Welcome! If you’re on the BreweryJobs.com website and reading this, then you must be seeking a new opportunity in the craft brewing industry.
Looking for brewery jobs can be an exciting time, but it can also seem to be a daunting task. In a series of articles, I’ll be providing some tips and tricks to help you with your job search. Today I’ll be focusing on an overview of the entire process, and then I will be breaking it down step by step. One thing you do need to realize is that getting a job IS a job. It takes some time and effort.
PREPARATION
You may have heard that proper planning prevents poor performance.
You can fairly easily test where you are in the job search process.
If you send a resume, is the employer calling you? If not, you may have issues with your resume.
If you are getting called, but you’re not being invited for a more formal interview, then your phone interview skills may be a problem.
If you are getting to the second or third interview, but not getting an offer then something in your interview skills may be a problem.
Putting together a good resume takes some time, but the effort put forth will pay off handsomely. Over the years, I have seen a LOT of resumes. I am of the opinion that most people sit down in front of the computer and just start writing. Let’s call that a plan to fail. The more thought you put into the task, the better the results.
PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATIONS and EDUCATION
Almost every career field has some sort of professional training or certification process. Whether you are starting out and working on a Certificate in Brewing, or on your way to becoming a Master Brewer, obtaining the skills and industry knowledge is a great way to enhance your resume and increase your chances of success in your job search.
Don’t know where to start? The Master Brewer’s Association of the Americas would be an excellent starting point for some research and educational opportunities. Master Brewer’s Association of the Americas .
In addition, you can check out my article on Craft Brewing Education and Training where I have done some legwork for you and gathered a number of schools providing training and certifications.
NETWORKING
One of the best tools in your job search tool kit is a professional network. LinkedIn is a great staring point. Now, the time to build your network is now, NOT when you decide you are seeking another job. So, in addition to maintaining connections with friends and co-workers, this is an excellent way to advertise your experience without actually telling the world that you are actively looking. Recruiters are constantly searching LinkedIn for candidates for their open roles. Taking full advantage of this resource is a smart way to get yourself noticed and in the conversation.
One additional resource is the use of LinkedIn Groups.
Another good way to get acquainted with people in the industry would be to join and PARTICIPATE in your state's Brewers Guild. There you will be able to meet people and learn what is going on within the industry in your state. I have provided a quick reference to a list of US Brewers Guilds by state or you could gather more information about your local brewery scene by looking for regional information on sites like the Chicago Brewing District.
Now that you have the education, training, and a network, now you have to ask yourself, "Where are the brewery jobs near me?" Well, there is word of mouth, but that assumes that someone who knows you and hears of an opportunity will actually come to you with it. Most people utilize several job boards. Job boards are broken down into two categories. There are general job boards with no specialty like indeed.com and then there are niche job boards in your target industry like breweryjobs.com. There are different ways to utilize these boards.
In addition to reviewing current open positions, you can normally set up a job alert to notify you about new positions that match your criteria. For example, you may be looking for a role as a Brewer Tech in the Atlanta, Georgia area. So if you aren’t open to relocation, you want to only hear about the local opportunities.
The second way to utilize the job boards is that you can normally upload your updated resume into their resume database so that companies can review your credentials when an opportunity arises.
Pro Tip Not all positions are advertised in the same places, so by putting your information in multiple locations, you increase the chances of being found.
INTERVIEWS
Now a lot of people get anxious about having an interview. Some people feel that having an interview and making a job change is one of the scariest things people do. changing-careers-is-scary An interview is really just a conversation. Take a couple of deep breaths, relax, and enjoy the conversation.
There are basically 2 types of interviews. You can have a phone interview, these days video interviews are becoming more widely used, or a traditional interview in the office.
Within these types of interviews, you can have individual interviews, or panel interviews. An individual interview is one where you and the interviewer are speaking one on one. A panel interview would consist of you speaking with multiple people at the same time.
So in addition to having interviewed many people in my career, I have changed jobs several times, and so I have BEEN interviewed for many positions. With all that experience in my background, I can tell you that you will either get to the next interview, or get an offer based on the preparation you did before you even got to the interview.
COMPENSATION
Ok, let’s get to the heart of the matter. Unless you are independently wealthy, you will be getting out of bed and going to work to be paid. Now you and the company will be at cross-purposes. You will be trying to maximize your compensation while the company will be trying to acquire your services at a comfortable rate for them.
OFFER
“We’d like you to join the team.”
So all of your hard work has just paid off and the company wants to extend you an offer. Now depending on how you have set everything up, you may be ready to accept their offer, or you may wish to try and negotiate for increases in some areas, or to get additional things added to the deal.
I hope you have enjoyed this overview of the job search process. We’ll be adding more detailed pieces on each step in the process soon.