Lack of a social life is one of the most common complaints you will hear from 9 to 5ers all over the world. It can be hard to make friends at work, specially if your job involves sitting endless hours in front of a computer screen. Bartending is a great option for all of those yearning for a more exciting social life. The best part is you don't have to do it on a full time basis (even a couple shifts on weekends will multiply your social exposure by 10) and that unlike a hobby, you will get paid to do it.

But how exactly does bartending help you improve your social life?
Well, first of all you will be deeply involved in team work. Bartenders cannot work isolated since they heavily depend on cooperating with other co workers to make the bar run smoothly. And we are not talking only about bartenders, you will have bar backs, servers, cooks, and even DJ's and security staff, all working together to make the magic happen. Even better, most of these coworkers are attractive, outgoing people and you can't help but make friends with many of them.
Then we have the guests. You will receive both their praises and their complaints when things are not working. You are in charge of their experience and this will force you to get out of your shell and interact with them. You will be forced to hold a hundred short conversations throughout the night. You will receive compliments and proposals and you will have to learn to politely wave them off to focus on your work.  If you are shy.... well that belongs to the past because bartending will turn you into a whole new social person.

So if you are fed up of the same routine, get up your seat, sign up for our iPour Online Bartender Training and be ready in one week to get that job and start living a life you enjoy. 

Getting into bartending is not as easy as it might seem. After all, we are talking about a job that pays as much as a university degree job with less hours and much more fun. In high volume nightclubs and bars the competition for a job is fierce, since everyone is aware about how much money can be made.  
The main challenge an aspiring bartender will face is the feared "Experience Required" warning on every interview. Experience is indeed very important but you can still get a job, a great job in bartending. This is how:

1- Find a venue focused on attractive staff - The reality is being a good looking guy or girl will open many doors in the industry because managers want to increase their value of their place visually appealing to their guests. If you consider yourself as attractive go directly for a front of the house position. It is crucial that you look your best when walking in for an interview on the spot. The hiring manager must see you fitting in his venue's concept. 
2- Find a low profile bar and match its style - The perfect example is your hostel bar. Hostel bars are relaxed and non fancy since they target a more young audience such as backpackers. These kind of bars will have lower expectations and a high rotation of personal. You need at least minimum foundations (You can learn them at our iPour Online Bartender Training) but you won't likely be required anything more complicated than pouring beer and preparing basic cocktails. The key in this venues is a cool attitude that makes the manager like you and give you an opportunity
3- Don't bring up your lack of experience unless absolutely necessary and if that happens make it vague. Most aspiring bartenders make the mistake of just bringing up, out of the blue "I have no experience" Make no mistake, the hiring manager will not see this as honesty but rather as a lack of confidence. When the experience question arises just confidently reply "Well I haven't bartended in this country yet" or "I'm quite knowledgable in bartending and cocktails but I have kept it for private leisure" This will work specially better if you are out of your country since it is more complicated to double check your credentials anyway

​So now go out there and get that job! 

So you decided to travel the world?
If you are planning for a long trip, you will likely need a source of cash. Sure you can live on your savings but having an extra income stream will make your travel experience so much more comfortable. 
So, how can bartending help you pay for your trip? Easy, just master the technique to get a bartender job everywhere you travel to. This is how you do it.

1- Keep in mind that for this to work you must travel to destinations that offer a potential work. This doesn't[t mean your trip should be reduced to Las Vegas and Miami but you must at least consider staying at hostels with a bar so you can consistently have a potential job option. 
2- Master the basic bartending knowledge. Learn how to mix a cocktail, the different types of beer and how to use the most important tools such as strainers and shakers. This will make it much easier for managers to give you a shot.
3- Go apply to as many bars as necessary. Make it clear that you are only working temporarily so they won't have to go through the hassle of formally hiring you. If you are having a hard time getting hired just tell the next manager you talk with that you will not even ask for a wage, just for what you make in tips. However be careful to only do this in bars with enough volume of guests or you will finish your night without a cent. Also always demand payment in cash at the end of the night, you are vulnerable working informally so you must protect yourself from being exploited by an abusive employer. 

It might be hard in the beginning but the more bartending experience you get under your belt the easier it will become.

Ask your favourite bartender why he is bartending and his response 99% of times will be: "for the money"

After hearing this you may be asking yourself: How much can you actually make in bartending that so many young people are doing it? Well, first, bartending is a merit-based job; you work hard and smart and you get rewarded accordingly. Bartending doesn´t require a PhD or 10 years of experience to pay handomely for your work. So how much can you make in bartending?

The answer of course variates according to where you live, which kind of venue you work at and many more factors, but in decent bars and nightclubs in medium and large cities a bartender can expect to bring home an average $800 dollars working 3 - 4 shifts per night. Pretty sweet for a part time career huh?
However, in the big leagues everything changes; bartenders and servers  at top locations can make tips that fall in the thousands of dollars per week level. In 2013 Jay Z left an eye popping $50k tip for the staff at the nightclub where he spent $250 on the Premiere Party of his movie. Bartenders all over the world, from Dubai to London will share stories of $1500 dollars tips from just one client. So the answer is that bartending offers an unlimited financial potential for those who focus on getting behind the bar at venues where top level guests gather but it also offers an attractive cash flow for bartenders in middle level positions. 

