Some good advice on here already (especially avoiding top times as not only will managers not have time to natter to you but will also reflect that you have no idea how a pub runs). Only issue I would add is not to be troubled too much about lack of experience in pubs, a lot of pubs have a preference to take on moderately inexperienced workers so that they don't begin the job with 'bad habits' from preceding pubs they've worked in. The main thing that ALL pubs will look for is reliability plus honesty. Larger chains like Wetherspoons are forever hiring and the best part of their pubs do a good range of real ales and ciders so might be a good point to start. They also have multiple units all over London except I reckon you would have more fun and may learn more from a smaller local or self-reliant pub. Source-Managed pubs and bars in London and elsewhere for 7 years. Good luck
What bad routine should I steer clear of when working in a pub I'd be thankful for information concerning how to do the job well, can be the most miniscule thing to the most universal it's all great.
Thanks
Quick side question- are you definite you want to work in a pub? Genuinely interested, what's your long term goal here? Even with crap grades at uni, as long as your GCSE/A-levels were ok, there are loads of options- a lot of school leaver programs accept those for whom school was a pretty long time ago.
I graduated last year with a reasonably crap degree too, 6 years out of secondary school, and did get a job offer a few weeks ago from a monetary services business at that level with ultimately no experience either. for the reason that really, no one coming out of uni knows shit anyway, apart from for blatantly vocational courses, and it just comes down to coming across well in person... So there's constantly options. certainly a good plan getting any sort of work you can in the meantime though. vacant spots on CVs are bad times all around
As others have said, go and ask about locally to get some familiarity and then look for your perfect pub to work in. You say you're interested in beer, have you ever pulled a pint in the past & do you know anything in relation to prepping barrels etc.? If not I would firmly recommend asking a friend to give you a 5 min tutorial after their pub/bar has closed (if you can manage it) just so you don't look stupid pulling a pint the first time. I worked in pubs for a few years though & in no way had to learn to prep the ales (but did learn to replace the barrels for lager). That should be ok to learn on the job though.
I would certainly go in person to put if they're hiring rather than calling, it won't be the supervisor answering the phone & if its eventful they won't want to be caught chatting when stuff needs to be doing. You might want to go in more than just the once to ask when the manager is in as you may not catch them first time. Also obviously don't go at busy times! (Fri/sat evenings, sunday lunch - weekday early afternoon is prob your best bet.)
Enthusiasm & outgoingness is key, working behind the bar is all about joint effort & keeping each other sane & helping out. (& having fun!)
I pulled a pint once behind a tiny pub my mate worked at in Yorkshire for the reason that I was fascinated in the whole practice behind the bar, it felt amazing to just exist the scenes and do that, the pump was surprisingly heavy and responsive. That pal took me down to the cellar and showed me the variation between casks and kegs although all that stuff is a bit hazy now.
I've been living away in the north of England for a long time so I don't have any contacts in London that work in bars and may perhaps give me a lesson, do you happen to know anybody that could offer me a hand about that as you used to work in some pubs? :confident: I'll buy you or them a pint! :happy:
Yeah, it seems that going in person is the thing to do. Since I don't possess much to put on a CV should I just do it verbally? or does it appear bad/unprofessional not to have some kind of CV along with my basic qualifications on it?
I'm certainly enthusiastic plus friendly, I love people, I genuinely want to do this, I'm not just looking at this as some random job, I've always had a dream of working in a good pub because I think the person I am and my enthusiasm for both beer and people would make me ideal! Maybe that's silly..
Thanks
Sadly I have not worked in a pub for a few years so have no contacts. If you have pulled a pint in the past though I think you'll be fine. clearly you have seen it done & its not rocket science!
I would do a CV but only bring it out if they ask for it, regularly the manager will just want to find out if you seem friendly, competent & reliable. Put the lot on it that shows those qualities: i.e. any school/uni teams/clubs you were occupied in, markedly any positions of responsibility, & all preceding jobs & qualifications of course. I would also do a little 'about me' section at the top which talks about what precisely you love about beer & why you want to find a good pub (not too long, but to explain this is what you want to do).
Regarding the lieing about prev experience - this is risky although if you say you worked someplace up north when you were 18/19 you will prob get away with it (i.e. suggest you are a bit rusty but have a little rather than no experience). FWIW my first official barmaid job partially relied on my prev job 4 years prior in a pub which was in fact as a waitress (had never pulled a pint, but had made Irish coffee & consequently said I had drinks Also said I had bartended at events at uni which was really simply pouring shots... still this did demonstrate that I could take cash lol.). So it can help to stretch the truth. But I would suggest if you do go down this route, keep the lieing to a minimum & don't insinuate you will be able to start straight away with zero training!
