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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Receiving a counter offer from your food & beverage employer is flattering.  And tempting.  Watching your boss scramble to keep you in the fold by offering more money and/or responsibility certainly sounds like a good deal – but is it really the right choice?

Probably not.  Here’s why:

• Your reputation with your boss may be undermined.  Even though your boss initially assures you that you’re too valuable for the company to lose, he may eventually begin resenting you for “extorting” money or power from the firm.  The sense of affiliation between you and your boss will be severed, and he may never fully trust you again.
• It becomes all about the money.  Once you accept the counter offer, your relationship is now almost entirely predicated on cash, and that is not a healthy foundation.
• You’ll be expected to perform like a new hire.  If you stay, you’ll be forced to prove yourself all over again to justify the increased salary or promotion.  If you’re promoted beyond your abilities and fail to perform up to standards, you could easily find yourself on the unemployment line.
• Finally, if word gets out about the deal, your relationships with coworkers could also be damaged. Peers may be envious that you got more money by turning in notice and wonder why you deserved that.

Take time to reflect upon the real reasons you sought out other career opportunities in the first place.  Then, ask yourself this question: If you accept the counter offer, will those same reasons continue to exist at your current employer?  If the answer is “Yes,” it’s clearly time to move on.  Use these tips to handle the turn-down the right way:

• Take charge of the situation.  Resign in writing but hand the resignation to your boss.  This helps you stay in control of what is typically a stressful experience.
• Tell whoever is making you the counter offer that you genuinely appreciate it, but that you’ve given the matter considerable thought and have decided that a career move is in your best interest.
• Explain that you are grateful for the chance to contribute to the overall success of the company.
• Finally, assure your boss that you will do everything in your power to make the transition for your replacement as smooth and painless as possible.

Looking for a better food & beverage career opportunity? 

Kinsa Group’s discipline-specific recruiting professionals can help you succeed.  We will learn about your career goals, innate aptitudes, work style, management philosophies and personality traits to match you with an opportunity that provides the challenge and compensation you deserve.

Best of all, our recruiters will confidentially search for positions on your behalf while you continue working.  Get started with Kinsa today or search food & beverage executive and professional jobs here.

Have you ever stopped to consider how central a job description is to effective food & beverage recruiting?

A strong position description can:

• help you determine where to source the best candidates;
• provide accurate guidelines for determining the salary range;
• help you craft a more accurate job title;
• dramatically improve the quality of candidates who apply for the position;
• serve as a road map for selecting the best interview questions;
• provide the basis for subsequent performance reviews.

Obviously, properly defining an available position can greatly improve your recruiting success.  So make sure you put the appropriate amount of time and effort into creating the best descriptions possible!  Whether you’re new to the process or a seasoned veteran, here are a few of Kinsa’s tips for creating better food & beverage job descriptions – that consistently yield the best candidates:

Move beyond minimums.  Traditional job descriptions typically describe the least-qualified (yet acceptable) candidate for the job – not the real job itself.  When you list the minimum required experience, minimum responsibilities, etc., you’re going to get mediocre applicants, at best.

Instead of using a traditional job description, define what success in the role looks like.   Create a list of results, or success factors, the new hire would need to achieve to be considered an outstanding hire – and add them to the job description:

• Develop a list of 5 or 6 specific, measurable objectives based on the fundamental elements of the job.  For example, a VP of Plant Operations may have a success factor something like: “Within nine months, consolidate the operations of two plants and produce a cost savings of 10% or more.”
• If possible, benchmark top performers in similar positions to create your success factors for the job.

Build the job description around the skills required by the job.  Too often, a job description focuses heavily on responsibilities – instead of the fundamental skills required to accomplish them.  To improve your job description, clearly state the skills required to do the job.  This way, both you and potential candidates can assess abilities against the position’s needs.  During the interview phase, ask skills-specific questions (based on the job description) to accurately gauge each applicant’s strength/weaknesses.

As an added benefit, a skills-based job description makes it much easier to gauge an employee’s job performance and identify areas for improvement when review time comes around.

