Kinsa Group Blog

Are you new to the world of social networking?  Looking for fresh ways to enhance your career prospects?  If so, use these quick tips to turn a social networking profile into a powerful career-building tool.

Find the right site for your career interests.  Begin by browsing the different “networks” provided by major sites like LinkedIn and Facebook.  Click through each network’s subfields to determine which sites have areas that match your needs and interests.

Build your profile carefully.  When creating a profile for career purposes, make sure that the information you post is accurate and appropriate.  Start by reviewing other profiles, then mirror the style and content of the best ones.

Choose an appropriate profile picture.  Your picture makes a critical first impression on a recruiter.  Be sure it’s a positive one.  Only post pictures that are “neutral” (i.e., not sexy, costume-like, or potentially alienating) and appropriate for business.  If you already have a profile picture, review it with a critical eye to ensure it prepresents you in a professional manner.

Maintain distinct identities.  If you use sites for both personal and professional purposes, separate your virtual lives by establishing dedicated social networking pages.  Direct all co-workers and business contacts to your professional page and ask them to “friend” you there.

Manage your privacy settings.  Take advantage of the technology sites like Facebook offer to limit what potential employers can learn about you.  Like other features, privacy options are continually updated – revisit them periodically to ensure your settings keep details about your religion, political beliefs and relationships private.  As a rule of thumb, assume that everything you post is public, except what you explicitly designate otherwise.

Post content, links and news.  Post timely content that highlights your professional area of expertise.  By including relevant links on your profile, you: demonstrate your concern about developments in your industry; position yourself as an informed expert; prove your commitment to improving yourself as a professional.

Garner recommendations.  As your online professional network grows, seek opportunities to obtain and post recommendations from superiors, co-workers, subordinates and satisfied clients.  Their third-party perspective gives readers a more objective view of you as a professional.

Strengthen ties to colleagues by posting referrals for them.  Nothing will endear you to someone more than helping him in his career.

Complement your social networking job search activities.  The Kinsa Group, a nationwide recruiter of food and beverage industry professionals, provides the perfect complement to your online networking activities.  Because we work directly with leading industry employers, we provide you with access to a multitude of rewarding professional opportunities that never make it to job boards or other online channels.  Register online today.

Have you ever bought something on impulse?  Ever wonder what attracted you to the item in the first place?

Whatever the reason, something about the way that product was marketed created a strong attraction in you – strong enough to make you act.

In many ways, job postings are a lot like the impulse items we all buy on occasion.  As a manager, you must ensure that the announcements you write compel the top food and beverage industry professionals you seek to take action – even if they aren’t actively seeking new jobs.

To help you in this arena, use these tips for creating irresistible job postings that are magnets for talent:

1. Tell a story to stir emotions.  Rather than beginning with dry job requirements, focus on the ways your company’s products or services impact customers’ lives, or draw from client testimonials.  Write about the way your business makes people feel, and use this to create a compelling image of your company and the available position.
2. Approach the posting from the job seeker’s perspective.  Top candidates are more interested in what a position offers them personally – high earning potential, intellectual challenge, recognition, etc. – than in your company’s business strategy.  Ensure your job posting addresses these needs by first highlighting the rewards of the position.
3. Emphasize your company’s strengths.  Everyone wants to work for a successful organization.  Put your company’s best foot forward by identifying strengths such as: organizational growth, industry track record, competitive advantages of your products/services, positive corporate culture, financial stability, awards and/or recognition.
4. Convey a sense of optimism.  Potential candidates are quick to form judgments about your company based on the tone of your listing.  Use positive language to turn downsides into opportunities (e.g., a decline in profits signals a need for innovation).
5. Keep it short.  Details are great, but a passive job seeker won’t take the time to read a lengthy listing that drones on and on like Charlie Brown’s teacher.  So as a general rule, limit job postings to two or three pages.
6. Avoid overused buzzwords and transparent euphemisms.  For the savvy job seeker, buzzwords do little to differentiate your company – so use them sparingly (balancing the need for SEO when postings are online).  Likewise, steer clear of inflating job titles (e.g., listing a coffee gopher as a Beverage Production Manager) that will only rob your company of both clout and credibility.
7. Use your in-house writing talent.  A job posting is a marketing piece.  If you’re not a Twain or Grisham by nature, enlist your marketing department’s help.  Provide them with the nuts and bolts of the job (as well as this post) and let them craft a compelling posting for you.

