Mark’s Resume – Sort Of
If you’re interested, go ahead and take a quick look at my resume below. But what I’d really like you to do is read my “Bartending Story” which you can reach following that link. There you can see, in depth, the places that I have worked, why I worked there, and exactly what my position or duties were. More importantly, you’ll see that once you get just a little bit of experience as a bartender – you can pretty much write your own ticket.

The below resume is a short and somewhat concise list of the bartending jobs I have had up until this moment. My detailed story mentioned above will explain the career moves I made, when and why I made them, and how being an experienced bartender allowed me to accomplish my goals. It’s very interesting and informing – if I do say so myself.
In the meantime, below is a quick hitter. So take a look at this stuff – and decide if I’m qualified to teach you the bartending skills you need to land your very first bartending job.
Busboy/Barback/Bartender/Cook/Janitor/Dishwasher/Salad Maker/Meat Cutter
Rochester, Minnesota, High School Years – Age 14-18
Type of Bar: Huge fine dining room, two bars. One casual, one nightclub
Experience – Almost 4 years
United States Marine Corps
San Diego, California – Age 18-21
Honorable Discharge, Sergeant (E-5)
Bartender
Minneapolis, Minnesota – Age 21-22
Type of Bar: Gourmet pizza. Very busy place, 5 shifts, 40 hours/week.
Experience: A little over 1 year
Duties: Full-time bartender. Busy place, front bar and service bar.
Restaurant and Bar Manager/General Manager
Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota – Age 22-25
Type of bar: Very similar to an Olive Garden or TGI Fridays.
Experience: 3 years. Final year as General Manager. 50-60 hours/week
Duties: Full profit & Loss responsibility. Because of my prior bartending experience, I was the manager usually designated to hire and train all bartenders. Promoted to General Manager after 2 years and responsible for 60 employees.
Restaurant and Bar Manager
San Diego, California
Type of Bar: Very similar to an Olive Garden or Red Lobster. 50 hours/week.
Experience: 2 Months
Duties: Basically, I was in their management training program the entire time. Resigned my position – no longer had the desire to manage bars and restaurants. I was a bartender at heart.
Bartender/Waiter
San Diego County, California
Type of Bar: Seafood Restaurant and Oyster Bar.
Experience: About 1 ½ years. 40 hours/week
Duties: Bartender, food server, oyster bar cook. 90% bartending.
Bartender/Banquet Bartender
San Diego County, California
Type of Bar: Resort, fine dining, huge banquets, a bit “high-class” for my taste
Experience: About 8 months, part time
Duties: Bartender, banquet bartender, fine dining food server
Bartender/Bar Manager/General Manager of Multi-Units
San Diego County, California
Type of Bar: Nightclub, crazy busy, 40 – 60 hours/week
Note: Bar owner also had additional bars he owned – I managed all of them
Experience: About 6 or 7 years, 40-70 hours/week
Duties: Bartender, Bar Manager, General manager
Bartender/Bar Manager
San Diego County, California
Type of Bar: Nightclub
Experience: 1 Year, 40 hours/week
Duties: Bar Manager first, then bartender
Bartender/Bar Manager/General Manager
San Diego County, California
Type of Bar: Nightclub
Experience: 1 year, 40 hours/week
Duties: Started as a fill-in bartender for a friend who was going on 2-week vacation. Owner asked me to take over bar manager duties.
*The below bartending jobs are not in chronological order. I worked all of these jobs at one time while pursuing my college degree and new business. Kind of a mix ‘n match thing – I worked some of them in combination with others. Mostly part-time. There were also additional bartending jobs that I had which were for a short time – usually helping out someone I knew in the bar business.
Bartender
San Diego County, California
Type of Bar: Theme Restaurant inside a mall
Experience: 1 year, part-time
Duties: Bartender
Bartender/Manager
San Diego County, California
Type of Bar: Private Club
Experience: 6 Months (A favor for a friend)
Duties: Bartender, Weekend Day Manager
Bar Spotter (Sometimes called a “Secret Shopper”)
San Diego County, California
Type of Bar: Multiple Bars in North San Diego County
Experience: 2 Years
Duties: Evaluated bars and bar staff. Sneaky stuff. Looking for theft, drug use, drinking. Worked for multiple bar owners that I knew.
Bartender/Bar Manager
San Diego County, California
Type of Bar: Country Western Nightclub
Experience: 6 Months
Duties: Filled in as General Manager after owner died – until his wife could sell the place. Favor for an attorney friend of mine. Crazy, out-of-control place.
Bartender/Server
San Diego County, California
Type of Bar: Banquet Bartender, 4-Star Hotel. Occasionally worked front Nightclub Bar
Experience: 3 Years, 40 hours/week
Duties: Bartender, did some server work
Bartender/Server
San Diego County, California
Type of Bar: Banquet Bartender, 3-Star Hotel
Experience: 8 Years, part time
Duties: Head Banquet Bartender. Did some server work. Best bartending job I ever had!
Bartender
San Diego County, California
Type of Bar: Banquet Bartender, 3-Star Hotel
Experience: 6 Years, part time
Duties: Bartender, did some server work
Bartender
San Diego County, California
Type of Bar: 4-Star Hotel
Experience: 4 Years, part time
Duties: Banquet Bartender, Bartending off-site. Private Parties
Bartender
San Diego County, California
Type of Bar: 3-Star Hotel
Experience: 4 Years, part time
Duties: Head Banquet Bartender
There you have it – Mark’s Resume. Learn how to be a bartender – fast! I’ll show you. I’ll show you how to land your very first Bartending Job.
You’re going to need a resume and cover letter! In my Bartending Course, I’m going to show you exactly how to compile the perfect resume for a Bartending Job. In the meantime, you might wish to brush up on the basics of resume writing here.