Improve your formatting.  Top candidates won’t take the time to pore over dense paragraphs of prose about an available position.  Realize that they are busy, too, and tailor your descriptions to make information easier to access and digest:

• Use bullet points, when appropriate.  Make your job description easier to skim (so candidates can easily find the information they need) by using bullet points within the responsibilities, skills and experience sections.
• Be specific.  Use clear, direct language to be as transparent as possible in your description.  Steer away from vague terms like “sometimes,” “often,” and “seeks to,” as terms like these minimize the impact of what follows.
• Inject your company’s brand personality.  The language and writing style you use should reflect your company’s culture and personality.  This way, the job description itself will attract candidates who are a good cultural fit for your organization.

Revisit and update job descriptions.  The food & beverage industry and your organization are constantly changing.  Your job descriptions should continually evolve along with them.  Even when you’re not actively hiring, think of your job descriptions as dynamic documents.  As changes occur in your company and within its departments, refine position descriptions along with them.  When the time comes to post an opening, you’ll be much further ahead in the recruiting process!

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 deliver executive and c-level food & beverage professionals with the skills, experience and ethical standards to thrive in your organization.  Our recruiting experts collaborate with you to develop highly effective job descriptions that yield exceptional candidates who match your needs.  Want to learn more?  Contact Kinsa today.

Unlike the EPO that Lance Armstrong now admits he took for years, annual reviews are a widely sanctioned performance-enhancing tool.

Still, employees and managers dread them – because they’re often uncomfortable and fail to do what they’re supposed to do:  improve performance.  In fact, according to a large survey conducted by WorldatWork, 58% of organizations rated their performance management systems as “C Grade or below.”

If you dread annual reviews and would like to improve your results, here are a few practical ideas from Kinsa for making them the true “performance enhancers” they should be:

Give your employee review pre-work.  You put a lot of time and effort into preparing for a review – your employee should do the same.  Prepare for a productive conversation by providing him with a copy of your appraisal form a week before the review.  Give him time to read it, reflect on what he’s achieved (or failed to achieve) and create growth goals for the coming year.

Give specific, tactical feedback.  Open your performance review by focusing on the employee’s core area.  Start by commending him for the work he does well, giving specific examples of positive behaviors.  Recognizing accomplishments up-front will let your employee know that his work is noticed and valued – and set the right tone for your conversation.  Simply telling your employee that he did a “good job,” however, is not enough to support his continued growth.  To get the most from him in the year ahead, provide feedback that is measurable, specific and action-oriented.

Balance the negative with the positive.  When you present negative feedback, focus on the behavior – not the employee.  Use the experience as a teaching opportunity, from which the employee can learn and grow.   Most of all, for every criticism you make, find something else you can praise.  You need to be honest in a performance review, but you must also motivate your employee to perform for you in the year ahead.

Set expectations for the future.  Work together to set “SMART” performance goals for the coming year.  This goal-setting acronym is still widely used for one simple reason:  Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound goals are more likely to be achieved.  So as you work with your employee to set higher standards for the next quarter or year, help him create SMART performance goals that will get him there.

Change the timing or frequency.  Reviews are typically planned for the fourth quarter – a time when work has piled up, the holidays are in full swing and employee stress levels are high.  To improve your results, plan reviews for a slower time of the year.  You and your employees will have more time to devote to the process, without the distractions end-of-year craziness causes.

Increasing review frequency can also make the process easier.  You can break annual reviews into smaller, more frequent meetings (e.g., quarterly, or at the end of major projects).  Reviewing performance more often allows you to give timely feedback that has a greater impact.

Plan now for next year.  With a typical work year consisting of 2,080 hours, it’s nearly impossible to remember what each employee accomplishes during a 12-month period.  So as you progress through 2013, keep a record of specific examples of good and bad performance for each employee.  When review time comes around, having this information will put you ahead of the game – and convey to your employees that you’ve been watching, noticing and appreciating their hard work all year long.

