Kinsa Group Blog

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.

How is a run for the White House like your quest for career development?

To succeed in either endeavor, you need the right people in your corner.

When it comes to furthering your food & beverage career, having the right mentors, sponsors and advocates on your side can mean the difference between stagnation and success:

Mentors.  In today’s fast-paced operating environment, a mentor can expedite your career development by giving you opportunities to learn, and apply that learning, more quickly.  By adding a mentor to your personal “political balance sheet,” you can accelerate your growth and successfully navigate the sometimes tricky waters of organizational politics.

Sponsors.  These key influencers and decision makers have the connections and authority to elevate you in your career.  They know the right people, and create (or hear about) the right opportunities, to quickly get you to the next level.

Advocates.  As the name suggests, these people are your personal brand champions.  They know who you are, know what you do and talk to others on your behalf.

A strong relationship with a professional advocate increases your exposure (and career development) exponentially – by spreading good words about you even when you’re not around.  And as everyone knows, having a respected colleague extolling your virtues is much more powerful than you tooting your own horn.

It’s one thing to know that you need people like these in your corner; it’s quite another, however, to develop and execute an action plan to make it happen.  Here are a few tips from Kinsa to get you started:

Turn a dispassionate eye to your personal “political balance sheet.”  At this very moment, who is likely to “vote for you” and help you attain your career aspirations?  Take stock of who you know – and the types of people you need to know – to fast-track your career development.

Neutralize threats.  None of us is perfect.  Along the way, we make mistakes in our careers and occasionally burn bridges.  Instead of blaming yourself, develop a plan of attack.

Make a list of individuals who may jeopardize your career success or speak negatively about you when you’re not there to defend yourself.  Contact them – instead of avoiding them – and find out how you can mend fences by helping them.  These individuals may not become your “table pounders,” but at least you can keep them from sabotaging your promotions.

Start making the right connections.  At the end of the day, advancing your food & beverage career is often as much about who you know as what you know.  So develop a systematic plan for meeting those people who can make a difference in your career.  Set networking goals, become involved, offer help, and use both face-to-face and social media networking techniques to widen your circle of influence.

Pay it forward.  For every career advancement you achieve, another person will step into your old shoes.  Create some good career karma for yourself by acting as a mentor, sponsor or advocate for your company’s more junior employees.

Kinsa is In Your Corner

When it comes to advancing your career, Kinsa is on your side.  Our recruiters take a genuine interest in helping you attain your professional goals in the food & beverage industry.   Get started with Kinsa today or search food & beverage executive and professional jobs here.

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.

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.

Would you hire a production manager who “cuts corners” to meet tight deadlines?

Would you hire a food safety manager who occasionally “bends the rules” when it comes to refrigeration guidelines?

Certainly not.  Solid ethics are vitally important to your organization’s success.

Unfortunately, however, intangibles like ethical standards are typically the most difficult characteristics to assess in an interview.  If you ask a candidate outright whether or not he is ethical, he will invariably say, “Yes.”  So how can you ensure that his on-the-job decisions will align with your company’s standards?

While there is no definitive “litmus test” to gauge a food & beverage professional’s ethics, a behavioral interview approach will yield the best results.  Used properly, behavioral interview questions about ethics-related situations the candidate has encountered will provide meaningful answers about his principles.  Here are a few suggestions to get you started:

• What potential ethical challenges might you face in this position?  This is a good opening question.  While it is general, it also shows you how well the candidate understands the ethical standards of your company and the available job.
  
• Describe a work situation that challenged your ethics.  Be wary of a candidate who says he’s never faced an ethical dilemma at work.  You want to hire a professional who avoids misconduct when tempted – not someone who says he’s never been placed in a tough ethical spot.
• When faced with an ethical dilemma at work, with whom did you discuss the problem?  In the candidate’s response, look for evidence that he took action.  Ethically responsible professionals never “sweep something under the rug.”  They discuss concerns with co-workers and managers or seek out other company resources to help resolve issues.
• Under what circumstances would you be willing to lie to protect your boss?  The correct answer is:  “None.”  An individual who would not lie for someone would not lie to someone.

While it’s unlikely that a candidate will come right out and admit past ethical mistakes, asking the right behavioral ethics questions will give you a good sense of his true character.

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.  We use professionally trained interviewers, a wide array of assessments, thorough background checks and satisfaction guarantees to ensure the long-term success of your next hire.

Are you in or are you out?

By the end of a brief phone interview, this is what your potential employer will have decided.

You have just a few minutes to convince an interviewer that you’re worthy of a face-to-face meeting.  Make sure you do everything possible to create a great first impression and keep yourself in the running:

• Keep your answers concise (less than two minutes).  If a recruiter wants more information, he can ask for clarification.
• Speak clearly and slowly.  When you are nervous, you are more likely to speed up your rate of speech.  Before you answer each question, take a moment to gather your thoughts.  Slow your speech just a bit so you don’t trip over your words.
• Convey your enthusiasm for the job.  During the phone screening, state directly that you are looking forward to the opportunity to come in for an in-person interview.
• Practice, practice, practice.  The better prepared you are, the more comfortable and poised you will sound over the phone.

If you’re on the job hunt in the food & beverage industry, use this list of common phone interview questions (and suggested responses) to make a recruiter’s snap decisions work in your favor:

Tell me a little bit about yourself.  If you practice answering just one interview question, make it this one.  To impress an interviewer, you should be able to give a 90-second personal sales pitch convincing him that meeting you is absolutely essential.  Your answer should include a brief review of your education, work history, recent accomplishments and future goals.

Why are you interested in this job?  To answer this question well, describe how your skills and experience match the qualifications listed in the job posting.  This way, the employer will see that you understand the job for which you’re interviewing (not everybody takes the time to do this) and that you also have the qualifications needed to do the job well.

What are your weaknesses?  Most job seekers will be able to state their strengths; far fewer will answer this question well.  Resist the temptation to fall back on clichéd responses like “I’m too much of a perfectionist” or “I tend to work too hard.”  Instead, identify an area in your work where you could improve – and figure out how that could be an asset to the potential employer.  For example, if you didn’t have an opportunity to develop a skill in your last job, explain how eager you are to gain that skill in your next role.

What can you do for our company?  To nail this question, you need to do your homework.  Before the phone interview, research the employer online (check the company web site, LinkedIn, recent press releases and anything else you can find on Google).  Once you are familiar with the company and its mission, compare how your experience and professional goals might complement the company’s goals.  Your response to this question should include examples of why your education, skills, accomplishments and experience will make you an asset for the employer.

Seeking a Job in the Food and Beverage Industry?

Kinsa Group has a wide range of professional and executive food & beverage jobs available, including:

• 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

Register with Kinsa today.  Our team of food & beverage industry recruiting professionals will listen to your needs, match you with a perfect career opportunity, and then prepare you to ace the interview.