keep you around.

Great Bartenders Enjoy Their Work

As with any job, bartending becomes easier if you make a point of enjoying what you do. There in no better way to make good money in a fun, fast-paced environment than a good bartending position. If you’re the kind of person who can put on a positive attitude and make everyone around you feel a bit brighter, you’re going to enjoy your day a lot more – and be a much more successful bartender as a result.

You could be working as a bartender, and earning daily cash tips, within two weeks or less. Click here to see our prices & upcoming schedule of bartending classes

3 Myths About Bartending Schools and Bartending Classes

 

Although we meet with hundreds of new students every year, we also find that a lot of people who would sign up for bartending classes don’t do so because they hold on to misconceptions about becoming a bartender. Here are three that we encounter frequently, and the actual truth behind them:

Myth #1: You Have to be a Young Person to Become a Bartender

At our bartending school, we teach students of all ages and backgrounds how to be successful professionals. Just as some types of establishments (like nightclubs) prefer younger bartenders, there are others where the atmosphere and clientele make it easier for an older person to fit in. As with any job or career, getting a job as a bartender is all about finding the right fit.

Myth #2: You Have to Remember Hundreds of Drinks to be a Bartender

Unless you start working in a specialty establishment that focuses on cocktails, the number of drinks you’ll have to prepare and remember on a day-to-day basis is typically pretty small. By the time you finish with our bartending school, you’ll know everything you need to make 99% of the drinks you’re ever asked for. The others you’ll learn on the job, or you can find in simple guidebooks you can keep behind the bar.

Myth #3: It’s Hard to Get a Bartending Job

When it comes to finding work as a bartender, all you need is the right training, the right attitude, and a little bit of luck to meet someone who’s hiring at the right moment. We can help you find all three. After completing our class, our students have the skills they need to find & get hired at a great bartending job. Our students have a very high success rate in finding work after the course.

If you’re looking for the country’s best bartending school to help you get started in an exciting new career, then call us today to register for an upcoming class. Or, you can click here to see our course schedule.


 

What Kinds of People Become Bartenders?

There is a common misconception that only young people who enjoy mixed drinks and cocktails should become bartenders. While we certainly do see students who fit that profile, the reality is that lots of different types of people choose to become bartenders on a full- or part-time basis.

And why not? It’s a career that offers daily cash pay, a flexible schedule, and the opportunity to take your career in a direction you choose. That mix of benefits draws a lot of different types of people to our bartending school, including:

Students. College students love bartending because it’s something they can do seasonally while working in a fun, entertaining atmosphere. Plus, the wages and tips they make can go a long way toward paying for tuition and books.

Part-time professionals and self-employed people. Not only does bartending help already-employed professionals and freelancers to even out their cash flow, but it also gives them a chance to socialize with customers and coworkers – something that’s missing from a lot of jobs these days.

Retirees. In the same way, retirees may decide to get out of the house, earn a bit of extra cash, and have some fun by mixing drinks at their local pub or golf course. It’s hard to think of a better way to stay active for a few days or nights a week.

Anyone looking for an in-demand career path. Bartending has been around for a long, long time, and won’t be going out of style anytime soon. If you can take a short amount of time to learn your craft at a bartending school like ours, you will likely find that restaurants, hotels, and other types of establishments are always hiring. In other words, you can keep bartending for as long as you’d like if you’re good at it.

Want to learn at the country’s premier bartending school? Call us today to register for an upcoming course, or click here to see the schedule and description of classes.


 

Skills based resume, how to use it for the hospitality industry…

 

Here at Metropolitan, we offer our graduates one on one resume coaching, and as of late we are noticing students asking one particular question: “How do I write my resume so it deflects from the gaps and multiple job history”.

Whether you’re starting out in the hospitality industry or re-entrying, a resume format you might consider is the skills based style.  This is especially attractive if you have had gaps in your employment history or varied positions.

There are advantages and disadvantages to this style therefore, take a look at the pros and cons below to see if this works for you.