Attracting top talent is both time-consuming and expensive – so why do it on your own?  Call Kinsa with your job specifications, and allow us to find the best food and beverage industry professionals for you.

To get ahead in  this world, you have to “put your best foot forward.”  But, there’s a fine line between respectable self-promotion and shameless bragging.  So how do you use self-promotion to advance your career, without coming across as a show-off?  Use these quick tips to tactfully toot your own horn:

1. Realize that context is everything.  To successfully self-promote, your comments need to be relevant to the conversation.  Bringing up your latest success while your boss is talking about his favorite TV show will not earn you any points.  Bide your time until the conversation switches gears.  Research has shown that once a topic has been raised, a subsequent boast is not viewed as inappropriate – because it’s in context.
2. Wait for the right moment.   Believe it or not, it is okay to steer a conversation toward a topic relevant to your accomplishment.  However, changing topics doesn’t give you license to just blurt out what you’ve done.  Be patient and wait until your conversation partner asks a question that gives you the opening you need.
3. Be a tortoise, not a hare.  Self-promotion is about building a long-term reputation for yourself; establishing trust and respect in your workplace (or the marketplace).  So get in it for the long-haul by making self-promotion a habit.  Set daily goals for doing something small – sharing an idea, reaching out to someone, showing up at an event – and measurable results will follow in time.
4. Promote your ideas.  Beyond talking up accomplishments, you should also spread your ideas, concepts and vision.  By promoting your ideas (as opposed to just your deeds) you will give co-workers and superiors something to support – without being “turned off” or threatened by your success.
5. Know yourself.  Are you like most people, who err on the side of caution and don’t talk themselves up enough?  Or are you the type who tends to talk easily about yourself and your accomplishments?  If you’re unsure, ask a trusted friend into which end of the spectrum you fall.  The art of successful self-promotion depends upon having the self-knowledge to realize when to toot your own horn, and when to let your actions speak for themselves.

Let The Kinsa Group help you put your best foot forward.  When you come in for an interview, our experienced recruiting specialists will learn about your skills, interests, experience and needs – then help you identify where your strengths lie.  We can help you master the art of self-promotion and find the perfect food and beverage industry employment opportunity.  Just give us a call.

Congratulations – you’ve been invited in for an interview with a leading food & beverage employer.  This opportunity really has potential, and you want to nail the interview.  Now what?  Review this list of tips to make sure you have all your bases covered:

• Revisit your resume.  Make sure you know dates of employment, responsibilities, professional accomplishments, starting and ending salaries, etc. for each position.
• Practice your answers to common interview questions, enlisting a friend’s help if necessary.  Common questions include:

           – How would you describe yourself?

           – What is your greatest strength/weakness?

           – How do you define success?

           – Why do you want to work here?

           – Why should we hire you?

• Conduct a self-assessment.  Make sure you can clearly communicate your current skills, strengths, weaknesses, motivations, interests and work values.
• Go online or visit the local library to learn all you can about the company’s mission statement, financials, organizational structure, products and services – so you can speak intelligently about them during the interview.
• Bring along extra digital and paper copies of your resume.
• Select an appropriate outfit, bearing in mind both the position and corporate culture – then dress one notch above what would be expected.  When in doubt, go with a business suit.
• Call a day or two ahead of time to confirm directions, parking, interview time and interviewers’ names.
• Do a practice run to make sure you know the route.  See how long it takes to drive there, factoring in rush hour traffic if applicable.
• Prepare a list of professional and personal references.
• Bring along breath mints, a small note pad and a pen – just in case.
• A day or two after the interview, drop off hand-written thank you notes to each person who interviewed you, thanking them for their time and emphasizing your specific qualifications for the position.

Share Your Experience

What interview questions have stumped you?  We’d like to know.  Leave your comment below, or contact us via e-mail.

Need More Interviewing Help?

We at Kinsa Group want to do all we can to help you land the perfect career opportunity.  If you need assistance or would like additional resources to help hone your interviewing skills, please contact us directly.