I graduated last year with a reasonably crap degree too, 6 years out of secondary school, and did get a job offer a few weeks ago from a monetary services business at that level with ultimately no experience either. for the reason that really, no one coming out of uni knows shit anyway, apart from for blatantly vocational courses, and it just comes down to coming across well in person... So there's constantly options. certainly a good plan getting any sort of work you can in the meantime though. vacant spots on CVs are bad times all around
It's something I've sought to do for a couple of years now, hopefully specially or after my first average-pub then on to a craft beer or ale pub with exciting beers coming in. I'd like to get into home-brewing on the side plus become good at that and perhaps work in a brewery down the line, I'm genuinely passionate regarding both beer and people as a result - pubs - where the two come concurrently is a great fit for me.
Longer term, if I can't get into brewing or pub work isn't fulfilling sufficient once I've experienced it for some years I want to learn a second language, probably German or Spanish and teach English abroad, that's frequently considered a young persons game and transient as well but I love English and helping people and I've taught/helped with English at an amateur level in the past and I enjoy it.
I've got a lot of IT expertise I could get a qualification in IT hardware and become a hardware or networking guy pretty comfortably although I find that stuff pretty grim. Those are my thoughts and feelings for now.
As others have said, go and ask about locally to get some familiarity and then look for your perfect pub to work in. You say you're interested in beer, have you ever pulled a pint in the past & do you know anything in relation to prepping barrels etc.? If not I would firmly recommend asking a friend to give you a 5 min tutorial after their pub/bar has closed (if you can manage it) just so you don't look stupid pulling a pint the first time. I worked in pubs for a few years though & in no way had to learn to prep the ales (but did learn to replace the barrels for lager). That should be ok to learn on the job though.
I would certainly go in person to put if they're hiring rather than calling, it won't be the supervisor answering the phone & if its eventful they won't want to be caught chatting when stuff needs to be doing. You might want to go in more than just the once to ask when the manager is in as you may not catch them first time. Also obviously don't go at busy times! (Fri/sat evenings, sunday lunch - weekday early afternoon is prob your best bet.)
Enthusiasm & outgoingness is key, working behind the bar is all about joint effort & keeping each other sane & helping out. (& having fun!)
I pulled a pint once behind a tiny pub my mate worked at in Yorkshire for the reason that I was fascinated in the whole practice behind the bar, it felt amazing to just exist the scenes and do that, the pump was surprisingly heavy and responsive. That pal took me down to the cellar and showed me the variation between casks and kegs although all that stuff is a bit hazy now.
I've been living away in the north of England for a long time so I don't have any contacts in London that work in bars and may perhaps give me a lesson, do you happen to know anybody that could offer me a hand about that as you used to work in some pubs? :confident: I'll buy you or them a pint! :happy:
Yeah, it seems that going in person is the thing to do. Since I don't possess much to put on a CV should I just do it verbally? or does it appear bad/unprofessional not to have some kind of CV along with my basic qualifications on it?
I'm certainly enthusiastic plus friendly, I love people, I genuinely want to do this, I'm not just looking at this as some random job, I've always had a dream of working in a good pub because I think the person I am and my enthusiasm for both beer and people would make me ideal! Maybe that's silly..
Thanks
Sadly I have not worked in a pub for a few years so have no contacts. If you have pulled a pint in the past though I think you'll be fine. clearly you have seen it done & its not rocket science!
I would do a CV but only bring it out if they ask for it, regularly the manager will just want to find out if you seem friendly, competent & reliable. Put the lot on it that shows those qualities: i.e. any school/uni teams/clubs you were occupied in, markedly any positions of responsibility, & all preceding jobs & qualifications of course. I would also do a little 'about me' section at the top which talks about what precisely you love about beer & why you want to find a good pub (not too long, but to explain this is what you want to do).
Regarding the lieing about prev experience - this is risky although if you say you worked someplace up north when you were 18/19 you will prob get away with it (i.e. suggest you are a bit rusty but have a little rather than no experience). FWIW my first official barmaid job partially relied on my prev job 4 years prior in a pub which was in fact as a waitress (had never pulled a pint, but had made Irish coffee & consequently said I had drinks Also said I had bartended at events at uni which was really simply pouring shots... still this did demonstrate that I could take cash lol.). So it can help to stretch the truth. But I would suggest if you do go down this route, keep the lieing to a minimum & don't insinuate you will be able to start straight away with zero training!
