If you’re thinking about going into the pub industry, now could be the ideal time, says Adam Pearson, owner of award-winning pub, The Noble, in London. Just make sure you follow his advice first.

1. Sociable people only need apply. Good people skills are the most important thing to have if you are a bar manager – you need to know how to have banter with the customers even when you don’t feel like it – and there will be many times like that!
2. It’s all about the vibe. I love to see everyone having a good time after work – you can feel the good atmosphere when everyone’s enjoying themselves and that’s what it’s all about – that’s why I love this job.
3. It’s not just a one-stop party. While the social side is important, there are other tasks that have to be done every day – paperwork is the main thing. Because we have so many suppliers and health and safety regulations there’s a huge amount of filing to be done. You need to keep on top of this or it can spiral out of control.
4. There’s no getting away from the long hours. We don’t close until midnight so as well as working the bar during pub hours, there’s a lot of work to be done before the pub opens – ordering, cleaning, stock-taking, paying invoices and filing etc.
5. A good team helps. Because there’s so much to do it’s essential that you have a good team behind you. You need people you can trust and who can get on with things on their own. I enjoy being in charge of a small team – you need authority but you also need to be understanding with them – it’s a tough business and we all feel the pressure.
6. Every pub needs a good steak. People judge your food by how good your steak is. Our pub is known for its fine dining, which gives us a lot of regular customers. We have a great chef who cooks up ‘Frasian’ foods – French cuisine mixed with Asian flavours, such as salmon fillet with wasabi mash. You get recognised for good food, and we’ve won awards for ours.
7. The pressure’s always on. It is a tough industry to be in at the moment so there’s always the pressure to do something different, and to keep standards up. You can sometimes feel like you’re hitting your head against a brick wall, but when you have a good till read at the end of a busy night you think it’s all worth it!
8. The breweries are to blame. The only reason so many pubs are struggling is because of the breweries. If you’re tied to a brewery they squeeze you for every penny – they put rents up if you’re successful, they put beer prices up because they know you can only buy from them – it’s almost as if they don’t want you to succeed.
9. Now is a good time to buy a pub. If you can afford it, it’s a great time to buy right now. There are a lot of pubs on the market and many are going cheap. I would only ever advise someone to buy freehold though so you’re not tied to a brewery.
10. It’s easy to get work experience. If you don’t want to incur the risks of being a pub owner, there are lots of other positions available – bar work, waitressing, kitchen porter, chef de partie… a lot of these roles don’t need previous experience, but once you get in, you can work your way up quickly to become assistant manager then manager if that’s what you want to do.

Why not search on Jobsite now for some great jobs in the hospitality industry?

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