Bartender CV Examples, Skills and Writing Guide

A sparkling bartender CV, coming right up. If you feel like you’ve been standing on the wrong side of the bar for too long, and nobody is taking your order, don’t worry. Maybe it’s the wrong ingredients, maybe it’s the wrong presentation. Either way, we’re going to be mixing a bar staff CV that packs a bigger punch than moonshine from under the counter, and topped off with a few cherries, and a sugar rim.

With this guide, you’ll find out exactly which ingredients to add, and how to serve them. We will show you a bartender CV example you can copy, adjust and use and how to list skills on a CV for a bartender to get noticed.

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Looking for other CV examples? See our guides for:

• Barista CV
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• Chef CV
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• Restaurant Manager CV
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Bartender CV Example

Writing your first CV? Here's how to write a CV for bartenders specifically:

1. Write a bartender CV personal statement like a pro

What stirs your imagination better? The following:

“Gin, peach liqueur, Select 1920, rose & cherry blossom liqueur.”

Or:

“A vivid cherry blossom-infused gin, sweetened with a dash of peach liqueur, balanced with a drop of rooty Select 1920, and rounded off with a rose & cherry blossom liqueur.”

The latter might not stir the imagination, it might just shake it. If you notice, the latter describes how the different ingredients work together in synergy. Your CV personal statement should do something of the sort. That what can make your bartending CV shine. 

In your CV summary, focus on your key achievements and results you can produce for your new employer. Right away, give them a strong argument that you know what you’re talking about, and that you think not only about the experience, but also about the results of the establishment. 

Bartender CV personal statement example

A strong CV summary will convince the recruiter you’re the perfect candidate. Save time and choose a ready-made personal statement written by career experts and adjust it to your needs in the LiveCareer CV builder.

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2. Craft job description on your CV for bartender

What else should you include in a CV? If the personal statement was your crown jewel cocktail, your bar staff CV work experience section should show some depth and variety. Focus on the sales and customer service side as much as you do on the drinks—after all, the bottom line is the most important thing for any business.

Read the job posting carefully and find their most important requirements, the tone, the vibe, and refer to them in each point of your job description. Don’t rattle off a useless list of duties. While working on your bartender CV, focus on achievements and the impact you make. 

For your most recent position, list 3 to 7 bullet points, going down in order of importance. Record your positions in the following manner:

[Job Title]

[Employer Name, Location]

[Dates of Employment]

For less recent positions, limit the bullet points, 3 being maximum. Don’t repeat bullet points between positions.

No previous work experience? See a CV template for no experience.

Work experience section in a bartender CV 

3. List your relevant bartender CV skills

On a bartender CV, your work experience and skills are more important than any formal education you might have, so feel free to move the education section down the page. 

However tempting it might be to list your spoon flair here, focus on the keywords that you find in the job posting. Also think about some extra skills that you bring to the bar that most candidates will not. Aim at a mix of hard and soft skills. 

Bartender CV skills section

4. Pour an additional section on your bartender CV

There are several things that are still more useful than formal education on a bartending CV: certifications, memberships and languages. 

Most bartender CVs can benefit from rounding out with some additional sections, like languages or volunteering. Something that shows extra initiative, skills, and multi-tasking, but not boring irrelevant hobbies. 82% of managers would rather hire someone with volunteering experience. 

Have you got any bartending or mixology certifications? City and Guilds offer Level 1 and Level 2 Bartending courses that will get you started.

Bartender CV example additional sections

5. Include an education section in your bar staff CV

As mentioned before, your education section is low in importance on your bartender CV, and can be relegated below your skills section. 

Keep your education section short and sweet like a butter beer:

Bartender CV education section

6. Attach a bartender cover letter to go with your CV

Your bartender CV without a cover letter is like gin without the tonic. Dry. It’s something a lot of people will not pay a lot of attention to, while you stir and shake up another convincing concoction. 

So in the first cover letter paragraph, hook them in with your unique selling point. Demonstrate the wealth of your experience and your most key achievements in the body of the letter, or highlight transferable skills you have if you are sending a bartender CV with no experience. Customer service is one.

In the last paragraph of your cover letter for bar work, set out exactly what you’re going to bring to the table for them, and end it with a confident request for an interview. 

Use a simple template and be concise. In general, cover letters should be one page long and divided into three to four paragraphs.

7. Keep your bartender CV clean and tidy

Less is more, you know this. A neat sugar rim, perhaps a cherry on top. But keep it simple. Make sure everything is neat (terrible pun!) by observing these simple CV format rules:

• Pick a readable, elegant CV font. Didot is a rare one nobody else will use.
• Set bold headings for each section, and space the sections to create a CV structure you can skim-read.
• If not asked to save in a .doc, save your bartender CV in a PDF format.
• When it comes to the right CV length, a one-page bar staff CV is preferable. 
• If you're going to use a free CV template, make sure it is ATS-friendly. Be aware that best CV templates don't contain infographics.

Keep track of all your applications in a spreadsheet and give them a follow-up call in two weeks if you hear nothing. Sometimes, things just get lost.

And that's it! Now you know what a CV should look like.

You don’t have to be a CV writing expert. In the LiveCareer CV builder you’ll find ready-made content for every industry and position, which you can then add with a single click.

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Did we answer all your questions on how to write a bartender CV? Got any job hunting tips and tricks you’d like to share? Did you find our bartender CV example useful? Use the comments section below. I’m looking forward to hearing from you.

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Our editorial team has reviewed this article for compliance with Livecareer’s editorial guidelines. It’s to ensure that our expert advice and recommendations are consistent across all our career guides and align with current CV and cover letter writing standards and trends. We’re trusted by over 10 million job seekers, supporting them on their way to finding their dream job. Each article is preceded by research and scrutiny to ensure our content responds to current market trends and demand.