Job Interview For Bouncer/Doorman - What To Wear/Expect?
 

First "real-world" job interview post-college (until I get personal training certification). Saw an ad on Craigslist and emailed my resume to the guy who posted the job, he just said to come to the bar between 12 and 4 on Tuesday. So for anyone who is a bouncer or tried out for a job like that before:

- What should I wear? Is black polo shirt and khakis ok, or dress shirt better?
- Bringing resume is standard?
- What sort of questions besides job history should I be prepared for? I don't really think this is a job that is about upward mobility, so do I just lie about having goals to make a career out of it?
- Will I be discounted for being too small? I'm 6'0, 250, lift 4x/wk, can bench my bodyweight, yada yada but I'd have no shot against some 6'5, 300 pound guy.

The bar itself is casual and western-themed, and the bouncers wore black t-shirts/jeans IIRC when I went there, so I wouldn't think a suit would be necessary.

Re: Job Interview For Bouncer/Doorman - What To Wear/Expect?
 

i would say expect to answer questions about defusing situations, being able to handle customers, etc. most bars are not looking for a bouncer who is just some meathead looking to crush skulls at the first sign of trouble.

don't lie about anything, tell them you are looking for a good full-time job, that you have other interests which you are pursuing during the day but it won't conflict with work.

as for being too small, it totally depends on the bar. i have a friend who is a doorman at a popular bar / music venue and he weighs about 140 pounds. other places you need to be a black belt in something or have military training or god knows what. they'll tell you there what you need. but being big is certainly not enough in and of itself in most places.

Re: Job Interview For Bouncer/Doorman - What To Wear/Expect?
 

A Tapout T-shirt?

Re: Job Interview For Bouncer/Doorman - What To Wear/Expect?
 

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A Tapout T-shirt?

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This is an interview man..Affliction shirt LDO

Re: Job Interview For Bouncer/Doorman - What To Wear/Expect?
 

T-shirt that says "I has big ego"

Re: Job Interview For Bouncer/Doorman - What To Wear/Expect?
 

strap yo self

Re: Job Interview For Bouncer/Doorman - What To Wear/Expect?
 

Be nice until the cooler tells you it's time to not be nice.

Awesome documentary.

Re: Job Interview For Bouncer/Doorman - What To Wear/Expect?
 

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Be nice until the cooler tells you it's time to not be nice.

Awesome documentary.

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"When darkness descends and Jordan prepares for the club scene, a different personality emerges. He stands around itching for excitement. He wants you to start trouble. You look at him wrong, you say anything controversial and Jordan is in your face. And you don’t want to get him started. Once Jordan starts fighting, he will beat you down."

Re: Job Interview For Bouncer/Doorman - What To Wear/Expect?
 

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Be nice until the cooler tells you it's time to not be nice.

Awesome documentary.

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These guys were built to bounce. Everything about them, from their looks, to their attitude to their lifestyle says, bouncer. So what you have to wonder is what on Earth do these guys do during the day.

They do 2 things and 2 things only. They go to the tanning salon. It’s like Frank says, “A tan makes you look 100% better, I do it for my personal self-enjoyment I call it. It’s like women when they do their hair, their nails…” But they only go to the tanning salon 3 or 4 days a week. So what do they spend the rest of their time doing.

Well, since they were 12 years old they have been collecting every article, souvenir and photo printed about their idol, Sylvester Stallone. If you ask really nicely they’ll even let you peek inside their scrapbook. Actually they have about 70 scrapbooks from all the years they’ve been doing this. And in case you’re curious. They think Sly would make a great bouncer, even if he seems a little short.



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Re: Job Interview For Bouncer/Doorman - What To Wear/Expect?
 

I used to be a bouncer.

I would go wit hthe dress shirt.
Bring resume
your hight weight should be sufficient, bouncers work in teams (unless this is a solo gig, then I would not want it)

If you have a chance to talk about your skills related talk about your calm demeanor, your ability to verbally de-escalate situtions, and your patience. Qualities like these are much more valuable than size/strenght in this field of work.

Clubs want to avoid lawsuits. The less hands on work you have to do the better for the bar. You want to be able to calmly resolve situations through verbal communication.

YOur size and strenght will be obvious, I would not even mention it unless sepcifically asked. You don't want to come across as a tough guy. YOu want to come across as confident, but calm and rational. (they don't want you smacking around drunks or throwing them out the back door, they want you to be patient with them, keep your cool, and ocnvince them verbally to leave). In the event of a fight they want you to break it up and get the people out, but not to fight them.

