Joseph D'Alessandro's Blog (16)

More than 50% of your managers are unsatisfied and looking for a better opportunity.

The  overall US economy may be lagging, but your industry has been hiring new staff at a time when the average manager is unsatisfied and looking for a change. The paradigm shift to a “candidate’s market” is most certainly underway. If you want to win the war for…

In the past few years, a slow economy and shaky job market have actually helped keep key personnel on staff. A secure position was enough to overcome the temptation to leave for higher pay or new opportunities.

However, in the past six months the calls from single-unit, independent operations have risen sharply compared to 2010 and 2011. These operations are hungry for talented staff. The “Indies” do not have corporate recruiting resources at their disposal, so when they cannot find…

Ah, the advancements of technology. E-mail gives us the power to rifle through correspondence. Click – skim – click attachment – scan – close attachment…

Then what? Respond, forward, file, or delete. In corporate talent acquisition, let’s define those actions:

Respond = Success. The recipient is interested, and is advising you of the next step.

Forward = The recipient sees something in you, and is sending to a peer or manager for further…

At the American Hospitality & Lodging Association (AHLA) Hotel Industry Leadership Panel earlier this month, a panel of veteran hotel executives concurred that, although no dynamic or dramatic upswing is on the horizon, the sector as a whole will enjoy moderate growth and gradual improvement over the next two years. Demand is up, supply is tight, local governments are helping with development projects, and staying one step ahead of…

Your attire, handshake and eye contact still matter significantly. But if your head is in the sand about your media presence, you need to get serious about ensuring your public media persona – your true first impression – is up to snuff.

In a study of 300 corporate hiring professionals conducted by social media monitoring service Reppler, the following was discovered:

• 91% used social networking sites to screen…

If you lead a company, a property, a kitchen, or a team of any size, you do not have the luxury of being “non-confrontational.”  If you are working toward a goal, that means you and your team are being stretched to perform at higher levels.  That will produce stress and expose weaknesses.  As the leader you cannot allow such stresses to keep you from achievement, and therefore you will have to…ahem…confront them.

Confrontation does not have to be a combat.  It shouldn’t be.  You can…

It’s been four years since we entered The Great Recession. Now, at long last, optimism about economic growth in Leisure & Hospitality and Food & Beverage is taking root.

For operators this means finding leaders who have the skills and proficiency to do the job will become harder and harder. Sourcing values and character matches will be a monumental challenge.  Operators will need to step up benefits and retention strategies, and salaries will begin to rise…

This year, listen for how often you hear the word “feeling.”  Listen for how often you hear yourself or your colleagues say “I have a feeling…”

A feeling this manager is the right fit.  A feeling the opening will be a big hit.  A feeling this banquet will run without a hitch.  A feeling we’re on the wrong track.  A feeling (insert the most important objectives of your business here)…

The best leaders work in the truth, and the facts are infinitely closer to the truth than…

You are so much fun to be around.  You know how to host and how to serve; how to cook and how to present. Everyone hits you up for recipes and tips from table settings to the length of oven time their holiday roast requires for perfect medium rare.

What non-hospitality folks don’t understand is how hard it is to work around food all day long!

We asked hospitality professionals around the country what habits to make or break in order to stay healthy and we received a ton of…

Your interview process is worthless unless it empowers you to hire the best cultural fits for your company.  Though every company culture is unique, screening for the “Five C’s” will reveal most of what you need to know to determine a cultural fit:

• Character

• Competence

• Consistent behavior

• Communication…

Looking for a job is a job, and a hard one. The good news is that you are an expert on the subject matter of every interview…you. You also face the challenges of preparation and logistics. Here are seven simple ways to ensure your interview is successful. I didn’t promise painless and easy, but it is simple.

1. Start Preparing a Week in Advance

One of the first questions many interviewers ask is “What do you know about us?” If you blow that one, you fail. Be…

When I was a kid “pork and beans” was of a can of saucy cooked legumes with a big lump of fat in it.   

How times have changed!

 

Two of the top R&D chefs in the Midwest demonstrated how deliciously different “pork and beans” can be at a recent Research Chefs Association meeting in Chicago.  John Draz, Executive Research Chef of Ed Miniat, Inc. and Eric White, Research Chef of Archer Daniels Midland created an…

The Great Recession shook up lodging and food service companies of all sizes, and every one flattened their executive and management ranks while slashing G&A.  So how did some companies persevere, even grow, during the last three years?  Why are some striding, even strutting, while others are barely crawling?

Innovation.

One month ago today at…

Culinary and hospitality schools afford me the privilege of lecturing to future leaders on the finer points of interviewing skills, résumé writing, business correspondence and job hunting.  I spend a good portion of the résumé-writing time discussing the importance of using “impact” language to describe career experience.

But you really can’t use impact terms if you’re not an impact player!

The Encarta Dictionary cites one definition of impact as “the powerful or dramatic…

I have heard the cliché “green goes with everything” many times.  It’s always nice to have a few bucks in reserve or the ability to afford the things you like, but where company culture is concerned there is a more appropriate cliché: “money isn’t everything.”

Successful companies that prosper over the long-term are the ones that offer much more than compensation.  The cultures that survive tumultuous business climates are built upon a core central ideal – a genuine care for…

Online culinary mag StarChefs feted its pick of Chicago's rising star chefs at a tasteful gala on Monday, May 23. The event took place at the beautiful Fairmont Hotel Chicago and hosted by executive chef Brad Parsons and Beverly Kim Clark, chef de cuisine at Aria. Chef Clark's Buttermilk Bleu Cheese Semifreddo with Port Foam and Five-spice Walnuts was a sweet-savory delight, served in a miniature ice cream cone.

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