7 Mental And Social Benefits To Being A Barman

It’s not exactly every parent’s dream to hear their child’s decision to become a barman. As a former barman myself, I can honestly say that it was a job I accepted because I needed quick money after moving out of the house.

What I later found, however, is that being a barman helped me get over a lot of the mental & social issues I had at the time.

Today, I work in a completely different industry; but those skills have stuck with me throughout my career changes. So, if you’re feeling like being a barman isn’t an advantageous career choice, you’re wrong. Here are seven real life observations about being a barman that will help you grow as a person.

1. It exercises your memory

When I worked the bar in my home town, we had a chart that explained how to make the 10 most commonly ordered cocktails and shooters. After about a year, that chart started to wear out. Drinks were messed on it, it got torn and soon it faded into a useless piece of paper stuck to a door. But by then we had already learnt those cocktails off by heart.

Creating cocktails is a meticulous skill that forces you to memorise ingredients. To this day (13 years later) I still remember how to make a Tequila Mockingbird, because that was the most common cocktail back then. If you work as a barman, your memory will improve. Do you know why? Because you’ll be too rushed to read a recipe off a chart. Eventually, you will be forced to remember it on your own.

2. Being a barman enhances your social skills

One night while I was working the bar, a customer watched my every move for about 20 minutes. Once I noticed that he was watching me, I started talking to him. He told me how amazed he was at my work ethic—and offered me a counter sales job at his kitchen company! I turned down the job, but called him a full year later to see if the position was still available. It wasn’t, but he gave me a job anyway.

Being a barman means you are always expected to perform in some way or another. Either you will have to converse with customers, show off your flaring skills or rush around serving multiple people at the same time. Whatever the case may be, if you’re shy, reserved or introverted, your bar job will soon force you out of your shell.

3. You learn about product value

Stocktake was the worst part of my barman job. At the end of every night, my team and I had to make notes of every beer, every keg, every bottle of liquor and every can of soda. If one drop was unaccounted for, it was our responsibility to pay for it from our own tip jar.

This may sound cruel—and there were times I hated this policy—but it taught me one important lesson: PRODUCT VALUE. Every tot represented potential profit for the owner of the bar. It was his stock bought with his money, and he had a right to force us to account for all of it. A lesson you will quickly learn as a barman is that there’s no excuse for wasting.

4. Your emotional intelligence is honed

I met so many interesting people while working behind the bar. People just started talking to me out of the blue, and I soon learnt that it was part of my job to be conversational. Some of these characters became my friends. Others were simply looking for a sympathetic ear.

The barman stereotype is true. People will tell you their problems. Your designation as a barman will teach you listening skills, and hone your empathy as a person. Marriage problems, politics, family life and even health issues are some of the problems you will hear about. You don’t have to always give advice, but the fact that you’re listening is a great comfort to many who have no one else they can talk to.

5. It teaches you about teamwork

There were many times I had to rely on others behind the bar to carry some of my responsibilities. Other times, I was the one who picked up the slack. One thing we all realised very quickly was that if one person wasn’t pulling their weight, we all suffered because of it.

Teamwork is a leadership skill you WANT to master. It will not only help you in almost any career you enter, but it will also make you a better spouse and parent later in life. For those who never feel as if they fit in with groups, a barman job will teach you the solidarity of being part of a team.

6. It highlights the importance of hygiene

Keeping that bar clean become second nature after a few short weeks. I was constantly wiping the counter, wiping my station, wiping off the bottles, cleaning the coffee machine, reorganising the fridge and sweeping the floor.

A bar is different to a kitchen in that it is exposed to the customers. For this reason, you will be forced to keep it clean, or your customers will not frequent your establishment. This is a great skill to learn. If you’re mildly OCD like me, you’ll fit right in! If you’re a messy person, being a barman will soon fix that.

7. You learn self-discipline & work ethic

You can’t be late for your bar shift. When the last person leaves, you need to be there to relieve them of their duties. I remember being late once. I got put on such a guilt trip, I never got to work late ever again—no matter how tired I was.

Getting up in the morning to do a shift after the night before is not easy. It takes discipline. It takes work ethic. These two characteristics will be forced upon you when you work as a barman—and they will serve you well later in life. Work ethic is rare nowadays, so hone this skill and you will succeed in anything you put your mind to.

There are some skills you will learn during your personal licence training and others you will learn while on the job. The former will teach you technical skills of being a barman; the latter will build your character and prepare you for the real world. Whether you plan to make this a long-term career, or simply work at it until you find something better, become a barman. It’s a job that’s well worth embracing.

How to get a Personal Licence

Thinking of applying for a Personal Licence? The Personal Licence Training Course teaches individuals about the law and legal responsibility of being a licence holder and is part of the process for obtaining a Personal Alcohol Licence.

Once you have passed the Personal Licence Course, you will then be able to apply for a Personal Licence.

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