Re: Job Interview For Bouncer/Doorman - What To Wear/Expect?
 

I used to be a bouncer too for 4 years. Just wear something casual like jeans or something. I can assure you unless it is a really upscale gentleman's club, they aren't gonna care what you are wearing. Also wear cowboy boots or something else with heels to make yourself look taller.

BKholdem pretty much nailed it. Clubs are not looking for someone who tries to start sh*t for obvious reasons. And if some azzhole ever puts a gun in your face...don't try to be a hero. Been there done that.

FWIW, a bouncing gig will get you laid more than you can possibly imagine.

Re: Job Interview For Bouncer/Doorman - What To Wear/Expect?
 

ask me a question about being a bouncer in a nightclub

Re: Job Interview For Bouncer/Doorman - What To Wear/Expect?
 

6ft 250lbs is pretty big.

Re: Job Interview For Bouncer/Doorman - What To Wear/Expect?
 

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6ft 250lbs is huge, dude.

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Re: Job Interview For Bouncer/Doorman - What To Wear/Expect?
 

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6ft 250lbs is huge, dude.

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Thankfully it's not all fat, only 25% but that still sucks [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

And I consider huge to be like professional wrestler/boxer, so maybe I'm off

Re: Job Interview For Bouncer/Doorman - What To Wear/Expect?
 

From my somewhat limited understanding of the bar operation scene, this whole thread seems surreal. A resume for being a bouncer? An interview?

Re: Job Interview For Bouncer/Doorman - What To Wear/Expect?
 

Wow. You need a resume and go to an interview to be a bouncer in a bar? I thought you only needed to be big and brawny.

Re: Job Interview For Bouncer/Doorman - What To Wear/Expect?
 

I did this in undergrad. Why is it so surprising that you would need a resume and an interview for any position these days? It's standard at this point unless the work is such that you don't need a single skill to do it. As the bar owner I'd want to know if I had a half intelligent person to make good decisions in tough situations, and I'd also want to see what types of jobs they've done in the past. You aren't the best candidate simply because you're a massive meathead.

Re: Job Interview For Bouncer/Doorman - What To Wear/Expect?
 

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From my somewhat limited understanding of the bar operation scene, this whole thread seems surreal. A resume for being a bouncer? An interview?

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Do you think there will be negative consequences for going the extra mile?

And the interview will likely be informal but I think it's a good idea to be prepared and to kill it rather than just trying to get by.

Do some online searching of CPI (crisis prevention and intervention) and verbal de-escalation and things like that incase they ask you quesitons like "some guy is yelling at his girlfriend at the bar, what do you do?"- monitor, let the head bouncer know, if it doens't seem like an immediate physical threat you could consult with the head bouncer to make a plan.

Some guy is obviously drunk, you just saw him it on two girls and they gave him discusting looks, what do you do?- Getting back up is a good idea, someone with more experienc than you. It's likely that you politely and calmly want to convince this guy to leave and it's better to take 5 minutes listening to him and letting him complain a couple times, while using a soft tone of voice and non threatening body language and getting him to walk to the door himself without putting your hands on him. Maybe humor him.

A drunk guy is demanding entry into the club and you are by yourself at the door, what do you do?- Get back up. You don't want this guy to get in the club and you want a couple guys standing next to you while it is explained to him that he is welcome back another night when he hasn't had so much to drink. YOu remain calm and do not assume a threatening body posture, you want to de-escalate him, not escalate him into violence. He is on the verge of it right now.

Someone comes up to you and gets in your face and says "I"m gonna kick your ass" What do you do?- Step back. Take on a non threatening posture, get the attention of another bouncer or to ASAP but be prepared to be swung at.

I was slapped once in the face by a chick while being a bouncer. I broke up several fights and walked several people to the door. I also escorted people to their cars when they were threatened/felt threatened by another patron.

No one whose fights I broke up ever took a swing at me. I was set up and conrered in the bathroom once as a ruse (stupid, live and learn) luckily someone had my back, bouncers keep a watch out for each other as well as the croud. YOu need to watch each others backs and work as a team to keep the patrons safe and eliminate problems with as little force as necessary.

People will start fights in clubs iwth the intention of suing the club for a bouncers violence or whatever.

