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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Are you looking to move from a plant level job to a corporate food & beverage position?

Are you a food scientist who wants to move up the ladder and become a VP of R & D?

Whatever your career aspirations, networking can help you achieve your goals.  If you want to get promoted, or change careers within the food & beverage industry, use these tips from Kinsa to develop more effective business relationships and land the job you want:

Set networking goals.  Create a plan for networking to focus your activities and keep yourself on track.  Find out which meetings, committees or volunteering activities are most likely to put you in touch with the right people, and then commit to attending and participating.  The more you are “out there,” the greater your opportunity to meet that one person who will connect you with the ideal job.

Know who you need to know.  Learn about the company’s organizational structure and identify those key influential, respected executives who have the ability to put you in the position you desire.  Once you determine exactly who you need to know, find a way to get face time with those people:  ask for introductions; offer to buy coffee; volunteer to serve on committees they spearhead; request them as mentors.  Engage in positive, productive activities that will put you one step closer to the opportunity you want.

Ask open-ended questions.  Networking is all about learning how you and your connection can help one another.  As you meet new people, uncover potential opportunities by asking “who,” “what,” “where,” “when” and “why” questions – as opposed to those that can be answered with a simple “yes” or “no.”  Open-ended questions literally open up your discussions and show listeners that you are truly interested in them.

Offer help.  Business relationships are a lot like bank accounts – you have to make relationship “deposits” before you can make “withdrawals.”  Use the simple technique of offering assistance to those you meet – and follow through – to get the relationship started on a positive note.  When you help a professional contact first (i.e., before asking for something in return), that help is much more likely to be reciprocated.

Never underestimate the potential value of a connection.  Although most of the individuals you meet while networking will not lead you directly to your desired job, don’t discount their value.  These first generation connections may be able to introduce you to the people you really need to know.  Take the time to investigate every networking lead – you never know how, where or through whom that one critical introduction will be made.

Avoid office politics.  Networking  depends on great communication.  That communication, however, should not include petty office gossip.  As you develop new work relationships, make a conscious effort to speak positively about others; if you don’t have something favorable to say, it’s best to say nothing at all.

At the end of the day, landing your dream job is often as much about who you know as what you know.  With over 25 years in food & beverage recruiting, Kinsa has a vast network of relationships with the industry’s top employers.  We have the drive, experience and contacts to match you with your ideal food & beverage executive or management position.    Get started with Kinsa today or search food & beverage executive and professional jobs here.

What’s the best way to create a safer food & beverage workplace?

Start by creating a strong “safety culture.”  According to OSHA, creating a culture of safety has the single greatest impact on accident reduction of any process.  Why?  A strong safety culture is more than just a motto.  It’s a system of shared beliefs, practices and attitudes which makes everyone responsible for safety, even when nobody else is watching.  Food & beverage companies that sustain this type of operating environment experience lower accident rates, lower turnover, lower absenteeism and higher productivity.

In a recent Workers’ Comp Insider article, Lynch Ryan reviews safety culture best practices.  Whether you’re a VP, a food scientist, an HR professional or a quality assurance manager, here are a few questions to consider that will help strengthen your organization’s safety culture:

Does health & safety commitment start at the top?  A top-down approach to safety is essential, because what the CEO wants done is what gets done.  If health & safety isn’t part of your company’s mission or vision, it probably isn’t on key managers’ radar.

Is there accountability?  Health & safety goals should be a part of every job description and every performance review at every level of your organization.  Bottom line, everyone must play by the same rules and be held accountable for their areas of responsibility.

Do you have a safety steering committee?  A steering committee has the authority and resources to provide overall guidance and direction for fostering a culture of safety.  Key managers, employees and safety staff should meet regularly to facilitate, support and direct safety processes.

Is safety training and communication an ongoing process?  Creating a culture of safety is not a “once and done” affair.  To maintain it, employees must be continually retrained, processes must be re-evaluated and expertise must be regularly shared via meetings, newsletters, formal training, etc.  The best safety programs also “train up,” since many middle and senior managers don’t know the real day-to-day hazards inherent in their own business.

Do managers and supervisors truly “walk the walk”?  Safety is for more than just line workers.  Managers and supervisors can’t just preach safety; they must lead by example every day.  Do managers and supervisors adhere to the rules themselves?  Are health & safety goals part of managers’ business plans and goals?  Do supervisors indoctrinate visitors and vendors to safety rules when they tour your facilities?

Do you measure performance, communicate results and celebrate successes?  Publicizing safety results is critical to sustaining efforts and maintaining commitment.  Regular updates, progress reports, feedback to the steering committee and other input channels give everyone a voice when it comes to safety.  A safety communication system doesn’t have to be sophisticated to be effective – current meetings, existing newsletters, a bulletin board and a comment box are really all you need.

At the end of the day, workplace safety is everyone’s responsibility.  Whether you work in executive management, food safety or operations, creating a strong safety culture starts with you.  So, what do you do to foster a safety culture within your food & beverage organization?  We at Kinsa would like to know – please leave your comments below.

Kinsa Group – Executive Food & Beverage Recruiters

Contact Kinsa today to find out how our 8-Step Recruiting Process for food & beverage executives and professionals can deliver the high performers you need to create a culture of safety and drive performance in your organization.