Happy tending!!

advantages:

  1. If you want to emphasize abilities and achievements that have not been used in your most recent job(s).
  2. If you are changing career direction.
  3. If you have had a large number of jobs and you would prefer to describe the experience you have gained in total.
  4. If you want to include voluntary/unpaid experience.
  5. If your work history has been patchy in recent years, either through unemployment, redundancy, self-employment, ill health, etc.
  6. If you have several completely different job targets and you need a resume for each.

disadvantages:

  1. If you want to highlight promotions/career growth – you could include this sort of information on the second page of your resume, but it would not be as prominent as on a performance resume.
  2. If your most recent employer is highly prestigious, because their name will not be prominently displayed on the first page. You can get round this by putting their name in both the profile and cover letter.
  3. Unusual resume format – may not be liked by everyone.

Template

Jenny C Citizen
6/710 Main Road
Mytown NSW 2909

Telephone: 02 555 5575
Facsimile: 02 555 5555 for messages only
E-mail: careers@careersonline.com.au
Personal home page: http://www.careersonline.com.au

 


CAREER OBJECTIVE

Include a short statement about what position you are applying for

Summary Of Qualifications

List the four or five of your top skills

• Create a bulleted list

• Choose skills that connect most closely to the job you are applying for

Skills Related to the Job Goal

• List up to three skills that you want to emphasize that relate to the job you are applying for.

For each one find examples of the following:

Any accomplishments you achieved while using this skill through a training program, work experience, or through volunteering

Any responsibility you had in a previous job or volunteer activity that required you to use this skill

Any special features you want to emphasize about your ability to use this skill

Any awards or certificates you received that relate to this skill

PROFESSIONAL SKILLS

(Organize by highlighted skill: Guest services, Organizational etc..)

List up to three jobs and include the following for each one:

Dates employed with most recent first

Job title

Name of organization and location

Skill descriptions (What you did at the job & how you added to the company’s success)

EDUCATION

List any post secondary training program, the date it was completed and name and location of the organization providing the training.

REFERENCES

For any references you list, include correct name, name of the organization that the person works for, and his/her contact information such as full telephone number, any extension, and an e-mail address.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eat Vancouver – Food & Cooking Festival

EAT! Vancouver is Canada’s largest consumer food, beverage and cooking festival taking place at the new Vancouver convention Centre, West Wing, Vancouver, BC on June 10-12, 2011. The food show features hundreds of food, beverage and kitchen goods exhibitors along with wineries, breweries, restaurants, cooking demonstrations, wine and cheese seminars, cookbook authors, and chef competitions.

Beer, wine and spirits will be well represented in the Tasting Pavilion where you can sip and taste hundreds of different beverages. Also, Mott’s Clamato Juice will be conducting their Mott’s Caesar School where you can participate in learning h0w to make the perfect caesar.

While visiting EAT! Vancouver, you will…

Discover new food + beverage products +cooking ingredients
Taste hundreds of  food and beverage from hundreds of exhibitors
Shop & buy hard to find food +cooking related products.
Learn new methods of cooking from the experts
Watch Food Network celebrity chefs showcase their talents on stage
Learn cuisines of foreign lands in the World Culinary Tourism Expo
Enjoy tasting the offerings of restaurants and wineries +breweries
Find new foods + treats for your pets in the Pets EAT! Too Pavilion
Make your own healthy choices in the Wellness Pavilion
Discover appreciation for cheese at Dairy Farmer’s Cheese Seminars
Talk with food producers, growers, vintners and brewers
Improve wine + beer appreciation in Grapes & Hops Seminar area.

For more information or to buy tickets visit the Eat! Vancouver Website…

http://www.eat-vancouver.com/index.html

 

Why great customer service is the ONLY way to go!

Here at Metropolitan, we can never talk enough about the importance of guest service/customer service.  Our instructors (Luch, Chad, & Geoff) all agree that  it is a paramount skill that is too often looked over by industry staff.  So, read on how just a couple of tips can help with your success as a bartender.

 

1. Get to know your guests –

Getting to know your guests is vital, as you want them to have the best possible experience while sitting at your bar as possible.  Ask questions, find out who they are, what they do, what are their interests, and of course what they like to drink!  Knowing just a few of these things shows interest (cause its all about me!) in your guest and makes them feel good that they chose your bar to be in.  Also, if you have repeat guests, its an important factor to REMEMBER what they drink and who they are!  There is nothing worse then a guest coming into the bar for the second time, bringing new friends and them saying “This place is great they really get to know you here.” and you the bartender saying “Who are you again?” Ah, no tip for you and that will probably the last time you see that guest!  Just saying….

