About the role
Following a rigorous recruitment process (we thought about it in the shower), the employer is delighted to open the position of Chief Beer Taster & Designated Drinking Friend. This is a senior, hands-on role with direct responsibility for the quality of pints, the quality of chat, and the ongoing defence of the good table.
The successful candidate has already been identified. Other applicants need not apply, partly because there are no other applicants, and mostly because we have already decided. Unlike some employers, we recognise talent when it's sat across the table from us.
“Honestly one of the best people I've ever had a pint with. Knows when to get a pitcher. Doesn't judge the 11am one. Ten out of ten, would drink with again.”
Key responsibilities
- Tasting beer. Sitting down while doing it. Standing is permitted at the bar only.
- Providing expert technical feedback on each pint, drawn from the approved vocabulary: “that's a good pint” and “that's not a good pint.”
- Being ordered a drink through the app and acting appropriately surprised when it turns up at table 47.
- Securing the corner booth, holding the corner booth, and if necessary defending the corner booth.
- Pronouncing on the carpet with total authority, despite knowing nothing about carpets.
- Saying “shall we just get a pitcher?” at the precise moment it becomes the right decision.
- Confirming, when asked, that yes, this is an acceptable time to have a pint. It always is. That's the job.
- Emergency chips: ordering them, sharing them, and guarding them from the other party.
- Listening to the employer talk absolute nonsense, and responding with nonsense of equal or greater value.
- Signing off the tasting paddle with a suitably serious face, as if any of it matters.
- Curry Club (Thursdays), Steak Club (Tuesdays), and occasional Sunday roast quality assurance.
Person specification
Essential
- Must be you. This is non-negotiable and, frankly, the whole point.
- Able to hold a pint and a conversation at the same time. Dropping either is a disciplinary matter.
- Willing to try the guest ale, even though we both know you'll go back to the usual.
- Strong, unprompted opinions on crisps.
- A minimum of 0 years' experience. Strong candidates will have exceeded this considerably.
- Able to laugh at the hiring manager's jokes, including this one.
Desirable
- Knows the exact wording of the Curry Club deal without checking.
- Can find our table number without looking at the little sign.
- Tolerates stories the hiring manager has definitely told before.
- Available for a last-minute “fancy a quick one?” at short or no notice.
- Has, at least once, said “one more won't hurt” and been catastrophically wrong.
- Owns a coat with pockets big enough for a packet of Scampi Fries.
What we offer
Our recruitment process
We believe in a transparent, candidate-first process. Here it is in full:
Apply now
Please complete every field carefully. It makes no difference to the outcome, but we like to see effort.
Congratulations, you. You've got the job.
Dear applicant,
Thank you for your application for the position of Chief Beer Taster & Designated Drinking Friend. We have reviewed it with the seriousness it deserves, which is to say we read your name and stopped there.
We are delighted to offer you the role. You were the strongest candidate by some distance, and also the only one, and we want you to know that both of those things are true and that the first one matters more.
Start date: this Friday, or sooner if you're free.
Reporting to: the employer, who will in practice be reporting to you.
First pint: paid for. Obviously.
Please bring: yourself. That's the whole job.
Any employer who let you get away has made a mistake they will not understand for some time. We, on the other hand, are extremely pleased with ourselves.
With warmest regards and a round already in,
Your best mateHiring Manager, Personal Drinking Operations Ltd