question regarding alcohol (slightly)
 

hey everybody
i'm going to attend a big 10 school in the fall and i am registered for rush. i've been thinking about the conversations that will subsequently go along, and i was wondering if it was a taboo to mention that this summer i ended up getting my bartending license and that i want to get a job bartending at one of the bars perhaps second semester. i know not to mention anything about my drinking habits or lack there of, but is it ok to say i look forward to bartending, etc.?


sorry so long! thanks

That should be fine. I mean, a job is a job...just because you work at Petco doesn't mean you're a crazy cat lady. :) Good luck with rush!!

For what purpose would you bring this up? The only impression I really get from it is that you might think this would be a selling point? Hey girls, let me in your house, and when I'm a bartender I'll hook you up? I'm just having a hard time seeing why you'd bring up a theoretical job that you may or may not do months from now?

Maybe because of the time commitment that comes with a job? In other words, "I want to join your sorority, but I'm working full-time next semester and want to make sure it's still ok to join."

Haha!! That is funny!

BTW - good luck with rush! And, my oldest son was a bartender, then bar manager during college - GOOD $$$!

Eh, but that's assuming a lot based on her post. She doesn't even know if she's going to have a job and didn't say anything about full time. So it seems sort of silly.

I'm guessing it's something more along the lines of IF she gets a question like, "So, what did you do this summer?" or "What are your interests/activities?" THEN is it okay to respond, "Oh, I got my bartending license, and I'm hoping to work at Paddy's Pub (or whatever) this semester!"

And I think the answer is, it depends. In one sense, it is something different, and may help her stand out ("Oh yeah, splendiddib, she's the bartender!") but possibly not in a good way. It might be something you want to reserve for once you know your rusher/audience a little better... some girls might find it presumptuous/inappropriate, others would think it was cool.

There was a girl in my pledgeclass who was a bartender, but I don't know how she handled talking about it during rush. I know she found the mandatory TIPS training really boring, because she'd already had to go through a lot of it to get her license (but then I think most of us found TIPS training pretty boring).

This is what I thought too. I agree, I wouldn't go around announcing it, but I don't think it's a problem if that's part of your answer!

Well, I think that's probably why she's asking -- I still think it would be something that would make her be memorable. I guess the real question is whether she would be memorable in a good way or not. I mean, if as a freshman someone asked me what I had done the previous summer, and I'd done something as interesting as attend bartending school and get my license, I might want to bring it up (instead of saying, "I entered codes into a database," which is what I actually did. Yes, all summer).

If you did actually bartend, you could possibly spin it, saying "And it was a really eye opening experience, learning how to deal with boorish customers, and what people REALLY look like when they get drunk!" Or something. Although that could lean a little too far into talking about alcohol, it might help give the impression that it was a JOB, and that you're not bartending to get free drinks and flirt with guys.

If you did something more interesting over the summer/have better activities, I would agree with KSUViolet and not bring it up. And maybe not the first night of recruitment. I could see it being a turnoff for some girls, and some sororities, especially if you don't present it right. But I do honestly think it's kind of a cool thing to have done, and something many girls that age haven't done, but it could be risky. I would say use your discretion.

Quote:
Originally Posted by kddani
For what purpose would you bring this up? The only impression I really get from it is that you might think this would be a selling point? Hey girls, let me in your house, and when I'm a bartender I'll hook you up? I'm just having a hard time seeing why you'd bring up a theoretical job that you may or may not do months from now?


i was just thinking of ways to further a conversation because like everyone has said on here, it is very important... no need to attack...

I would leave this subject alone for the most part. There are ways to make it known that you plan to have a job without bringing up the bartending thing. It's certainly ok to be proud of getting you license, but typically its best to avoid the subject of booze (in all of its aspects) during recruitment.

During my recruitment, another PNM held a conversation with one of my sisters. All that PNM could talk about was how she got her bartending license and she was so sad that she couldn't drink anymore (she was an American who lived in a foreign country for a few years). I'm sure the sister tried to guide it away from that topic, but the PNM would NOT stop talking about it.

Moral of the story: Don't be that PNM!

This exactly, 100%. I wouldn't bring it up.

Unless the sister who you're having a conversation with also got her bartending license, and she brings it up first, I wouldn't mention it at all. Even though serving alcohol has nothing to do with drinking it, sisters might link one thing to the other. It's probably not a place to which you want to steer a conversation during recruitment.

Am I the only one who thinks it's kind of impressive that she spent her summer getting her bartending license rather than standing around talking to her friends and pretending to work at Hollister?

I don't think she intends to be "hi, I'm splendiddib and I'm a bartender!!" - rather, if someone asks what she did over summer, or if she's going to work on campus, that's her answer. Quite frankly, if there's a sorority of girls who are going to get uptight over the fact that you bartend, I don't think you want to pledge there.

What if she worked at Applebee's over the summer, told some sister this, and the sister just happened to have gotten food poisoning at Applebee's? That's not a very good impression either, is it? Seriously, if you have to censor every word you say, how is anyone going to get to know you?

sorority member: "what did you do this summer?"

splendiddib-"i went to school"

and if the sorority member then asks what classes you had, or what school you attended-then you can say,"i got my bartending license, just in case i need to get a job at some point in my college career." end of story.

I'm not all that impressed because I had mine during college (waitressed at a restaurant with a bar). I think a PNM bringing it up could create the wrong impression. Sure, it's cool and all, but it could look like she was trying to play up that she parties/drinks. It's just always better to be safe than sorry during rush!

I think you should bring it up if asked what you did this summer. You don't want to just say, "I worked" because that is too generic and not memorable, and more than likely, if you give that answer, you will be asked where you worked, and you don't want to lie.

I think you could spin the bartending in a positive way, in that you could emphasize the safety classes that you had to take to impress even the most risk-management minded members of a chapter.

Just make sure you have other stuff to talk about too.

I go to an SEC school, and the attitude here is pretty sensitive to alcohol during recruitment. As in, it's a major no-no to mention.

When I went through recruitment, I mentioned to one girl that I had heard really great things about tailgating. I didn't specifically mean that particular sororities' tailgating, just that in general, sororities and fraternities had fun tailgating. Yes, I was definitely naive, but it didn't cross my mind to necessarily associate tailgating with partying. She got a really strange look on her face and said she couldn't really talk about that, and I got cut the next day. Obviously, I have no way of knowing whether or not that's why I got cut, but based on how quickly our conversation went downhill after that, I would say I didn't exactly get a raving review from this girl.

My point is: don't mention it. My aunt always said to never bring up booze or boys during recruitment, and I think that's pretty good advice!

Oops! Sorry for resurrecting an old thread (AND for double posting)... definitely need to learn to pay better attention!