Kinsa Group Blog

• Ineffective Networking
• Low Self-Confidence
• Lack of Interview Preparation
• Not Fully understanding Your Value
• Not putting Velocity In Your Search

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Keeping your resume current is important to your continued career development.  But unless you’re actively looking for a job, the daily demands of life, home and work can easily push this updating process down on your priority list.  If you haven’t reviewed your resume  in over a year, here are just a few good reasons why you should take a fresh look at it:

• Even if you’re currently employed, you never know when an attractive job opening may present itself.  A current resume can help you capitalize on an unexpected opportunity – before someone else has the chance.
• Over time, your important achievements and contributions may be forgotten.  Regular updating ensures that critical, measurable accomplishments are accurately recorded.
• In many cases, your resume creates a first and lasting impression on a potential employer.  Make sure it’s a good one.  By periodically reviewing and honing your resume, you can create a more powerful marketing tool that accurately and favorably represents you as a professional.

Use these tips to make your resume update simple and comprehensive:

1. Review personal information (address, e-mail, LinkedIn URL, etc.) to ensure everything is up-to-date.
2. Review your oldest job. If it’s no longer relevant, and you have at least 10 years of documented work history without it, remove it.
3. Update your responsibilities and accomplishments. Consider the following:  special projects; new expertise developed or job responsibilities awarded; knowledge or skills enhancement from special training or professional development; awards or other recognition; challenges you faced and solutions developed; measurable results you helped achieved (e.g., eliminating process inefficiencies, increasing productivity or sales, improving staffing or operational performance, etc.).
4. Revist your objective statement. If it is not in line with your current career aspirations, rewrite it.  The statement can be general, but should show some direction toward the field in which you want to work.
5. Reevaluate your references. Verify that these individuals still work where you have noted and that contact information for each is correct.  If you have developed new contacts who can attest to your recent achievements or heightened responsibility, consider replacing them with outdated references.
6. Update your resume format. Check online sample resumes to see if yours looks outdated and revise accordingly.  Additionally, you should create an electronic version of your resume if you don’t already have one.
7. Proofread everything. Sloppy spelling, grammar and punctuation may take you out of the running immediately.  If you’re not proficient in proofreading, ask a trusted friend or associate to help.

Looking for a better career opportunity in the food & beverage industry?  Give us a call or browse open career opportunities.  Or, follow us on Twitter to receive the latest job opportunities we’re recruiting for.

U.S. workers are working longer – and retiring later.  Why?

According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute’s Retirement Confidence Survey (as reported by Workforce.com):

• about 36 percent of respondents cite the poor economy;
• 16 percent say their lack of faith in Social Security is forcing them to postpone retirement;
• 13 percent claim they simply can’t afford to stop working.

As a result, workers say they are more than twice as likely to work up to age 70 or older – a 25 percent increase from just a decade ago.

Rising numbers of older individuals remaining in the workforce creates both challenges and potential benefits for employers.  On the one hand, workers delaying retirement adds pressure to companies already struggling to reduce payroll as profit dwindles.  A glut of older workers also threatens to clog the talent pipeline for organizations who want to bring in new employees – at lower salary levels.

On the other hand, companies for which knowledge loss is a concern stand to gain a welcome benefit from a more mature workforce – less “brain drain.”  Key managers have more time to plan for the departure of older workers, and therefore can be more strategic in retraining or transferring institutional knowledge.

As older workers continue to delay retirement, HR needs to respond by reevaluating the way they manage human capital.  Instead of paying older workers to retire, HR should look for creative ways to take advantage of the shift in workforce demographics:

• Create cross-mentoring relationships. In a traditional mentor relationship, older, more experienced workers share knowledge with their less experienced counterparts.  When it comes to technology, however, younger employees are often more savvy.  Organizations can foster reverse mentorships, in which younger workers share their knowledge in areas like online social networking.
• Find new ways to attract younger workers. In a time when career advancement is likely to become more difficult, organizations should focus on new ways to bring top performers on board.  When HR can’t necessarily offer rapid upward mobility to new talent, they can offer lateral movement.  Lateral moves can help younger employees broaden their knowledge bases, become more valuable to the employer (increasing job security) and become more marketable overall.