I travelled all over Germany on two trips, partially to try the different beer in several regions, I've been to two beer festivals in the UK and prearranged and travelled to York and Newcastle with a quite big group on a and craft beer tour but will running pub crawls look bad or unreliable do you think?
I'm not a good liar at all, In my own life I try very hard to be absolutely honest and open with people so at what time asked to do that I'm always very anxious and anti the idea. I'll think back to what life experiences I could converse about that could apply in the way you said though.
Thanks!
I've recently started work in a Nicholson pub. Check their website/the Mitchell an butler website, as they are always looking for staff.
If so what did it entail?
As somebody else mentioned for pub chains, did you do a provisional shift to get you the job or were you just hired based on your charming personality and good looks ?
The chains use websites for hiring which goes opposed to most of the advice in this thread on going to see the manager face to face.
Actually a imagine for Weatherspoons you should use the website to apply actually and then your submission is vetted by HR then sent to the pub supervisor if you pass HR. ...I'm merely putting this info here for anyone in my place who might look at this thread in the future and find the morsel useful.
As others have said, go and ask about locally to get some familiarity and then look for your perfect pub to work in. You say you're interested in beer, have you ever pulled a pint in the past & do you know anything in relation to prepping barrels etc.? If not I would firmly recommend asking a friend to give you a 5 min tutorial after their pub/bar has closed (if you can manage it) just so you don't look stupid pulling a pint the first time. I worked in pubs for a few years though & in no way had to learn to prep the ales (but did learn to replace the barrels for lager). That should be ok to learn on the job though.
I would certainly go in person to put if they're hiring rather than calling, it won't be the supervisor answering the phone & if its eventful they won't want to be caught chatting when stuff needs to be doing. You might want to go in more than just the once to ask when the manager is in as you may not catch them first time. Also obviously don't go at busy times! (Fri/sat evenings, sunday lunch - weekday early afternoon is prob your best bet.)
Enthusiasm & outgoingness is key, working behind the bar is all about joint effort & keeping each other sane & helping out. (& having fun!)
I pulled a pint once behind a tiny pub my mate worked at in Yorkshire for the reason that I was fascinated in the whole practice behind the bar, it felt amazing to just exist the scenes and do that, the pump was surprisingly heavy and responsive. That pal took me down to the cellar and showed me the variation between casks and kegs although all that stuff is a bit hazy now.
I've been living away in the north of England for a long time so I don't have any contacts in London that work in bars and may perhaps give me a lesson, do you happen to know anybody that could offer me a hand about that as you used to work in some pubs? :confident: I'll buy you or them a pint! :happy:
Yeah, it seems that going in person is the thing to do. Since I don't possess much to put on a CV should I just do it verbally? or does it appear bad/unprofessional not to have some kind of CV along with my basic qualifications on it?
I'm certainly enthusiastic plus friendly, I love people, I genuinely want to do this, I'm not just looking at this as some random job, I've always had a dream of working in a good pub because I think the person I am and my enthusiasm for both beer and people would make me ideal! Maybe that's silly..
Thanks
Sadly I have not worked in a pub for a few years so have no contacts. If you have pulled a pint in the past though I think you'll be fine. clearly you have seen it done & its not rocket science!
I would do a CV but only bring it out if they ask for it, regularly the manager will just want to find out if you seem friendly, competent & reliable. Put the lot on it that shows those qualities: i.e. any school/uni teams/clubs you were occupied in, markedly any positions of responsibility, & all preceding jobs & qualifications of course. I would also do a little 'about me' section at the top which talks about what precisely you love about beer & why you want to find a good pub (not too long, but to explain this is what you want to do).
Regarding the lieing about prev experience - this is risky although if you say you worked someplace up north when you were 18/19 you will prob get away with it (i.e. suggest you are a bit rusty but have a little rather than no experience). FWIW my first official barmaid job partially relied on my prev job 4 years prior in a pub which was in fact as a waitress (had never pulled a pint, but had made Irish coffee & consequently said I had drinks Also said I had bartended at events at uni which was really simply pouring shots... still this did demonstrate that I could take cash lol.). So it can help to stretch the truth. But I would suggest if you do go down this route, keep the lieing to a minimum & don't insinuate you will be able to start straight away with zero training!
I travelled all over Germany on two trips, partially to try the different beer in several regions, I've been to two beer festivals in the UK and prearranged and travelled to York and Newcastle with a quite big group on a and craft beer tour but will running pub crawls look bad or unreliable do you think?