Re: Job Interview For Bouncer/Doorman - What To Wear/Expect?
 

Damn sounds hard I was a bouncer and for my interview I went in had a beer at the bar with the owner he sized me up, said have you ever checked id's before, then said you'll do. I'm 6'6" 275 so I guess that helps but I wouldn't really get dressed up I'd just wear like a polo shirt and jeans.

Re: Job Interview For Bouncer/Doorman - What To Wear/Expect?
 

I'd recommend khakis and a polo, and bring a copy of your resume. Be clean shaven. Focus on being polite and confident, and like others have said make sure that you can convince them that your demeanor and your people skills are your two most relevant selling points for employment. Working in bars is mind-numbingly easy, it just takes some patience and a thick skin. Any other questions, feel free to ask away. I've been doing it for 5 years, and have reached the point where I am a head now, and supervise like 30 guys.

Re: Job Interview For Bouncer/Doorman - What To Wear/Expect?
 

So did you get the job?

Re: Job Interview For Bouncer/Doorman - What To Wear/Expect?
 

My brother-in-law is a bouncer, so for his last birthday, my wife and I ripped off a Dimitri Martin joke and made it into a shirt for him. It's a plain T and it says:

How to Be a Bouncer

1. Stand in front of a door

2. Be an a**hole


He actually wears it on the job at the one place they let him get away with it.

Re: Job Interview For Bouncer/Doorman - What To Wear/Expect?
 

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- What should I wear? Is black polo shirt and khakis ok, or dress shirt better?


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If the bar is very casual, you should be fine wearing whatever. Polo shirt and khakis would probably be more than fine. I'm sure most of the people that interview for that job would be wearing less than that.

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- Bringing resume is standard?


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I wouldn't think you would need to bring your resume to apply for a bouncer position. Odds are they have an application you would have to fill out there anyways, and you already emailed your resume to them.

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- What sort of questions besides job history should I be prepared for? I don't really think this is a job that is about upward mobility, so do I just lie about having goals to make a career out of it?


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As some have mentioned, you'll be asked questions on diffusing situations in the bar. Do not answer as if you resort to violence to get a person out. Don't lie or anything, but I'd stress that your number one goal is to keep the patrons and yourself safe and only resorting to physically removing someone from the bar after all other options have been exhausted.

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- Will I be discounted for being too small? I'm 6'0, 250, lift 4x/wk, can bench my bodyweight, yada yada but I'd have no shot against some 6'5, 300 pound guy.


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This is big for a bouncer, IMO. I was a bouncer at a very busy college bar for a few years and I am 6'1", 210 lbs. You don't have to be a big musclebound meathead, you just have to have confidence and trust the people you are working with. FWIW I'll take a sober 6'0", 250 lbs. guy over a wasted 6'5", 300 lbs. guy any day.

Re: Job Interview For Bouncer/Doorman - What To Wear/Expect?
 

I showed up at 2pm and the bar was closed/both entrances were locked/lights turned off. The guy didn't leave me a number to call in the email he sent me back. Waiting for reply on what was going on (unless he meant 12am to 4am, which I really don't think one would assume when he said 12 to 4, also since the bar closes at 2am).

Re: Job Interview For Bouncer/Doorman - What To Wear/Expect?
 

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I showed up at 2pm and the bar was closed/both entrances were locked/lights turned off. The guy didn't leave me a number to call in the email he sent me back. Waiting for reply on what was going on (unless he meant 12am to 4am, which I really don't think one would assume when he said 12 to 4, also since the bar closes at 2am).

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Unless you desperately need this job to pay the rent, I wouldn't have any other contact with these people. This sort of [censored] is generally a symptom of a larger problem.

Re: Job Interview For Bouncer/Doorman - What To Wear/Expect?
 

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I showed up at 2pm and the bar was closed/both entrances were locked/lights turned off. The guy didn't leave me a number to call in the email he sent me back. Waiting for reply on what was going on (unless he meant 12am to 4am, which I really don't think one would assume when he said 12 to 4, also since the bar closes at 2am).

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Unless you desperately need this job to pay the rent, I wouldn't have any other contact with these people. This sort of [censored] is generally a symptom of a larger problem.

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If the guy meant midnight to 4AM and the bar isn't open from noon to 4PM, I don't see what the issue is. If he meant afternoon and he wasn't there in the afternoon, then yeah, that place sucks.