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 Message 8041 of 22774 in Behind the Bar
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Subject: Re: Question for Mangers and/or those who helped with hiring!
From: Spellbinder
Posted: Sun Aug 7. 2005, 10:32 UTC
Followup to: "Question for Mangers and/or those who helped with hiring!"  by AyumiGirl  (Sun Aug 7. 2005, 09:03 UTC)
> A family friend and former bartender of 10+ years suggested that if I 
> can put up with the place, then stay there for another month or two 
> and I can use it as a reference for barback...since my offical job 
> title is barback/cook. 
>
> But I would like to know if I would be wasting my time doing it? 

Well, I'm not sure how directly this applies to the service industry (I would 
imagine about the same), but most of the time I'd say a job isn't worth 
putting on your resume unless you've been there at least 3 months.  I'd give 
exceptions to special cases, but usually 3 months is the point in which you 
stop stumbling through the duties and really start to figure out better ways 
to do the job.  The family friend is sorta right in that it's just good 
practice to stick around long enough to make the place a real reference, but 
in terms of calling it barbacking, I'll explain that below.

> The barbacks job duties at my current place is mainly walking around 
> and picking up glasses for waitresses, washing/stocking glasses, and 
> cleaning the place after it closes.  So there isn't much "knowledge" 
> gained and I would only see the back of the bar when I stock the 
> glasses if they ever let me barback (which I doubt that).  There are 
> a couple places in town who are accepting apps that have the barbacks 
> as a direct right-hand to the bartenders instead of out on the main 
> floor the whole shift. 

This might sound harsh but I'm saying it because I wouldn't want you to make a 
mistake.  You are not a barback right now.  If those are the only duties that 
a "barback" has at your place, quite simply, you will never pass as an 
experienced barback.  Like I said, it'll sound harsh, but here's why...

If you go to another place and claim to have been a barback, they hire you on, 
and right away you're stumbling on a lot of common things (let's say changing 
kegs), they are going to think you lied to them.  They probably won't fire 
you, but they aren't going to respect you enough to give you a schedule you 
can learn from.  I'm sure a lot of people on here would recommend lying or at 
least inflating your experience, but you should temper it a little bit.  My 
advice would be to use a phrase like "in bar experience" rather than 
"barback".  During an interview they will ask you what you did at your last 
job, rather than giving them the barback title and having them be let down by 
explaining you didn't have the barback duties, it's better to be a little more 
vague on the application and explain you simply worked in the bar but didn't 
get to do much behind it.

If I were hiring, I would rather somebody approaches me modestly and explains 
what they did instead of trying to start grandly and then find out that they 
haven't done what their resume would imply.  I see that as false advertising.

> Also when I was job hunting, it was recommended to go to bartending 
> school and have signed up...it starts at the end of next month.

It sounds like you've had little luck where you live.  While I normally 
suggest against a bartending school, I have the feeling you might do better 
going through them.  I'm not doubting your abilities at all, I think the 
places you've gone to are either not what you're really looking for (and the 
job placement from a school might see that and help) or the right places are 
seeing the wrong things about you (which a school might be able to help you 
find better ways to approach those places).  Plus, you've managed to be around 
the bar, you just haven't gained the technical knowledge...my biggest issue 
with the schools is that they don't present anything but technical knowledge 
and a generally phoney idea of what it's like to work behind a bar.  Go with 
the school, if nothing else the job placement could be very beneficial for 
you.  Also stick with the job (for 3 months at least) because the job will at 
least be something on the resume and present you as capable in the service 
industry (even if it's not really experience behind the bar).

Since you're already working there and it sounds like you're probably not very 
busy while you're on the clock, see if you can't arrange to work the door 
checking ID's once in a while, or find other tasks that you can do.  Being 
able to say you've done these other bar-related tasks does add credibility to 
claims of working in the bar.  Plus, if you've done enough things, you can 
spin your bar experience to be more of a general assistant/jack of all trades 
kind of role.  It's not barbacking, but it shows that you can have more 
responsibility than simply cleaning.

I do have one last question...After my last job, I can't imagine a reason not 
to have barbacks actually barbacking.  It speeds up service and makes a lot 
more money than having another person on the floor picking up for the cocktail 
waitreses.  If they have people as barbacks, why aren't they doing normal 
barbacking roles?  Are there other barbacks there who are doing normal barback 
roles?

-- 
Cody


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