Kinsa Group can help your organization proactively manage its professional and executive human capital needs as our workforce changes.  We provide recruiting and professional placement services with a specific focus on the food & beverage industry.  Serving companies throughout the United States since 1985, we are able to recruit and assess candidates for positions in:

• Executive Management
• General Management
• Sales
• Marketing
• Operations & Plant Production Management
• Research & Development
• Food Science
• Quality Assurance
• Food Safety
• Human Resources
• Engineering
• Maintenance
• Supply Chain and Purchasing
• Warehouse Management
• Finance & Accounting

How will your food & beverage organization address the shifts in workforce demographics?  We at Kinsa would like to know.  Please leave your comments below.

Are your candidates just “talking the talk,” or can they truly “walk the walk”?

Determining who a candidate really is, and what he can really do, are critical parts of a job interview.  But when it comes to evaluating executive food & beverage talent, résumés and interviews only reveal so much.  As a talent manager, it can be extremely difficult to determine if a candidate is accurately representing himself, and if he can actually perform to the extent his new role will require.

To eliminate some of this uncertainty, many organizations have expanded their selection process to include business simulations.  A recent TalentManagement.com article sheds some light on this assessment tool and the role it plays in successful executive hiring.  Here is a brief summary of the article’s key points:

Lead with Questions.

The first step in a proper assessment is crafting a strong interview.  While you may be tempted to jump into what the candidate can or would do in the new position, start by taking a look back.  Choose questions that elicit behavioral examples from candidates, allowing them to explain how they handled similar situations in the past.  Follow-up with questions that reveal the outcomes of these situations.

Make Sure the Candidate is the Real Deal.

Many companies are increasingly looking to business simulations to identify and hire the right executive.  These tailored, intensive, one- or two-day-long programs place executive candidates in fictitious, yet highly realistic situations designed to mimic the challenges of a potential position.

Business simulations go beyond a typical “How would you react?” behavioral question.  Candidates are required to react to actual, unpredicted events that well-trained consultants help play out.  Here is how a typical business simulation is executed:

• A few days before the simulation, the candidate receives a rich case study on a fictitious company.  He is given a job description and role to play within the organization.
• After reviewing the company profile and proposed challenge (e.g., merger, cutbacks, major distribution channel change, product line extension, etc.), the candidate reports to work as if it were his actual daily routine.  While the situation is completely new, he and the consultants (who play fellow executives and/or subordinates) act as though it is a regular day at work.
• Throughout the day, the candidate is inundated with typical workplace challenges (e.g., harried bosses, disgruntled employees, phone interruptions, etc.).  The consultants who play his co-workers observe his reactions to those challenges and the decisions he makes.
• Once the simulation is complete, the candidate reviews his own performance with the consultants.  Together, they identify the candidate’s strengths and development needs.

Value of Business Simulations

Some individuals fare better during a traditional interview process than others.  The candidate who performs best in an interview, however, may not actually be the best person for the job.  For this reason, many organizations now rely on business simulations to assess high-potential executives.  Used in conjunction with interviews and assessments, simulations provide a more complete picture of a candidate’s leadership skills, management style and shortcomings.

Workplace simulations turn the candidate evaluation process into a high-touch development experience.  Once completed, the assessment can be used as the basis for long-term development if the candidate is hired.  This developmental aspect is especially beneficial for internal candidates being considered for promotion.

At the end of the day, interviewers want to know if a potential candidate can exhibit the skills, right now, in situations that reflect the challenges of the available position.  Assessments that use real-world simulations can provide the depth of information talent leaders need to make high-stakes hiring decisions.  While the time and cost of such an intensive process is high, the ability to essentially “test drive” a potential leader make some simulations well worth the price.