Better Hires Mean Better Performance Reviews

When you hire better, your employees hit their goals.  And when your employees hit their goals, your annual performance reviews are easier.  It’s that simple.

Kinsa Group can help you hire smarter.  With over 25 years of recruiting senior-to-executive level food & beverages professionals, we deliver consistently exceptional candidates who will perform for your organization.  Contact Kinsa today to learn more about our contingent and retained search services for food & beverage professionals.

How long do you have before being unemployed starts negatively impacting your ability to find a food & beverage job?

Try one month.

A new research article suggests that employers think less of unemployed job candidates – no matter how briefly they’ve been out of work, and regardless of whether they’ve quit or been laid off.

The article, titled “The Psychological Stigma of Unemployment: When Joblessness leads to Being Jobless,” cites several experiments that found bias against the jobless, virtually from the outset of unemployment.  For example, in one study, co-author Geoffrey C. Ho and his team asked 47 experienced HR professionals to review résumés that were identical in all ways, with a single exception:  half said the candidate was currently employed and half said the person had been out of work for a month.

The “currently employed” candidate received better marks for competence and hireability.

The harsh reality?  Unemployment discrimination is a troubling trend in hiring.  Despite numerous EEO laws and safeguards, some employers exclude qualified food & beverage job candidates from consideration, simply because of their employment status.  To these hiring managers, requiring that a candidate be gainfully employed is just “smart business” – helping them to control the flood of applications and to filter out “damaged goods” before spending valuable time and resources on screening and interviewing.

But if you’ve been unemployed for an extended period and are trying to find work, it’s hard to see the logic in a practice like this.

Now is a time to stay strong.  If you’re unemployed and looking for work, here is some sound advice for beating unemployment discrimination – before it beats you:

• Forgive yourself – and move on.  Losing a job is nothing unusual, especially these days.  Mergers, cost-cutting measures and total shutdowns have forced countless people out of their jobs over the past few years.  Whatever your reason for being unemployed, you need a positive mindset to tackle what may be a tough job search.  The best thing you can do is forgive yourself for being out of work, and then move on.
• If you’ve only been out of work for a short time (a few weeks or months), invest a lot of time and energy into networking and informational interviews.  This will help you get past the initial human resources screening that would eliminate you from consideration.
• Ignore the verbiage in job posts that suggests an employer intends to discriminate based on recent employment status.  Just because the discriminatory language is present in a job listing doesn’t mean you have to adhere to the request!  If your job skills and experience are a good fit for the posting, by all means apply for that position – regardless of your employment situation.
• Consider adjusting your résumé.  If you’ve been out of work for awhile, you may want to switch from a chronological to functional résumé format.  This will allow you to lead with your skills and qualifications, outside the context of your employment history.  You may also want to omit dates from your employment history section.  Once your skills have an employer’s attention, he can inquire about the dates.
• Solidify references from previous employer(s).  When you’re unemployed, a strong endorsement from an employer – even one who let you go – may outweigh the length of your unemployment.
• Work as an interim contract professional.  It’s easiest to find a job while you’re working, so stack the deck in your favor.  Beyond merely changing your employment status, working as an interim contract professional for Kinsa can help you earn extra income, avoid gaps on your résumé and keep your spirits up.  Additionally, while you’re working, Kinsa can actively search for direct positions that match your skills, experience and interests.

Does being overqualified for a food & beverage position mean that you’ll be disqualified from consideration?

Not if you handle the interview right.

True, many employers are reluctant to hire overqualified candidates.  Recruiters fear that an overqualified employee will be dissatisfied, demand more money, expect fast promotion or even jump ship.

As a job seeker, you need to recognize these concerns and effectively address them if you want to get the offer.  Use these tips to handle an employer’s concern that your qualifications outstrip the available position:

Realize that nobody is a “perfect” match.  Reassure yourself with the fact that a recruiter rarely (if ever) finds a candidate who is an exact match for the position in terms of both skills and experience.  Most finalists are either too heavy or too light in some aspect of their qualifications.

