Thoughts from Unified

Last week the Unified Wine and Grape Symposium was held here in Sacramento. It is one of the largest seminars and trade shows that the wine industry has. I have been attending it for years, and it is always a barometer for how the wine industry is doing, as well as more personally, how WineTalent is doing. It was at the 2005 Unified Symposium when I offically announced that I was opening my own winery executive recruitment company. Prior to that, I had attended the meeting for several years while working for my old employer.

Every year the seminar covers the overall economic situation for the wine industry as well as current trends in sales, marketing, winemaking and viticulture. Having attended it for years, I've seen those charts arrow up and down. I've seen the changes in winery marketing involving websites, blogs and now Facebook and Twitter. The big wines have gone from White Zinfandel to Cabernet Sauvignon to Pinot Noir. And I've looked at a lot of tractors and other machinery in the trade show.

But one notable change that I saw this year was a dearth of postings on the Job Board. (yes, there had to be an employment slant to this posting, dear reader). From the first year I attended I have put a job posting on the job board that Unified has set up outside the exhibit hall. I have become such a slave to the job board, I now jockey for space on the board the first day the convention center opens for registration. This year I quickly put up my business cards front and center on the board and followed up with my marketing posting the first day of the symposium. Checking back on it from time to time I replenished my business card supply and checked out any other postings that were there. I started to see an alarming pattern. There were VERY few other postings up there. I think by the end of day three there were only four jobs listed from wineries, of which at least one was a summer internship. There were several cards posted of job seekers and consultants which is not unusual. One surprising thing was that none of my usual recruiting competitors were there.

While I was able to get WineTalent posted front and center, this lack of other winery jobs is troubling. Going to visit some of my old friends in the trade show I grabbed Wine Country Classifieds recent mailer. This only had one or two jobs listed. I know Winejobs.com hasn't had the usual volume of advertising. Yes, it is a slow time for hiring many winery jobs, but there are usually more openings that what I saw last week.

The economic and business discussion during the seminars reflected the tough times many wineries have faced in the last 12 months. But wine consumption is up again this last year, and several wineries have experienced good sales for 2009. While small producers and high priced brands were hit hardest, there were still many success stories in those areas, as well as wineries that had stellar results. While many of the experts were quietly optimistic, this was not evident on the job board. There have been some comments that things are beginning to improve and the economy is getting better--both for the economy at large and for the winery world. I do see some new energy going into recruiting and have a sense there will be some increased movement in the job market this year.

One surprising turn of events this year was that someone ripped my posting down. Three days I had it up with no problems--which is normal. When I went by on Thursday, it was nowhere to be found. A couple of my cards were still on the board from days earlier, and I did have a backup posting which I quickly put up. But I was surprised that with all the real estate up for grabs, my posting would be taken down. There were a few business cards from a recruiting service I have never heard up right where my posting had been. Did they take mine down? I think there is room enough for a few winery recruiters in today's market, and there was plenty of area for more business cards to be tacked up. I hope it wasn't a mean-spirited recruiter who removed my information. We all need to be professionals in the wine business and the recruiting business to make sure people--both candidates and clients--want to do business with us.

Ok, so maybe there is a bit of the Cranky Recruiter in this post, but I do see things improving out there on the job front. It may be taking longer to find a job, but let's hope it is thawing out a bit and new opportunities will present themselves to you. Keep chipping away at your job hunting activities--patience and persistence often brings rewards to those who practice them.

Blog Watch: How to Get a Job in the Wine Industry

I was just doing some ego-Googling (or is it egoogling) and looked at search queries that people put in to Google to find my blog. I noticed that most of my readers find me from Google searches for wine job advice. So, I put some queries into google as well--and came up with a very informative blog from Tom Wark's Fermentation: The Daily Wine Blog. The posting is from 2006, but as relevant as ever. I'll keep finding appropriate links for you.

Dirty Jobs

Okay, I'll admit it, I'm a huge fan of Mike Rowe and his show Dirty Jobs. . Twice now I've seen him go to a winery and get filthy while putting in a hard day's work. Are winery jobs really that dirty? Some are and some aren't. If you're thinking about working in the wine biz, you'd better figure out which ones you'd be interested in.

Talking with my writing mentor back before this blog became a reality, he mentioned that one of my topics should be working indoors or out. At first this seemed too simple--but then again I understand the different jobs available out there--and more importantly who can make it where. It really is good to realize early on what type of work you are up for.

Growing up I had my share of dirty jobs. I've cleaned out swampy pools at the beginning of the swim season, cleaned out chicken houses, spread manure on acres of land, combed and cleaned llamas, worked at a pilot manufacturing plant for Clorox 2, fermented gallons of stinky bacterial concoctions and have lately stomped and racked and bottled my own wine. On the flip side I'm no stranger to suiting up for board meetings, laboring away for hours at a keyboard and being tortured at company retreats in stunning locales. Which one do I prefer? This is a tough question. While dirty jobs can be disgusting and very labor intensive, white collar jobs can be grueling mentally and can lack variety.