Ensure Successful Placements with Kinsa – Food & Beverage Recruiters

When hiring an executive for your food & beverage company, you can’t afford to take chances.  Kinsa’s comprehensive 8-Step Recruiting Process includes a full range of assessment options to ensure the success of your next hire.  Partner with Kinsa today and connect with the industry’s top food & beverage executives and professionals

Stressed out?  Anxious?  Jet-lagged?

For years consumers sought drinks laden with ingredients like caffeine, taurine, electrolytes and herbs to give them the extra energy boost they craved.  But lately, manufacturers have introduced several non-alcoholic concoctions that promise just the opposite – they help you unwind.

Today, it seems it’s not enough for a drink to simply quench your thirst.  Manufacturers are responding to consumers’ demands for beverages that take them to new extremes.  Red Bull was one of the first drinks to gain notoriety for extreme energy.  Now a host of relaxation drinks, with names like Mary Jane’s, Dream Water and Lazy Cakes, are pushing the limits at the opposite end of the energy spectrum.

But do relaxation drinks deliver on their claims, and more importantly, are they safe?

Several recent articles, including one posted on CNN.com, focus on rising concerns about new (and sometimes untested) anti-energy drinks.  Sold on college campuses and in grocery and convenience stores, this breed of beverage is being marketed to younger adults, soccer moms and busy professionals.

According to the CNN.com article, Ronald Peters, associate professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, likens anti-energy drinks to street drug concoctions (laced with codeine cough syrup) urban youths have been mixing up on their own for years.  In the article, Peters called the marketing of commercialized anti-energy drinks “one of the worst things I’ve ever seen with corporate immorality.”

On the other side of the coin, Tim Barham, president of Frontier Beverage, said Unwind (his company’s anti-energy drink) is not “associated in the same realm at all” with the cough syrup mixtures.  He and other beverage makers say that their products are safe and that they are a positive alternative to drugs and alcohol.

So what’s in these drinks?  Manufacturers help consumers chill out with a variety of ingredients, including:

• passion flower
• kava
• valerian root
• melatonin
• rose hips
• GABA

An NPR.com article states that research on most of the herbal supplements going into relaxation drinks is spotty and inconclusive.  Herbs can’t be patented and the FDA doesn’t require companies to standardize ingredients or even back-up their claims with research, so there is ultimately no financial or legal incentive for manufacturers to scientifically test their products.

According to New York-based food and drug attorney Marc Ullman, “The relaxation product category is a category that’s looking for trouble.”  He recently told FoodNavigator-USA.com that relaxation beverage makers may face particular problems in light of the FDA’s draft guidance on distinguishing dietary supplements from beverages.

As consumer demand skyrockets and manufacturers continue to blur the distinction between drinks and supplements, we’re likely to hear much more on the topic.  What’s your take?  Please leave your comments below.

Kinsa Group – Your Food & Beverage Industry Recruiter

For over 25 years, The Kinsa Group has delivered the high performing food & beverage industry professionals your company needs to compete in today’s competitive and rapidly changing marketplace.  Simply put, food and beverage recruiting and assessment is all we do.  Contact us today to learn more.

A job interview is a two-way street.  A hiring manager tries to find out everything he can about you, while you try to find out everything you can about the position and your potential employer.

To decide whether or not you can thrive in an organization long-term, you need to learn about more than the basics (e.g., salary, job responsibilities and organizational structure).  During the interview, you must also determine if the company is a “good fit” for you – if their values, beliefs, ethics and rules of behavior align with your own.

But how do you ascertain if an employer’s corporate culture is right for you?

Before the Interview

Learn as much as you can about an employer before the formal interview starts:

• Research the company before the interview. Search online for clues about the employer’s culture.  Review their annual report, website and what others write or say about the organization.  Plenty of resources are available online to guide you in your research.
• Arrive a few minutes early. Observe how current employees are dressed, how they interact with one another and how courteous and professional they seem – before they know who you are.  Pay attention to what’s on the walls, how clean the space is and how much room employees are given to work.  All these details will provide a clearer picture of the company’s personality.

