I wanna move to the U.S
Most of my friends started off waiting tables then becoming bartenders. Just get your foot in the service industry.
What Colin said... It helps to have a good background in BS, Charm, and over all, have a good smile.
I decided one day that I thought it'd be fun to be a bartender. I had barbacked years before, but had no experience up front.
Get yourself a bartender's bible, or Boston's bar guide and learn the generics (white russian, comso, etc.). 90% of the crowd is going to ask for beer, or blank & blank (crown and 7/water, jack and coke, rum and coke, etc.) The other 10% will want a white russian, or a martini, or the dreaded 'I don't know what I want, make a suggestion!'
Learn how to make a good martini, learn your crown (especially if they're regulars) and make sure you know how they like their drinks made. I had one group of ladies that always sat at the end of the bar and drank white russians non-stop. They were difficult @ first b/c they wanted their drinks a certain way. I realized this quickly and while I had a few slow minutes I went over with that ingredients and worked a few small glasses to make sure I knew exactly what they were looking for. We wound up doing 'white russian' shots until their recipe was perfected. They had a load of fun, and I wound up getting tipped extremely well that night.
From that point forward, they ONLY wanted me to make their drinks b/c I had it down.
But as far as getting the job is concerned, you're best starting off in a restaurant/bar type of situation. I asked friends, family, etc. if they knew anyone in need of a bartender. Within a few days I found a location, went in, talked to the manager and that was it. Just dressed nice enough to say I can do this job, but not so crazy that looks out of place in a bar and make sure you go in smiling with confidence. Explain that you're rusty, but that you can handle it and make anyone smile while they're waiting for their drink. First and foremost, you have to be able to keep people happy and smiling while they're drowning their sorrows.
You'll make most of your drinks for the dinner crowd, and then you can work on the bar crowd at the same time.
Once you've got a good feel for what needs doing, you can decide to stay, or move to a more fast-paced bar environment.
Personally, I enjoyed the work, but never desired to move downtown. It just wasn't for me as I'm more of a laid-back bar-atmosphere type of person.
Good luck!