Never misrepresent yourself.  Even if you’ve managed to gloss over your depth of experience in your résumé, it will come out in the interview.  So never try to sell yourself short.  If you do, you may be perceived as dishonest and therefore rejected, or you may wind up with a job in which you’re extremely frustrated by the lack of challenge.  At the end of the day, honesty is always your best policy.

Prepare answers to common interview questions.  If you’re overqualified, you will likely be asked a question similar to one of the following.  Make sure you’re prepared to respond effectively and allay a prospective employer’s concerns.

• How will you stay motivated in a job that doesn’t make use of many of your qualifications?  If the hiring manager is worried that the available position won’t stimulate you enough, sell yourself – not your abilities.  Explain that you can never be overqualified in your enthusiasm, your desire to mentor or your quest for knowledge.
• It’s not likely that you will be offered a promotion any time soon.  Is this okay with you?  Obviously, you don’t want to convey the impression that you’ll gladly languish in a position ad infinitum.  Instead, say something like: “I’m eager to learn as much as I can about your organization while carrying out my daily responsibilities.  While I understand that a promotion is not likely in the short-term, I’m confident that if company circumstances change, you will offer further opportunities to me.”
• I’m concerned about your willingness to stay here long-term.  Won’t you become bored or frustrated?  If a recruiter seems concerned that you’ll leave for greener pastures, demonstrate your proven track record of loyalty.  Offer examples of how you found opportunities for growth, even in positions you held for several years.

Look harder for positions that better match your experience level.  Choose your opportunities carefully!  As a job seeker, you owe it to yourself to critically evaluate the merit of any position for which you may be overqualified.  Consider:

• Would you truly be happy in this role for an extended period of time?
• Is the compensation range adequate to meet your financial needs and desired standard of living?
• Does the position fit into your long-range career development plans?

Make sure you don’t continue down the interviewing path too long – only to realize that you want a higher level job than what the employer is offering.  If you do, you may wind up burning a valuable bridge.

As national food & beverage recruiters, Kinsa works with top employers from coast to coast.  We can help you find a professional, executive or C-level food & beverage position that is ideal for your experience level and specialization:

• 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

You’ve done everything right up to this point.

Your know your new plant controller has the ideal skills, experience and personality to succeed.  You’ve thoroughly checked his references and background.  He’s enthusiastic about the opportunity and you’re excited to bring him on board.

He’ll be a success, for sure…right?

Don’t just “hope for the best” once you’ve hired a new manager or executive.  Take an active role in ensuring his success.  Use these tips from Kinsa to anticipate your new hire’s challenges and help him reach his (and your company’s!) goals:

Onboard him.  When you mainstream and orient a new hire, you set the tone for his work experience with your organization.  The more positive that initial experience, the more welcome and prepared the individual will feel in his new position.  This will, in turn, give him the confidence and resources to quickly begin making a positive impact within your company (which is why you hired this person in the first place, right?).

Get more tips for onboarding your food & beverage employees.

Manage his performance.  Keep your employee on track by making performance management a daily activity.  Give him honest feedback about what he’s doing right – and what he needs to improve.  Discuss new projects and the opportunities they present for his development and growth.  Talk about overdue assignments or project difficulties and how to resolve them.  Most of all, reinforce the importance of consistently doing a great job.

Get more tips for managing food & beverage employees’ performance.

Help him set and align his goals.  Make sure your company and your new hire are working toward the same objectives by helping the employee set short-term and long-term goals.  As you work with your new staff member to set higher standards for the next quarter or year, teach him how to create SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound) performance goals that support your strategic objectives and help him advance his career.

Facilitate positive work relationships.  Job skills are imperative to success, but so is an employee’s fit within your culture.  Even after the formal onboarding process is complete, help your new hire continue to develop and strengthen his work relationships.  Whenever possible, provide insight into your company’s culture and “how to get things done.”  Identify potential mentors and help facilitate the start of a mentoring relationship.  Bottom line, go out of your way to continue to make him feel welcomed – even after the first week is over.