Winery production jobs, including winemaking, vineyard work and bottling all require someone who doesn't mind rolling up their sleeves and getting dirty. Many times throughout the season you can be up to your eyeballs in stinky slurries, out in the vineyard getting soaked to the bone or working out a manufacturing malfunction that is sending full wine bottles crashing to the floor. Yet many of these jobs have a lot of variety and a direct connection to wine.

Sales, marketing and hospitality positions are often seen as more glamorous jobs. While these winery professionals are frequently at their desks making calls, tracking sales figures and handling new VIP tours, often times they are also out on the road traveling 70% of the time, attending branding meetings for the umpteenth time and dealing with unruly visitors to the tasting room.

To figure out what suits you best look at jobs you've enjoyed in the past. If that position in retail where you were frequently dealing with new customers was invigorating, look in sales and hospitality positions. If you worked outside in construction, landscaping, or a similar vein, you may only feel happy doing something in the fresh air. Moving indoors to a desk job could spell disaster for your sanity. If spring rains make you think of muddy floors and destroyed shoes--a vineyard job probably wouldn't work out too well. If you have to be dressed for success--a sales, marketing or hospitality job is perfect, while you'd quickly get bored of the casual attire worn by the production crew.

Wineries offer a lot of variety both in positions and work environments. Whether you enjoy getting dirty or staying buttoned up, there should be a match for you somewhere.

Oh, and catch Dirty Jobs sometime. You'll be surprised by some of the occupations out there.

Black and White and Never Read: How to Make Your Resume Stand Out

My favorite riddle when I was young was "What's black and white and red (read) all over?--a newspaper of course". You want your resume to be read thoroughly by anyone who glances at it. Unfortunately, most resumes are boring and easy to pass over. I read over 20 resumes every day, so here's my tips on making a good resume that recruiters and hiring managers will read, and that will be noticed. (This morning I just read a great resume advice piece in the Wall Street Journal by Dana Mattioli. For those with a subscription, please visit http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116891185519277215.html?mod=careers_left_column_hs)

First, always put your name, address, phone number--including cell phone and voicemail numbers. And everyone should have an email address on their resume. Seems simple, but I get plenty of resumes with no contact info besides a home address.

Next, put a summary section that states what your talents, experience and accomplishments are. This should be fairly short for an entry-level individual, and 5-8 sentences long for exerienced job seekers.

Then a chronologic listing of your job history is always the best bet. Put your most recent position at the top, oldest at the bottom. If you have switched between industries or areas, put the most relevent jobs in a section defined as say, Wine Sales Experience. Then list that experience. Later put Retail Sales Experience and list those jobs. And don't list unrelated old jobs, such as Cattlemen's Bean Girl, or Parking Attendent, part-time. Everyone has had to take odd jobs, but these don't sell your current professional work self.

A resume is a sales/marketing tool. You want to represent yourself in your best light on your resume. Think like hiring managers. If they want a winery sales professional, they want to see that on the resume. If you did indeed sell in the wine industry, put it down. Always represent your dates of employment, job titles and education accurately.

Always list your education, as long as it's post high school. If you took classes, list them. If you have your Associates degree, list it. Of course list your Bachelor's, Master's and Juris Doctorate. I have known Ph.D.'s to not list that degree to prevent being rejected as over qualified, but I'm not sure if this helps them.

Now this is all pretty basic--and if everyone does this all resumes will look the same. First of all, many people don't follow these basic guidelines and their resumes are hard to understand. Second of all, within your job experience you need to list your duties. Use action words and always pay attention to verb tense. And of course, check your spelling. Attention to detail is very important in many jobs, and a resume should be the first example of your's.

So how do you "kick it up a notch"?

• Use simple fonts and keep the size at about 11 or 12 pt. No recruiter will spend a long time squinting at a hard to read resume.
• Make sure all your formatting is consistent--titles bold, sections underlined, etc.
• Keep your information concise--bulleted lists of accomplishments, duties, responsibilities are very good.
• Use color for listing websites, company names, email. Using tags in your email resume allow the reader to link to your website, email or blog
• Keep it to 1 page for entry to 7 years of experience, 2 pages for experienced individuals.
• Show some of your personality in your resume. If you're creative, emphasis it. If you're fascinated with Italian wine varietals, talk about it.

Consistency is key, but a few small details can make your resume the first one I choose to call.

Do What You Love

Why do you want to work in the wine industry?

This is a question I ask every single one of my job hunting candidates. I sometimes get sheepish smirks, knowing looks, and rarely blank faces. Although this seems like an innocuous question to most, it tells me a lot about why people are in this business.

Although the wine industry may, at first blush, seem glamorous and intriguing, it isn't without it's downside. Long hours during harvest, cold or hot temperatures in the cellar, back breaking labor, and occasionally tempermental co-workers can put a crimp in anyone's spirit. If the reason someone wants to work in a winery is for the high pay and upward mobility I re-examine their future in the wine industry.

