:: mis en place your career ::

Another great talk at the USBG Northeast Regional Conference held in New Haven two weeks ago was one by Campari America's Anne Louis Marquis entitled "Mis en Place Your Career." She began by explaining that there was more opportunity for bartenders than before whether through managing or working for brands. However, people are not necessarily ready for these jobs and are jumping too fast. And sometimes they are lured in by a job title that sounds great but it does not reflect the realities of the position. Deciding a move and choosing a path are both rather scary, but they can take you in interesting places, so it is not a waste of time to explore the options.

Anne Louise had us write down two top 5 lists: one was the things that bring us joy and the other the things that give us meaning. It is important to be clear about what gives you joy and meaning and to be sure that those do not fall to the wayside in accepting any job. Make an effort to defend and protect these aspects for often jobs can take over your life. Anne Louise supported that by pointing out that her job is 80% travel, and she finds it a challenge to keep her house plants alive. As much as you work for your job, the job should work for you. Try to gauge what you would be getting out of it versus what you would be giving up.

She compared the job search to dating advice: do not go out looking for a very specific criteria, but make a list of what is most important that is not purely physical. Overall, do not look at the containers but the contents. Or in job terms, it is not the title but the job itself that needs to be assessed. For example, some brand ambassador jobs are sales jobs in reality, and a lot of jobs are difficult to figure out what they will be most like. Therefore, try to connect with people in the job that you think you want. After talking to them about the reality, it might not be the job you actually want. For example, a brand ambassador is not all about glamor and travel, but it is a lot of receipt savings, Excel spreadsheets, expense reports, and the like. People are often intimidated about reaching out, but do so and ask questions. Speak to the ones that come to your bars whether they are suppliers, distributors, or brand ambassadors. Other jobs are more difficult to find such as those involving innovation.

At this point Anne Louise turned to Robin Nance who is an ambassador for Beam Suntory. Robin recommended to not take a job because of a title, for you should know that you can often write your own title. Communicate your passion. Anne Louise replied by bring up Instagram and other social media: what does it say that you are passionate about? And what does it share with the world? Create a space where that gets the passion fulfilled and showcased such as a blog or website. Carve out your personal identity and make it easy for people to find you; people cannot share or talk about you if they cannot find you. Indeed, it is key to do the work before you have the job. Do not work for free, but do things out of passion that set you up to transfer over to a paying job. Event planning at bars, for example, could prepare you for doing it for a brand as well as get brands to notice you.

"Your network is your currency" was a poignant quote. This network is your value, and it travels with you from job to job.

Next, participate. The world is run by people who show up. Seek advancement through competitions, going on trips, attending events, and running programs. Winning the competition is not as important as showing that you got up and tried. Advancement should also be through continuing your education; you do not need a college degree to fill in your gaps. In terms of mentors, find people who you have a real relationship with. Think about building a board of advisors: 5 to 10 people who are not necessarily very close to you but certainly care about you.

There are definitely a lot of jobs out there. But consider things like what do you want your day to look like, where do you want to wake up, who do you want to see in the day, and how do you want them to see you. Moreover, think about your retirement: what are 3 things you want people to say about you? What award might you get? Feel free to fantasize and to alter these concepts over time.

Finally, you do not need to stop bartending. Stay bartending as long as you can -- brand ambassadors and sales rep need people like you to reach out to. There are other ways of branching out while still being a bartender including writing books, giving talks, staying curious, and sharing. In addition, in any job, you cannot teach a culture fit for the personalities might not jive. And you cannot teach someone to be a good coworker that is great to be around or to have a passion.