Dear PoPville – Advice on Becoming a Server or Bartender without any Experience?

Photo by PoPville flickr user clif_burns

“Dear PoPville,

I’m a corporate 9-5’er in sales suffering from a quarter-life crisis and hoping to take my career in a new direction. I hate my job and need to take a year to re-evaluate and figure out what my next steps are.

I’m looking to get a job as a server or bartender at a decent restaurant in DC to get off my butt and into a job where I’m on my feet and not twiddling my thumbs all day. I have about 3 years of experience working in hotels in college, but that’s about it. Do any readers know of any restaurants or bars that are looking to hire/train servers or bartenders without serving experience ASAP?”