Now, if I ask the question and someone's face lights up and she says, "I have a passion for wine" I think she might have a chance in this business. For this person, that love of wine will make her a quicker learner about the industry and how things are done. She might take the long hours at harvest easily in stride, because of her proximity to the fruit, the intimate interaction of the winemaking process, and the magic that results.

Many people go to college and graduate with a winemaking degree and go straight into a winery. Many more people start a career in a different field, and through their interest in wine, decide to make a switch. I have worked with many successful wine industry converts, and encourage anyone to think about making the switch. But first you have to ask yourself why. Love and Passion make it a lot more fun. In wine and in life!

Get a job: How to accomplish your New Year's Resolution

Happy New Year from WineTalent!

I am one of those strange people who puts together a list of resolutions and sticks with them throughout the year. The key to my success is picking good resolutions that make a difference to me. Here's a list of some of my more meaningful resolutions:

• Start my own company
• Make new friends
• Read more
• Use the library and not get in debt with fines (happy to have now done this for two years and only accumulated $4.25 in fines so far!)
• Teach my children good manners
• Never buy clothes without trying them on first

So, they are not always huge resolutions--but maybe that's why I can look back and realize I've done it. Right about now, many of us look at making a career move. Instead of just writing down on your list, Get a New Job, take some time to figure out why and how you're going to do it. Here's some things to consider:

• Figure out why you want it (If you're looking for a new job, why--are you unappreciated, underpaid, have a miserable commute?)
• If those factors were different, would you still have that goal (contributions recognized, pay raise, ability to telecommute)?
• If you still want to make a change, what would your dream job be? Would you switch industries, increase your responsibilities, have more creative input, or look to have more personal freedom?
• Do a Ben Franklin--a list of Pros and Cons written down to figure out the good and the bad of your current job, and the good and bad about an unknown future career step.

Once you've looked at it, and still wish to make a change--set to work managing your own career. No one is going to have as vested an interest as yourself, so you've got to do some work.

• Blow the dust off that resume. Have someone you know and can confide in take a look at it. Resume advice is great--but always take it with a grain of salt. If you put your resume in front of 10 different people, you'll get 100 different ideas of what absolutely has to be changed. Consult some resume writing books, or look at those of friends. Make the changes and always use the most current copy of your resume.
• Research your future position. Google is a great first step to see if industry associations exist, salary surveys are available, and what trends are coming up. (and although I'm a blogger.com user, I'm not a flogger for google!)
• Look at job postings. Good resources are your local newspaper's Sunday Help Wanted ads, CareerBuilder, Monster.com as well as niche listings, such as winerysite.com and winejobs.com. College career centers are great resources for alumni--so don't forget to reach out to your alma mater. And if there's a specific company you're looking at, don't stop--head straight for their website job postings.
• Go do research on this fateful next step at the library or bookstore. There is too much information to readily digest, so get as much information as you can use.
• Talk to friends and contacts. People at other companies may know of a position that is just right for you, or have a good friend who might be a good person to network with. This is also when you may want to look at recruiters who handle placements in your chosen field.
• But remember--if you are currently employed, don't do anything to jeopardize your job. Only talk to people who will keep your search confidential. Don't send your information to someone unless you feel comfortable with the level of confidentiality you will receive. As a recruiter, I never want to see any of my actions adversely affect my client's career or family. A job today is worth far more than three job offers tomorrow.

So, now go out there and get that Dream Job. I look forward to hearing about it.

Stay tuned dear reader--future blogs will be about resume writing, interview tips, follow-up tricks, and career slip-ups. And maybe a few juicy or silly anecdotes about the glamorous life of a wine industry recruiter.

Here's to 2007! Resolution: 1. Have better Posture and Take over the world and stop watching Pinky and the Brain!

Cheers,

Amy

Getting Ready for 2007--Jobs, Office and Career

Okay, first ever blog entry, let's try this out for a test drive.

Let me introduce myself. I am a recruiter in the wine industry. My company, WineTalent, provides search services for clients throughout California. I have been placing professionals in various technical positions for the last twelve years, and for the last two I've been doing it on my own, and solely in the wine industry.

Having worked with entry level and C-level candidates I have dealt with a wide variety of issues, skill sets and opportunities. This blog is a forum to share some career advice, answer questions you might have, and help job seekers and hiring managers from making future mistakes. I'm also able to help people who are looking to make a career change into the wine world.

I'm winding down business for 2006, going through old files, reconnecting with some long lost friends, and getting things, like this blog, set up for next year. Here's some year-end things I always get accomplished before December 31st.

• Get all expenses in and accounted for
• Finalize any Accounts Receivable issues and generate plans for next year
• Categorize candidate and client folders
• Review Goal List from current year
• Make a Goal List for the following year

Reviewing my goal list is always very rewarding. This past year my business has increased 4-fold and I've been able to strengthen some relationships from the last 12 years. With most of my targets in place, I've got a big one to keep up with--this blog. My top two New Year's Resolutions are to have a stronger website presence and to have a visited and used blog. I've been working up a list of blog topics which I'll start posting on December 31st.

My question to you dear blog reader is, What career or business New Year's Resolutions do you have?