With over 25 years of experience in food & beverage C-level and executive recruitment, Kinsa Group understands the challenges new hires face.  Our 8-step recruiting process ensures the candidates we refer:

• have the skills and experience to succeed;
• possess the “soft skills” and personality to thrive in your culture;
• bring the energy and the best practices to help your company achieve its objectives.

Contact Kinsa today to learn more about our executive recruiting services for food and beverage companies.

It happens to the best of us.

At one point or another, most professionals seek greener pastures within the food & beverage industry.  Some change professions to broaden their experience base; some change careers so that their innate aptitudes more closely match their job; others make the switch because they wake up one morning and realize that they hate going to work.

Whatever your reason for contemplating a career change, know that – with careful planning, focus and commitment – it is possible.  Use these ideas from Kinsa to jump start your transition:

Conduct your research.  Start by researching your desired niches within the industry, using a combination of food & beverage job boards and search engines.  Identify the most in-demand positions that would be a potential fit for your experience, interests and new career aspirations.  If there is a significant skills gap between your existing position and your desired one, determine what you need to do to acquire those skills (job shadowing, volunteering for special project teams, obtaining a mentor and classroom/online instruction are all viable options for bridging a skills gap).  Kinsa Career Edge can provide additional assistance and recommendations as you redefine your career path.

Be flexible.  Breaking into a new segment of the food & beverage industry will be much easier if you keep your options open.  So remain as flexible as you can.  Being willing to relocate, to accept a job that is only a lateral move, or to consider a lower salary to transition into a new industry segment will greatly expand your opportunities.

Revamp your résumé.  Adjust your résumé to more closely match your desired position.  Using the research you’ve conducted, highlight the skills and experiences that will transfer well to the new food & beverage job.  Update your professional summary to reflect your passion and marketable skills for your new career.

Use your existing food & beverage experience to your advantage.  Everyone you compete against for your new job will be smart, experienced and hard-working.  Update your 30-second sales pitch to highlight the benefits your prior job brings to the new one.  Explain to the interviewer how your experience in a different segment of the industry will provide “big picture” understanding other candidates may lack.

Considering a food & beverage career change? 

Kinsa Group’s discipline-specific recruiting professionals can help you succeed.  We will review your career goals, innate aptitudes, work style, management philosophies and any personal circumstances that may affect your ability to make a career change.  To further ensure a successful transition, we also employ online psychological behavioral tests that will objectively assess your personality traits and habits related to your performance.

Best of all, our recruiters will confidentially search for positions on your behalf while you continue working.  Get started with Kinsa today or search food & beverage executive and professional jobs here.

Could asking few simple questions help you land your next food & beverage job?

Absolutely.  Here’s why.

An interviewer judges the questions you ask as carefully as the answers you give.  Asking irrelevant or ubiquitous questions (i.e., what are the work hours for this position?) shows a lack of preparation for the interview (and a lack of interest in the job).  Asking germane questions, on the other hand, shows that you understand the job, the potential employer and the food & beverage industry.  The right queries signal your genuine interest, help you get the vital information you need and ultimately impress the interviewer.

Regardless of the type of food & beverage job for which you’re applying, asking savvy questions during the interview can be the difference between getting the offer and going home rejected.  So what should you ask about, and how?

Every interview is unique.  Some recruiters and hiring managers will only give you one opportunity at the end of the interview to ask questions.  Others will ask for your questions at multiple points, so be sure you have several intelligent queries prepared.  To give yourself an advantage in your next interview, consider asking one or more of the following:

1. What was the company’s biggest strategic decision this past year?  How did they come to this decision?  You want to work for a company that is proactively planning its future.  These questions demonstrate that you are thinking ahead.  They may also clue you into what you will need to do to stay current in your field and continue adding value for the employer.
   