During the Interview

Use this list of sample questions to dig deeper in your next interview and uncover important information about an employer’s culture:

• What does it take to succeed here long-term? The traits an employer encourages and rewards speak to its corporate culture.  Ask this question early in the interview and incorporate those sought-after characteristics into your subsequent answers.
• If you could describe your company’s culture in just three words, what would you say? This question accomplishes two things.  First, it helps you learn about the salient aspects of an organization’s culture.   Second, it positions you as a thinker, setting you apart from the crowd.
• Does this company have a written corporate values statement? A progressive organization (i.e., one that has put the effort into developing a formal values statement) understands the importance of corporate culture and is just as concerned about making a values match as you are.  If the company has no written cultural values, their mission statement may provide insight for you.
• What are the best and worst parts about your work environment, that I wouldn’t understand unless I’d been working here for several months? Some workplaces are quite different once the “honeymoon” phase has passed.  This question may help elicit some candor from your interviewer and get him to share the realities of the work environment – both good and bad.  Beware of the interviewer who has nothing negative to say.  The fact is, all cultures have their positive and negative aspects.
• What are your favorite aspects of this company’s culture? This question tells you what brings the interviewer back to work each and every day.  Because it’s personal, ask this question at the end of the interview – after you’ve had a chance to establish rapport with the interviewer.  You can end the interview on a positive note and leave a great final impression.

As you ask all these questions, pay attention to the interviewer’s nonverbal cues.  Sometimes the words an interviewer says aren’t as important as how he says them.  Body language, eye contact, facial expressions and posture don’t lie.  Compare the interviewer’s actions with his words to decide if he is really telling the truth, or just trying to present the company in the best possible light.

Looking for your next food & beverage position?

Kinsa Group has the inside track with leading food & beverage employers and can help you make smarter employment decisions.  We provide you with invaluable details about corporate culture, interviewers’ personality styles and other intangibles to ensure you thrive in your next position.  Contact a Kinsa recruiter today or search available food & beverage professional and executive positions.

The following food & beverage industry professionals are experienced, motivated and ready to perform for your organization:

VICE PRESIDENT OF R & D

CN: 68378

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE: Accomplished innovation leader with 20 years of solid marketing and R&D results at an industry-leading Fortune 400 food company and a $3 billion frozen food manufacturer.

Key accomplishments, skills and experience:

• Demonstrated track record of delivering growth through new product innovation. New product net sales reached nearly 6% per year and more than 18% on a rolling 36-month basis. Additionally the innovation pipeline value tripled in five years.
• Led marketing execution in the transformation of a commodity fresh meat business into a portfolio of consumer-desired products delivering a 150% increase in profit margins.
• Influential leader on executive teams tasked with creating a transformational corporate strategic plan and implementing best-in-class employee engagement program.
• Motivational team leader who built a culture of innovation in which R&D employee engagement improved at twice the rate of overall company growth.
• Proven ability to recruit, mentor and build strong leaders. Team members frequently selected for promotion out of R&D and for inclusion in corporate leadership academy.
• Strong analytical skills and vast experience with implementing best practices. Introduced best-in-class portfolio management system and spearheaded the new product process.
• Goal – lead food industry technical teams in delivering new product innovation through an R&D culture of collaboration, accountability and influence.

Expertise in:

• Team leadership (worked with teams ranging from 5 to > 100)
• Strategic plan development and execution
• Brand management (6 years in marketing at Hormel)
• Strong technical expertise with all forms of meat products
• General technical expertise with dairy / dough / entrees
• Extensive communication skills
• Employee engagement
• Stage-Gate / Accolade

EDUCATION: Ph.D. Meat Science in 1987 from Iowa State University

DESIRED SALARY: $150,000+/year

CONTACT: Please contact Laurie Hyllberg at 414.367.5505 or e-mail Laurie.