I'm not a good liar at all, In my own life I try very hard to be absolutely honest and open with people so at what time asked to do that I'm always very anxious and anti the idea. I'll think back to what life experiences I could converse about that could apply in the way you said though.
Thanks!
Arranging pub crawls is fine to set down, markedly if it shows your fascination in speciality beers (rather than just getting messy style crawls haha).
In that case beyond doubt just think about what things you've done that entail relevant skills. Any time you've worked with the public/customers (I.e. tour/crawls attendees), any time you've handled money, everything that involved showing up at specific times & being dependable on a frequent basis... all that sort of thing!
As others have said, go and ask about locally to get some familiarity and then look for your perfect pub to work in. You say you're interested in beer, have you ever pulled a pint in the past & do you know anything in relation to prepping barrels etc.? If not I would firmly recommend asking a friend to give you a 5 min tutorial after their pub/bar has closed (if you can manage it) just so you don't look stupid pulling a pint the first time. I worked in pubs for a few years though & in no way had to learn to prep the ales (but did learn to replace the barrels for lager). That should be ok to learn on the job though.
I would certainly go in person to put if they're hiring rather than calling, it won't be the supervisor answering the phone & if its eventful they won't want to be caught chatting when stuff needs to be doing. You might want to go in more than just the once to ask when the manager is in as you may not catch them first time. Also obviously don't go at busy times! (Fri/sat evenings, sunday lunch - weekday early afternoon is prob your best bet.)
Enthusiasm & outgoingness is key, working behind the bar is all about joint effort & keeping each other sane & helping out. (& having fun!)
I pulled a pint once behind a tiny pub my mate worked at in Yorkshire for the reason that I was fascinated in the whole practice behind the bar, it felt amazing to just exist the scenes and do that, the pump was surprisingly heavy and responsive. That pal took me down to the cellar and showed me the variation between casks and kegs although all that stuff is a bit hazy now.
I've been living away in the north of England for a long time so I don't have any contacts in London that work in bars and may perhaps give me a lesson, do you happen to know anybody that could offer me a hand about that as you used to work in some pubs? :confident: I'll buy you or them a pint! :happy:
Yeah, it seems that going in person is the thing to do. Since I don't possess much to put on a CV should I just do it verbally? or does it appear bad/unprofessional not to have some kind of CV along with my basic qualifications on it?
I'm certainly enthusiastic plus friendly, I love people, I genuinely want to do this, I'm not just looking at this as some random job, I've always had a dream of working in a good pub because I think the person I am and my enthusiasm for both beer and people would make me ideal! Maybe that's silly..
Thanks
Sadly I have not worked in a pub for a few years so have no contacts. If you have pulled a pint in the past though I think you'll be fine. clearly you have seen it done & its not rocket science!
I would do a CV but only bring it out if they ask for it, regularly the manager will just want to find out if you seem friendly, competent & reliable. Put the lot on it that shows those qualities: i.e. any school/uni teams/clubs you were occupied in, markedly any positions of responsibility, & all preceding jobs & qualifications of course. I would also do a little 'about me' section at the top which talks about what precisely you love about beer & why you want to find a good pub (not too long, but to explain this is what you want to do).
Regarding the lieing about prev experience - this is risky although if you say you worked someplace up north when you were 18/19 you will prob get away with it (i.e. suggest you are a bit rusty but have a little rather than no experience). FWIW my first official barmaid job partially relied on my prev job 4 years prior in a pub which was in fact as a waitress (had never pulled a pint, but had made Irish coffee & consequently said I had drinks Also said I had bartended at events at uni which was really simply pouring shots... still this did demonstrate that I could take cash lol.). So it can help to stretch the truth. But I would suggest if you do go down this route, keep the lieing to a minimum & don't insinuate you will be able to start straight away with zero training!
I travelled all over Germany on two trips, partially to try the different beer in several regions, I've been to two beer festivals in the UK and prearranged and travelled to York and Newcastle with a quite big group on a and craft beer tour but will running pub crawls look bad or unreliable do you think?
I'm not a good liar at all, In my own life I try very hard to be absolutely honest and open with people so at what time asked to do that I'm always very anxious and anti the idea. I'll think back to what life experiences I could converse about that could apply in the way you said though.
Thanks!
Arranging pub crawls is fine to put down, especially if it shows your interest in speciality beers (rather than just getting trashed style crawls haha).
In that case definitely just think about what things you've done that involve relevant skills. Any time you've worked with the public/customers (I.e. tour/crawls attendees), any time you've handled money, anything that involved showing up at specific times & being reliable on a regular basis... all that sort of thing!