2. What would a successful first year in this position look like?  Ask this and you will get a general idea of what the interviewer will expect you to have mastered/accomplished in a year’s time.  Additionally, it will help you gauge whether the expectations for the job are realistic.
3. What are the three main factors you will use to select the right person for this job?  This question will help you understand what kind of employee the interviewer is seeking (and if you’re the right kind of person for the job).  It will also allow you to counter by discussing important skills or qualities the interviewer lists which you may have forgotten to mention.
4. Is there anything you are still questioning about my candidacy that would prevent you from offering me this position? – or- Can I clarify anything about my skills, experience or work style further for you?  These questions solidify your genuine interest.  They also show that you’re open to constructive feedback and eager to provide reassurance that you will make a great employee.
5. What are the next steps in the hiring process?  This is a great wrap-up question.  It will help alleviate your anxiety after the interview, by giving you some idea about the company’s hiring time frame.

Type up a list of the questions you want to ask – and take them into the interview for reference.  Remember, you may not have the opportunity to ask all of the questions you want, so be sure to prioritize them.  Ask the questions you genuinely want to know the answers to, not just the ones you think will impress your interviewer.

Ultimately, asking the right questions will help you determine if you’re a good fit for the job available.  Kinsa Group can help you find that great fit and ensure your long-term career success.  Our experienced and highly specialized food & beverage industry recruiters go to great lengths to match you with the ideal food & beverage opportunity.

Contact Kinsa Group today for more assistance with your executive food & beverage job search.  From food science and engineering, to executive management and quality assurance, we provide immediate access to a wide range of the industry’s best food & beverage career opportunities.

You’re a perfect fit.

You have the right skills, the perfect amount of food & beverage experience and top notch references for this job.

Unfortunately, you also have a six-month employment gap on your résumé.

Whether it’s due to personal or professional reasons, a gap in your résumé is a potential red flag to a recruiter.  It can call into question your commitment and focus – and potentially knock you out of contention for the job.  You aren’t doomed, though.  You just need to have a sound plan for addressing it.  If you do have a gap on your résumé:

Be prepared to explain it.  A recruiter will undoubtedly want to know why you left and what you did during your time off.  Prepare a concise, direct explanation for the gap.  If you don’t give a clear reason, your interviewer may make incorrect assumptions about your honesty, job performance or work ethic.

Keep the tone positive.  Even if your last boss was a nightmare, never say anything negative about him during the interview.  Doing so will only reflect poorly on you.  If you make disparaging remarks about a former employer, your interviewer will logically wonder if you will bad-mouth his company the next time you’re hunting for a job.  Try to find a way to turn your negative experience into a plus for your prospective employer.

Make honesty your policy.  In and of itself, a gap on your résumé is not a reason to reject you.  Lying about why the gap exists, however, is.  In today’s economy, unemployment happens for a variety of reasons – not all of which are under your control.  So if you were laid off, be honest about why it happened.  Practice your response to make sure it’s clear and positive.  To get you started on the right track, consider these sample explanations for why you have a gap on your résumé:

• I was laid off from my last position because my department was eliminated due to a merger.
• I found myself bored due to the lack of challenge in my last job.  I knew my unhappiness was apparent, so I chose to leave rather than negatively impact my previous employer.
• I relocated here for personal reasons and left my last position to make the move.
• I decided to change the direction in which my career was headed.  Since my employer had no opportunities to fit my aspirations, I decided to leave so I could concentrate full-time on finding the right job.

While we’re on the topic of honesty, if you were fired from a position, be forthright about it.  Accept responsibility for what happened and highlight what you learned from the experience.  By doing so, you demonstrate your true character as well as a willingness to learn from mistakes.  Though you may be tempted to point fingers or gloss over parts of the experience, the truth may surface down the line and come back to haunt you.

If you’re in the food & beverage job market and want to avoid a gap on your résumé, register with Kinsa.  As a leading food & beverage recruiter, we’ve helped thousands of professionals and C-level executives find the opportunities they desire.  Whether you’re a food scientist, brand manager, engineer, COO or plant production manager, we can connect you with the ideal food & beverage position.  Contact Kinsa today.