After getting laid off in 2023, marketing veteran Julie Levin worked part time as a bartender for about six months as she considered her next steps. Levin is now the head of brand partnerships at Two Things, a New York City consultancy specializing in business transformations. The following has been edited for brevity and clarity.
I moved across the country from LA to the New York area in 2022 for a really exciting job that I thought would mark the next phase of my career. But in 2023, there was a lot going on in the marketing industry, and I was laid off.
It was a setback I hadn’t anticipated. It really called into question what was next for me. It’s a scary place to be.
I started doing some consulting, but I also wanted to be thoughtful and take time to calibrate. That’s why I added bartending, which I’d done in college, into the mix. I thought it would be a way to have fun during a stressful time and make some extra money. It taught more lessons than I bargained for, in the best of ways.
I had bartended at this place during the summer in college, when it was a dive. It’s now fine dining with proper mixology. That meant it wasn’t pouring beers and shots and easy high-balls. It was complex drinks. Not only did we have to follow the recipe for them at a high volume, but we were expected to create drinks.
There’s nothing more humbling than getting behind the bar, because my corporate success wasn’t relevant. The idea of not hiding behind a title was illuminating.
Bartending is next level
I’ve always had a good work ethic, but bartending is next level. It’s not just physical. There is an emotional element to it. Being behind that bar, engaging with people, and stripping away any artifice and pretense — it’s a really cool thing.
There is this expectation, when you hear about people who bartend at a place like that, that you’re going to walk out with 1,500 bucks every time. That’s not true. It’s really hard in the service industry. Bartending also shows you how good you have it in the corporate world.
When I was bartending, there was an “aha” moment, and it was completely attitudinal. It’s about getting more flies with honey. I think I was a late-bloomer in this sense — it didn’t really dawn on me until I was behind the bar.
There were people who were full-time bartenders. When they were in a bad mood, they brought it with them. Meanwhile, you’re this customer paying $20-plus a cocktail, just looking to have a nice time. You’ve got this surly bartender who acts like they’re doing you a favor.
Initially, I wanted to be part of things, and I’d complain alongside them. Then I was like, “Wait a second. This is ridiculous. Put a smile on your face.”
It’s not that easy to stand there for eight hours and sling complicated drinks. But be pleasant; be happy — that’s not that heavy of a lift. The second I did that, everything changed. It actually became the fun experience I thought it would be.
All of a sudden, I set this new tone, and it was transformational. That is something I try to carry with me. Bring a good attitude, even if you don’t feel like you want to, and the circumstances suck, and your manager is the worst.
People would be like, “You’re such a good bartender.” The truth is, I wasn’t that great. I was serviceable. Maybe, in time, I could have become amazing. But the attitude shift was infectious, and it made a huge difference.
Bartending made me rethink my corporate job
After bartending, I brought that spirit back to my team, and I got shout-outs all the time — not for the work I did, which I thought was pretty significant.
The praise largely came because I brought a positive attitude and a cheery spirit. No one would have said that about me for the first 20 years of my career. They would have said, “She’s really capable, really smart, but sometimes demanding and intense.”
People who lack the ability to roll up their sleeves and get in the weeds and also be nice to people — regardless of their title, or if they can do something for them — are going to have a really hard time.
Bartending forced me to rethink everything and see things that I wouldn’t have seen, and enjoy every step of it, challenging and otherwise.
It teaches you the resilience and problem-solving capabilities to challenge yourself and be fearless. If you don’t have those skill sets today, it’s going to be hard for you to be successful.
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