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.

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.

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.

In today’s economy, most people are thankful just to have their jobs.  Still, despite layoffs and salary cuts, many professionals and executives are deserving of pay raises.  If your responsibilities have increased and you feel that you’re underpaid, or if you haven’t been offered a raise in years, it may be time to ask for one.  Use these tips to ask for a raise the right way and get paid what you’re worth.

Consider timing issues. When it comes to getting a raise, timing can be everything:

• If your company is struggling financially, it’s probably looking for ways to cut costs – not raise them.  Try to get a feel for your organization’s performance before you ask for more money.
• If you’re new to the company, wait at least a year before asking for a raise.  This is a general rule of thumb.  Possible exceptions include dramatically increased responsibilities or new tasks that cause real hardship, such as extensive travel.
• If you’ve just accomplished something spectacular, strike while the iron is hot.  Use the momentum created by your fantastic performance – and ask while your accomplishment is still fresh in your boss’s mind.

Do your homework. Find out how much food & beverage professionals working in similar positions are earning, using tools like www.salary.com or www.bls.gov.  Additionally, if you belong to a professional association, check their web site to see if they have salary information available.  Use the range of salaries you uncover, combined with your experience level and employment tenure, to determine how much you’re worth.

Quantify the value you provide. Make a list of your notable accomplishments and additional responsibilities you’ve taken on since your last pay review.  Show how your work has helped improved your division or company, in terms of revenues generated, costs saved, increased customer satisfaction, etc.  If you are asking for a raise, make it easy for your boss to say “Yes” by providing the evidence he needs.

Conduct a dress rehearsal. Write down your presentation and practice it at home with a trusted friend.  Try to anticipate the objections you may face and encourage your friend to play the devil’s advocate.  It may sound silly, but rehearsing your presentation will help calm your nerves and boost your confidence when the real time comes.

Schedule appropriate time with your boss. Let your boss know in advance that you’d like to discuss your salary.  He will consider your request for a raise more seriously if you treat it as a business meeting and give him time to prepare.

Be confident and professional. Make sure you always take the high road when asking for a raise.  Don’t act entitled, tell your boss why you need more money or idly threaten to quit.  All of these strategies are much more likely to backfire than get you the increase you deserve.

Have a back-up plan. Know how you’ll respond if your boss turns you down or offers you a much smaller raise.  If you don’t plan to quit your job, have a back-up list of non-monetary perks (e.g., tuition aid, flex time, additional vacation time) you’d accept in lieu of the raise.  Furthermore, find out the specifics of why you’ve been turned down – is it performance related, or just bad timing?  Before you leave the meeting, find out what you can do to improve your chances of getting a raise in the future, and when you two can talk about your salary again.

Get Paid What You’re Worth – Find Your Next Food & Beverage Job Opportunity with Kinsa

If you’re underpaid or just dissatisfied with your current position, Kinsa can help you make a change for the better.  We want to help you achieve your career and financial goals, by matching you with an opportunity that suits your skills, needs and interests.  Contact us today to learn more about executive and management career opportunities in the food & beverage industry.

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.

Men and women are different in many ways.  But when it comes to work/life balance issues, they apparently share several of the same concerns.

Results from a WorldatWork fall 2010 research study conflict with a previously wide-held assumption about the differences between men and women – namely, that male identity is rooted in work, while women place a higher priority on personal/family life.

Watch the video.

Summary of Study Findings

The Global Study on Men and Work-Life Integration, conducted in November and December 2010, surveyed more than 2,300 men and women working in organizations with 500 or more employees.   The international study focused on how organizations can eliminate stereotypes and barriers that prevent men from using work/life offerings, as well as what prevents organizational leaders (who are often men) from supporting the use of those offerings.

Here is a brief summary of the study findings:

• Work and Personal Identity – Identification with work is much stronger in emerging markets/countries than in developed ones.
• Managing Work and Family Life – Finding time for family is especially challenging for men; however, both men and women seek more personal time for exercise and hobbies.  For both sexes, flexible work arrangements dominate the list of most valuable options for finding a healthy work/life balance.
• Financial Stress – Not surprisingly, financial stress is a top (if not the top) work/life issue across country and gender.  To ease this stress, employers can: increase employee assistance programs; offer financial counseling programs; be as transparent as possible about corporate finances and job security.
• Leadership Attitudes – Business leaders around the world embrace the importance of work/life balance and have programs and policies in place to facilitate it.  These efforts, however, are often ineffective because managers still believe that the “ideal worker” is an employee with few personal commitments.  In fact, half of managers in emerging markets, and four in 10 managers in developed markets, believe that the most productive employees are those with few personal commitments.

According to Kathie Lingle, WLCP, executive director of WorldatWork’s Alliance for Work-Life Progress, “Working men and women around the world seek the same holy grail: success in both their work and family lives.  The assumption that male identity is rooted in work and not family is a major impediment to the effective integration of employees’ work and family lives.”

For over 25 years, Kinsa Group has delivered highly qualified professionals and senior-to-executive level management candidates to food & beverage employers nationwide.  Visit our website to learn more about our recruiting and assessment services for the food & beverage industry.