__________________________________________________________

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT FOOD SCIENTIST

CN: 107429

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE: Passionate Food Scientist with great product development experience in food.  After recently losing her position of 10 years with a major food manufacturer as Food Scientist – Biscuit & Snacks division, this seasoned professional is looking to bring her outstanding creativity in developing new ideas and flavors to your organization.

She is certainly a top talent with her experience, knowledge and education.  She has worked product development from bench top to pilot plant through to commercialization.  Has cross functional HACCP, labeling and quality experience through working closely with these areas of the company.

She has worked with shelf stable bakery and snack food products such as cracker and cookies.  She has also worked with flavors: from savory flavors to flavors for confectionary, jellies and sweet goods, to liquid, dry and plated flavors.

Presently renting, can make a relocation easily.  Ideal locations are; MO, KY, GA, SC, NC, WV, VA, TN, MD, NY, & NJ.  Would be a great asset to your R&D team… Will NOT be available long!

DESIRED SALARY: $70,000/year

CONTACT: To learn more, please contact Nancy Furgason at 414.367.5512 or e-mail Nancy.

__________________________________________________________

SENIOR SALES & MARKETING MANAGER

CN: 108195

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE: Focused and driven strategic marketing and sales manager with demonstrated success in fast-paced, customer-driven and highly competitive sales environments.  Energetic multi-tasker competent in managing to budget, building and motivating high-performance sales teams, executing multi-faceted marketing programs and achieving aggressive sales results.

Possesses complementary operations management skills including:

• People Management
• Broker Management
• Financial Record Keeping
• Budgeting
• Strategic Planning
• New Business Development
• New Product Launch
• Key Account Relationship Management & Maximization
• Training & Education
• Cost Control
• Inventory Management
• Production Scheduling
• Tradeshow Planning & Execution

DESIRED SALARY: $110,000/year

CONTACT: Please contact Russ Lilly at 414.367.5513 or e-mail Russ.

If you are looking for a job in the food & beverage industry, then you know that using technology in your search process can be both complex and somewhat intimidating.  But while it is only a piece of the whole process of finding a job today, savvy job seekers like you should try to leverage technology’s benefits.  Why?  Doing so can make your job search shorter and more successful.

As a nationwide food & beverage industry recruiter with over 25 years of experience, we at Kinsa Group provide a full complement of technology tools and resources to facilitate your job search.  Here are some of the best:

• Twitter. Looking for a Business Development Manager opportunity?  Searching for the latest VP Plant Operations positions?  Be the first to know about new job postings by following Kinsa on Twitter.
• Facebook. If you’re on Facebook, Search Kinsa Group and Like our Fan Page.  We post select positions on our Wall, which will show up automatically on your Home Page.
• LinkedIn. Connect with our recruiters by becoming part of Kinsa Group’s LinkedIn network.
• Website. Kinsa Group’s website contains a full complement of technology tools to facilitate your job search.  You can learn about our services for food & beverage job seekers, upload your résumé, search open food & beverage jobs.  Once you’re registered with us, you can update your profile and track your interview schedule right from our website.
• Blog. Kinsa’s blog is updated weekly and contains valuable career advice, job search tips and trends impacting the food & beverage industry.
• Kinsa CareerEdge.  Kinsa CareerEdge™, powered by Kinsa Group, is our FREE online career resource that enables you to: access over 1,000 Job Boards on one site; prepare a résumé or receive a résumé critique; participate in weekly webinars covering job seeker “hot topics,” receive job search advice, and more.
• iHobnob. iHobnob, a niche job board for the food and beverage industry elite, provides an objective medium for you to establish relationships, grow professionally, manage and enhance your career.
• National database. As a Kinsa candidate, our Recruiters across the nation have instant access to your profile.  We actively maintain our database to rapidly match your skills, experience and career interests with potential employment opportunities from coast to coast.

At Kinsa Group, we’re dedicated to making your food & beverage job search search faster, easier and more effective than ever.

Creating a cohesive team of high-performing food & beverage professionals for your organization is no small task.  Factors like location, lack of time and a shortage of truly qualified applicants can complicate your hiring process.

