Halloween in the Recruiting Business

An incident comes to mind that is “Halloweenish”

A candidate came into my office with an outstanding resume and exceptional personal presentation. He had a stable background in food and beverage management with a foundation in the culinary arts. He was the kind if candidate recruiters in our industry proverbially drool over. I sent him out on an interview that very afternoon and the client company absolutely loved him and was ready to add him to their staff. As is our policy, we began to do the reference checks prior to an offer being extended. We used the names he had supplied to us when he was at our offices. The first two were outstanding references…but the third. They put us on hold when we asked the Human Resources Manager (who’s direct line he had supplied) about him. A few minutes later an obviously panicked Doctor came on the line and asked us who we were and if we knew where the candidate was. Within minutes members of the Atlanta Police Department were at our offices asking for all of the information that we had on the man. Apparently he had escaped from a state mental facility for the criminally insane the previous day where he was being held for a particularly gruesome crime that involved body dismemberment. We never heard from him again or if the authorities found him and he certainly did not get the job with our client company. I wonder where he is working today….

While this didn’t happen on Halloween…it certainly gave us some creepy hard to get to sleep nights.

Just the facts Ma’am

With apologies to Sergeant Friday and Dragnet….the thing we hear most frequently is that “professionals” suggest that a candidate have a resume that is functional. They normally go on to suggest a host of fluff works to describe what they have done during their careers. That is one of the main reasons why we rewrite every resume that we refer on to our clients. We have found that most people do not include salient definable bits of information that enable a recruiter or company to evaluate their skill set. While these same “professionals” would tell you that that only makes the recipient pick up a telephone and call to find out more, in fact, the vast majority of recruiters or hiring authorities simply pass on to the next potential candidate where they do not have to guess at their experience. Below are two short descriptions of a position held by the same fictional candidate that is typical of what we see everyday.

Sales Manager. Managed and developed key relationships with client companies. Proven success in new account development and in business retention and have growth strengths in strategic planning of sales and marketing initiatives. Prepared formal presentations and monthly reports using metric parameters. Instrumental in planning, developing and implementing new specialty product for a national untapped market.

Sales Manager- Responsible for sales in the southeastern United States for Great Foods a manufacturer of specialty candies. Responsible for 45 SKUs sold in supermarkets, convenience stores and mass merchandisers. Supervise a broker network and have national key account responsibilities for Publix, Winn-Dixie and Food Lion Supermarkets. Sales have risen by 110% over the past five years to a total volume of $37 Million.

One can reasonable assume the first set of skills from the second job definition but not the second set of quantitative and qualitative information from the first. Why miss out on the job that you know best to get an interview with a company that most likely will not hire you anyway?

What you Should Know about Dixie Search Associates

DSA-Dixie Search Associates is an international executive search firm dealing exclusively in the food, beverage and hospitality industries since 1977. From our offices in Atlanta, Georgia, we have established a standard of excellence within the search industry that is unmatched. Our staff consists of former food industry line executives with years of experience that allow us to be sensitive to the unique needs and requirements of our industry. To support our recruiting staff, DSA maintains a research team, a professional support staff and a state-of-the-art computer system.

DSA is committed to quality, excellence and service and incorporates this philosophy into everything we do; in the development of our employees, in the identification and qualification of potential candidates and client companies and in all our professional relationships.DSA works with over a thousand food companies across the entire United States and overseas on both a retained and contingency search basis. Our clients pay for our services and traditionally pay all interviewing expenses, relocation expenses and other costs. These commitments vary according to the particular company and the level of the position. You will be apprised by your DSA contact of the policies of the company you choose to pursue.