Skills
Bartender Skills & Tools
The technical skills, people skills and tools employers look for in bartenders, and how to build and show them.
What skills do bartenders need?
Bartenders need technical skills such as cocktail recipes, pouring and measuring, and pos and tab handling, plus people skills like personality and friendliness and multitasking. They also use tools such as Shakers, jiggers and strainers and Bar spoons and muddlers.
Technical (hard) skills
- Cocktail recipes
- Pouring and measuring
- POS and tab handling
- Responsible alcohol service
- Inventory
- Speed under pressure
People (soft) skills
- Personality and friendliness
- Multitasking
- Judgment
- Composure
Tools, equipment and technology
- Shakers, jiggers and strainers
- Bar spoons and muddlers
- Tap systems
- POS systems
- Glassware
- Ice wells
Skills in action: common tasks
These step-by-step guides show how bartenders put their skills to work:
How to show these skills on a resume
- Lead your skills section with the technical skills from the job posting, for example, “Cocktail recipes” and “Pouring and measuring.”
- Prove soft skills with results: instead of listing “personality and friendliness,” describe a situation where you used it.
- List credentials such as TIPS or ServSafe Alcohol near the top, with the issuing organization and date.
- Use the employer’s vocabulary. Our bartender glossary covers the terms hiring managers expect.
How to build these skills
Formal training, supervised practice and certification are the most direct routes. Our Bartender training introduces each of these skills with plain-language lessons, procedures and a final knowledge check: a strong foundation before hands-on training or your first day.