Here are a few common recruiting challenges food & beverage employers face, along with the ways a specialized recruiter like Kinsa can make the process simpler and more effective:

Location, location, location. If your company has a “less than ideal” location (to put it delicately), you may have trouble consistently attracting the top talent you need.  With a national database of over 80,000 candidates, Kinsa can help you access qualified professionals and executives who are open to relocation.  We know where our candidates are willing to work.  We’ll only refer those who are not only qualified for the position, but also willing to move to your area.

Asking the right questions. When it comes to hiring, knowledge is power.  Asking the right questions when screening and interviewing is critical to creating the ideal match.  At Kinsa Group, food & beverage recruiting is all we do.  Our Recruiters are experts in:

• assessing the requirements of your available position;
• determining the major selling points of the opportunity (beyond those listed in the job description);
• identifying behaviors and attitudes critical to success in the role;
• crafting the right questions that will determine if candidates are the right fit for your opportunity.

Finding the “needle in the haystack.” Posting on a job board may yield a lot of résumés, but how many of those applicants are truly qualified for the position?  When you require a unique skill set or have an immediate hiring need, a professional recruiting service like Kinsa provides two distinct advantages to recruiting on your own:

• Shorter time-to-hire. Because we maintain a robust database of a wide variety of skilled executives and professionals, Kinsa can quickly pinpoint candidates with the exact skills and experience you require.
• Substantial time savings. Sorting through piles of résumés, not to mention screening and interviewing, takes up valuable HR and management time.  Our services keep you focused on your top priorities, while delivering the select few candidates who are genuinely qualified for your available position.

Kinsa Group – A Better Way to Hire Food & Beverage Professionals

As a national food & beverage recruiter, The Kinsa Group has the resources and expertise to quickly and cost-effectively deliver executive and c-level food & beverage professionals with skills, experience and behavioral traits to succeed in your organization.  We use professionally trained interviewers, a wide array of assessments, thorough background checks and satisfaction guarantees to ensure the success of your next hire.

Should you stay or should you go?

In a time when good jobs are harder to find, you may be tempted to just “stay put” – even if your current food & beverage position lacks the potential you desire.  But if you look at your career from a strategic point of view, there are several strategic reasons why it makes sense to change jobs every few years:

Find your career passion. Career passion is an essential component in long-term success.  How passionate are you about your current role?  Does your work take advantage of your biggest strengths?  If not, you may want to explore career opportunities that will spark more engagement and key into your natural talents.

Broaden your experience and skills. Every food & beverage job, from food science to executive management, has an initial learning curve during which you acquire invaluable knowledge, skills and experience.  After a few years, however, you become competent in your current role.  Learning diminishes, as does your professional development.

Increase your earning power. When you strategically seek out opportunities with greater responsibility, you accelerate both your promotion cycle and salary increases.  Be careful, however, not to make a strategic change based solely on salary.  Keep your work/life balance, career passion and long-term development in mind as well.

Considering a Job Change?

If you are thinking about making a strategic change within the food and beverage industry, keep these important steps in mind:

Create a plan. Develop a focused, strategic vision of where you want to go – and what you want to do – in your new role.  Write it down and use it to guide you as you make important career decisions.

Test the waters. Find out what food & beverage job opportunities are currently available.  Kinsa Group’s Job Board and HOT Jobs make it easy to learn about potential opportunities nationwide.

Get advice and help if you need it. With an exclusive focus on the food & beverage industry, Kinsa’s employment experts can help you:

• Critically analyze your experience, strengths and goals, to map out a strategy for your long-term career success.
• Confidentially explore career opportunities while you’re working.
• Access unadvertised positions that may promote your career development.
• Conduct a more efficient job search, by bringing the right job opportunities directly to you via e-mail and phone.  This way, you don’t have to “troll” the Internet and sift through countless job listings that aren’t the right fit for you.

Ready to make a strategic job change for the better?  Contact a Kinsa Recruiter today.