So now, decide how much you want to make from bartending, get the training you need at our iPour Online Bartender Training and get that job now!

Getting a job is not an easy task, getting a job over the phone is an even more complicated mission, but getting a bartending job on just one phone call falls in the category of mind blowing. However, this is what one of our graduates did last year when he moved to Australia for a gap year and decided she couldn't afford to be jobless for too long so she applied from home in the UK.

When Hannah decided to move to Australia on Working Holiday, a very popular program among British students that want to work in Australia for a season, she figured she wanted something more exciting and better paid than working as a demonstrator or Au Pair. Luckily for her, a friend just returning from Australia told her how she had worked for six months as a bartender in Melbourne, making enough money to travel throughout Australia and South East Asia for another six months without having to work anymore. 

Hannah got into action and after finding the iPour Online Bartender Course & then doing a couple practice shifts at a local pub she learn the basics she needed to confidently ask for a job overseas. However, unlike everyone else she figured she was gonna use her intelligence and try to get that job before even landing in Australia. How she did it? Read it from Hannah herself

"First thing I did was get enough insider knowledge to comfortably ask for an opportunity. Two months before departing for Australia I wrote down a list of a 100 bars, pubs and nightclubs in Sidney I found online and their contact info. Next I started contacting them, sending an email with a brief explanation of who I was, a great photo of me behind the bar and a pitch on how I could help them attract a bunch of other exchange guys as clients. Then, and I think this is what made the difference, I called each and every bar I had mailed. I made it sound very important saying it was a business call from the UK. I actually think most of them took the call thinking it was some kind of business proposal, but it worked and they picked up the phone. Many hadn't even opened my email but I still pitched them on how much business I could bring to their venues and how I could perform at a variety of roles, from server to bartender. Most managers replied they were interested but that couldn't really hire me until I landed and met them in person. I had almost accepted the idea of waiting until I landed when on one the last calls, a guy kept on the phone longer than the others and finally asked the golden question "When will you be here and when can you begin" It turned out he was both short of staff for the upcoming Australian summer season and impressed by my determination to call from so far. I spent like 50 dollars in Skype credit for the phone calls and had to wake up in the middle of the night for like a month to make the calls but it was absolutely worth it. I made more than $25k in my six months working at this club and unlike most of my Working Holiday classmates, I didn't have to spend weeks walking up and down Sidney looking for a job. Best yet, I learn the immense power of a phone if you persist enough"

There you are, it was long but it definitely is worth a read. Now you know it's possible, get the training you need and get the job!

Meet Leah,
Leah is currently on her last year at Law School in Canada and she faced an increasingly common situation among students in North America: a growing student debt.
Speaking with a friend who had returned from a summer bartending in a cruiser across the Caribbean making more than $25,000, she decided to give bartending a shot. Now she is making an approximate $1,000 per week working only from Thursday to Saturday in one of the most popular venues in town. This is how she does it:

Q: Leah, many of our students would love to know how you got to the point where you can consistently live on bartending? Did you have contacts in the industry? Did you attend a gastronomy school?
L: Well, what made the difference was learning the foundations. I was attending Law School already so I had to take a Bartending Course every Sunday for 5 weeks. However this was invaluable since it shorted my learning curve so much! I found out that no matter how much experience you have, you will always have to undergo training when you enter a new venue, to learn their particular system of work, however, there are skills like free pouring, cocktail making and speed serving that are crucial. If you have those, everything else will come pretty easy and your bosses will notice and trust you with the busier shifts, which is where the big money is. 

Q: Interesting! And how did you work your way into the bar that you are currently working at?
Well, once you have the basic skills to bartend anywhere you need to get a place that will give you that first opportunity. In my case I figured that if I was gonna be turned down for my lack of experience I preferred to be said no by a manager at a top nightclub than by a shady pub owner. Fortunately I was lucky enough to run into an intelligent manager who was impressed by the research I had made into their entertainment offer and clientele. I told him I could appeal to the type of guest they were looking for and I got my opportunity. The fact I had previous training helped me absorb what they taught me 10x faster and I was given an opportunity at the bar just a month later. 

Thanks for your infield tips Leah! Looking forward hearing from you in a future. 

1- How long have you been bartending? I have bartended/served as a part time job during college, however this will be my first time bartending professionally full time. 
2- Have you bartended before?: Not in a venue like yours / Not on a full time basis 
3- Do you have a recommendation? Not in the industry but my ability is my best credential, give me a shot behind the bar and I'll make your bar work faster and smoother. 
​4- Why you want to work here? It feels like a place where I can make a good amount of money if I work hard. You win I win
5 -How do you cut someone off? I'd discretely communicate with other bartenders to make sure that guest isn't served more alcohol. Should that fail I'd appeal to their friends and finally I would politely but firmly refuse to serve that guest and would request the assistance of management or security if necessary.