Any tips on creating a bartending ad?

You might want to start by putting a picture of you bartending on there. That would be a lot better than mentioning that you’re not unattractive.

@Ammolite

Mention any certificates or courses you have, i.e. SMART SERVE or TIPS.
Make sure you have a license for serving in Nevada, state that you have it.

Since you’re aiming for craigslist, you must be familiar with craiglist, true? So you know if you’d put this request in the “Gigs — Writing” section of craigs, the professional writers would reply “I offer my services as a writer for private or commercial use. Unfortunately, if you’re a perfectionist who wants your job to be written precisely, what makes you think I should help you for nothing?”

You’re right to ask Fluther people. They’re not writers, so their advice will come cheaply.

An interesting hook might be to name some of the most obscure and ridiculously-named cocktails you can find (eg/ “Sex on the Beach”, ”“Rimbaud’s Left Hand”, “Weep No More”) and list them. Then ask, “Recognize these drinks? I do!” Then launch into your pitch.

I’m guessing bars – or more accurately the people who do the hiring – are looking for people who are punctual, dependable, cheerful and without a lot of drama in their lives. A lot of places have a lot of turnover which is a headache for the manager. Looks are great but job performance is the thing they really want to find.

You can say you’re dependable, you can use a cheerful writing style, but you ought to assume anyone looking through Craigslist is going to check your Facebook page. Better make sure that you’re cheerful and relatively drama-free there. And maybe that’s the place to have the picture that represents you well.

I am a professional bartender. Perhaps I can help?

1. Photo of you behind the bar, shaking something or stirring something with a bar spoon.
2. List your knowledge of drinks? How many drinks do you know? How many custom drinks do you have? Can you create drinks based around different dishes?
3. What is your average take on a good night? If you’ve worked the bar by yourself how much of a crowd can you handle and keep happy? ie. I can handle about $3500 on a regular night, alone.
4. List any training you have in the liquor world. Have you been to a Scotch class? Do you know the history of Tequila? Do you know the historical drinks of the 7 Agave States of Mexico? GO in depth as possible.