2. Make suggestions (offer samples when you can) –

We cannot stress this enough…. making suggestions can turn into upselling and is a win win situation for everyone!  Your guest asks for a vodka martini, you say “Would you like to try it with (add what your premium vodka name)”, or you since you know the guest really like mangos offer a cocktail that has mangos, and provide them a sample to try.  The next thing you know… you have sold a few mango delights and made your guest beam with delight as you remembered their favorite fruit!  Really easy!!!

And to really make the point, here are some great quotes to remember!

Do what you do so well that they will
want to see it again and bring their friends.

WALT DISNEY

If we don’t take care of our customers, someone else will.
UNKNOWN

If you make customers unhappy on the Internet, they can each tell 6,000 friends.
JEFF BEZOS

Customers don’t expect you to be perfect.
They do expect you to fix things when they go wrong.

DONALD PORTER

Give trust, and you’ll get it double in return
KEES KAMIES

The quality of our work depends on the quality of our people.
UNKNOWN

Happy Tending!!!

Tools of the trade: What you need to know.

Every good bartender knows that keeping tools of the trade clean, close by and in working order, is what gives them the fluidity to do their job.

Keeping tools clean is important as there is no “5 second” rule if it lands on the floor.  Your guests want to see that they are in a clean establishment while enjoying cocktails, not worrying if they will be drinking from a dirty glass.

Then, keeping your tools close by and in working order is essential, as you  can lose momentum and fall behind fast on a busy night, if your tools are not working properly.

And finally, It is equally important to always use your own tools like a wine crank or bottle opener, as you will get used to the “feel” of your tools and this can make your job fast and easy.

Happy tending!

Why having a good attitude is the key to being a great bartender.

Having a good attitude is the most important key to success when bartending.

Being a people person is essential, as is being able to read and respond to a guest’s mood. No matter how the guest is feeling, you will have the ability to make them feel  welcomed and comfortable.

Having an outgoing personality is a great asset, along with a positive attitude. No matter what mood you might be in or what is going on in your personal life, once you step behind the bar, you are on stage and have to perform. If you cannot get out of your funk, switch your shift! A negative attitude will make for a long shift and an irritable time for you and your guests.

Attitude, communication, and entertainment are the best skills you as a bartender can have. So, having a good attitude while bartending, will give you the ability to balance guests, servers, orders, other bartenders and provide service with a smile.  In turn, this will make everyone feel as if you have taken good care of them during their time at your bar.

 

Today’s Tip: Keeping Your Bar Clean….

Metropolitan’s own instructor extraordinaire Luch Balao, offers tips to excel your bartending skills and stand out as a professional!

Keeping your bar clean and organized is essential to running efficiently and if your bar is wet and unorganized, not only will drinks take you longer to make, you’re going to look messy while you are making them. Put bottles back where you got them from as soon as you are done using them. Wipe your bar down frequently: You’ve got a cloth for a reason, use it and keep that place looking as sexy as you are!

” I don’t care what your room looks like a home, but keep your bar clean!”

Clean bar = fast bar

 

When looking for a bartending position there are some important factors that will get you the job or not.

–       Narrow the job search to the place/environment you want to work in.  There is nothing worst then being somewhere you do not like. There is a place for everyone.

–       Tailor your resume to each particular position and company; show that you have common interests with the company. For example, if it’s a sports bar, then you’ll need to know all there is to know about sports, and you keep up on the current events in the sports world.

–       Then, when you find the place you want to work, DO the homework.  Research the company, study the menu, talk to the people that work there, ask a lot of questions, so when you get into the interview and are asked why you want to join the company, you’ll know!

–       Once you have secured the interview, this is your time to shine!!  Look the part. You have done the research, therefore you know what the staff is like, so if the men are clean-shaven, then it would be in your best interest to do the same, this is all part in selling yourself.

–       Always have something to say, and ask questions!  This shows you have interest in the company and their vision.

–       Make sure you know your sales from previous job; this will show your ambition to up sell products and promotions.

–       Smile and don’t forget get to think before you speak. It’s a lot of pressure being in an interview, However if you plan, and think about how you are going to answer the questions, this will show the employer that you can organize your thoughts under pressure, shows self confidence and will set you apart from your competition.

And remember that all metropolitan students are eligible to use our resume coaching session, and participate in the course refresher program. Your success is our success!

Good Luck!