Library turns job into skills competition

The bar at the Library. (Credit: Deirdre Hamill/azcentral.com)

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It's more than a little hard to find a job right now.

But a bar manager in Tempe is offering potential cocktail slingers a chance to compete, reality-TV-style, for a full-time bartending job at his Mill Avenue hotspot.

Jake Guzman of the Library Bar and Grill is hosting a skills competition called So You Think You Can Bartend?, auditioning walk-in would-be mixologists from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Guzman was inspired by "So You Think You Can Dance?" and how the competition brought out the best in people.

"There are good people out there without jobs right now," he said. "And for some of these people who are out of work, what they are willing to do to get a job is amazing."

This weekend, wannabes will come in for a 5-minute mini interview with managers, going over their bartending strengths, job experiences and career ambitions.

From there, 30 finalists will be selected and put through their paces on Monday and Tuesday nights in August. Groups of six finalists will work two-hour shifts on these nights, alongside veteran bartenders, trying to impress managers and a select group of regulars, all of whom will fill out comment sheets.

At the end of each night, all participants will keep their tips, and the bartender with the best comment sheets will win $100 and be invited back the next week. Not everyone will be invited back week after week, but Guzman said this doesn't matter. Sometimes he only needs to see someone once to judge their pouring accuracy, personality and "it factor."

At the end of August, the winner will be offered a full-time job and a trip to Las Vegas to participate in a prestigious mixologist program.

Since posting a notice on Craigslist Monday, and another on Tuesday, Guzman has gotten more than 90 inquiries via email. And the posters up at the bar have led to dozens of walk-in queries and calls.

"I know we'll get some incredible talent," Guzman said. "I am thinking of bringing in other bar managers, just to show them the talent out there, when they need to hire."