How can I find a part-time bartending or food-serving job, with no prior restaurant experience?

Hello, With no prior experience -- will I get turned away from all the places where I inquire? Do I need to take a bartending course first? Where could I do that? How do I discover job openings at reputable places? Here's some further background: I live in the Washington, DC metro area, and I have a 40 hr/wk job as a research assistant for a federal agency. However, this year I'm applying to business school, and I need cash to fill out applications, buy GMAT books, visit potential schools, etc. My budget is tight, due to a relatively low salary and various health expenses. I have some savings to draw on, but I want to use as little of my savings as possible. If I could make a few hundred dollars, or a thousand or two dollars, from part-time weekend work in the next year, that would really help my finances. I thought it would be fun to work in a restaurant, since I work in an office all week and could use more inter-personal contact. Thanks in advance!

Public Comments

1. I don't know anything about the Washington DC area, but I just recently got a job as a food-server, part time, with no prior restaurant experience. As for bartending, most places will require you to be a certified bar tender. I know in my state, WI, that we have a school for bartending and places where you can take classes and get certified. You could try searching online for bartending classes in your area. Or you could just get a food-server job. Just make sure to be friendly and nice. Its really the tips that matter in that job! Good Luck.
2. Craigslist.com
3. you may have to start off hosting and then work your way in to serving. bartending would be a little ways down the road. don't take a bartending course. trust me. i've been a part time bartender for the past 10 years. we all laugh at those people who come in out of bartending school thinking they have the slightest idea what to do behind the bar. it's a giant waste of money. if you have the patience you can get a job where you can make $150 to $200 a night. it's also a very social scene. what i mean is it's a great way to meet girls and everyone tends to go out and have cocktails after their shift. good luck.
4. You could always get your foot in the door by applying and working at someplace like Starbucks first. They typically don't require as much experience as sit down restaurants, but the pay will be significantly less. However, after gaining a bit of experience for your resume, you could then apply to a few restaurants and would have a better shot at securing a job. Also, many restaurants hire servers and bartenders from within, so you could start out as a host or busser and then work your way up in that restaurant. And at many fine dining restaurants the hosts and bussers receive a percentage of the server's tips, allowing you to make a relatively descent amount of money without the stress of serving or bartending. Hope this helps!
5. P.S. The other guy is right - only half way- Take the bartending class to learn DONT tell anone that you actually went to bartending school- That's the secret!
6. Well, the good thing about most service-staff job is that they provide training. It does help to familiarize yourself beforehand so that you aren't completely clueless about the field you are looking to work in. Pick up a bartender's guide at your local book store.