Merchandising Manager Moves His Grocery Skills Online

Merchandising Manager Moves His Grocery Skills OnlineMerchandising Manager Moves His Grocery Skills OnlineAfter years running merchandising and display at a brick-and-mortar chain, OpsLadder member Jason Kunick found fresh opportunity on the Internet.Jason Kunick is the guy who puts the food on the shelves at the grocery store and the clothes on the racks at the department store. As an operations manager who has worked in supermarkets and retail stores for more than a decade, his specialty is merchandising and display. In simple terms, he manages what goes where on the floor at the store.People might think that stores just put things anywhere it fits, but theres a lot that goes into making those decisions, Kunick said of his work behind the scenes to manage product -placement decisions that can determine whether a product sells or piles up and how it affects the supply chain behind it.He created systems to determine how to select and feature products that would increase sales and ens ured it synchronized with the supply chain behind it. At his last job, as director of strategy and geschftsleben development at Family Dollar chain, based in Matthews, N.C., Kunick implemented merchandising programs that increased sales on the floor and helped the company save money.But after three years, he welches looking for a new challenge - and a change of scenery. He also wanted to move his family (which includes three children with a fourth on the way) back to the Northeast, closer to extended families in New York and Pennsylvania.In June, he joined OpsLadder and began searching for merchandising jobs where he could leverage his experience designing systems to optimize floor sales.He didnt expect the change of scenery would ultimately take the floor out of the equation al together.Numbers gameIn July, Kunick began his search in earnest. He set up a schedule that would allow him to dedicate some of his free time to a job search while also working full time and having some tim e to spend with his family. I spent two hours a night applying for jobs, following up on applications and networking, he said. After his children went to bed at 7 p.m., he would sift through jobs on OpsLadder and other job sites, update his LinkedIn profile, and post his resume on various job boards. He estimates that he applied for close to 300 jobs during his four-month search.It was a numbers game, Kunick said. I applied for any position that applied to my skill set, and I looked outside of retailing, to see where else my skills might be used. But in the end, I found a job that was a perfect fit I couldnt have asked for much better.For the first month of his search, he said, he was mostly sending resumes. By early September, he started hearing from potential employers and began interviewing simultaneously with several companies. But there was one employer that especially interested him FreshDirect.FreshDirect is an online food retailer. Customers place delivery orders online. It is a grocery store without a store, and the floor space, Kunicks specialty, was a virtual one. But the internet grocer appealed to him on several levels. I saw what they were doing and thought, this is what I want. The company is going through tremendous growth, and the position lined up well with my skill set. And, it met my goal of being near family.Kunick had a phone interview with FreshDirect executives in early September and flew to New York in early October for in-person interviews at the companys headquarters. A week later, FreshDirect offered Kunick the job as director of category management.Fresh Direct offers new challenges for Kunick, since all the shopping is done online. In other ways, though, it is the same job to which hes accustomed. A lot of what I am doing is finding ways to make it easier for people to buy things, he explained. With this job, there is a lot of analysis to figure out where the growth is, and help people better understand how to shop on the site. Ba sically, Im looking for ways to make peoples lives easier.Since mid-November, he has been living with his wifes cousin while he waits for his family to join him in New York in late January. And once they do, his growing family will be able to take advantage of FreshDirects services. After all, taking children grocery shopping is not one of lifes easiest tasks. Its a business I can relate to, Kunick said.

The changing workplace Generational differences

The changing workplace Generational differencesThe changing workplace Generational differencesAs I work with organizations across the country, the issue of understanding, leading, and working with employees from different generations continues to be one of themost common challengesleaders mention to me. With the influx of millions of Millennial and Gen Z employees, understanding the differences across generations in the workplace has become a huge focus for supervisors, managers, and HR professionals.The number of Millennial and Gen Z employees is expected to surpass Baby Boomers (individuals in their late 50s and older) by the end of 2019 and they will comprise nearly half of the total working bevlkerung by 2020. Organizational leaders and HR professionals affirm knowing and understanding your employees is critical in order to have (and keep) an effective workforce, thus, distinguishing and addressing the differences among younger team members is important.Communicating across the g enerational divideSince we each are shaped by our life experiences, people who have similar life experiences tend to think and respond to situations mora similarly than others who didnt share those experiences. At the heart of most of the conflict and misunderstanding that develops between employees of different generations are communication style and core motivation. And frustration can flow both ways from older employees (Gen X supervisors and Boomer senior managers) with Millennials and Gen Z, and younger employees with their colleagues who are senior in age.Employees become frustrated, irritated, and confused by colleagues from different generations because each comes from a different culture and they believetheircultural approach to work and life is the way things should be done. For instance,research revealsthat 40% of Millennial employees say that Baby Boomers are more guarded with their communication. Nearly the same number of Boomers say that Millennials are often too bras h and opinionated.Its not about age, its about core valuesWe analyzed the responses of over 55,000 employees who took ourMotivating By Appreciation Inventoryover a four year period. We compared the responses of individuals from different age groups to landsee if there might be some differences in the frequency that the chose their primary, secondary, and least valued language of appreciation.What we found is that both the younger and older generations valued Words of Appreciation and Quality Time the most and Tangible Gifts least. The biggest difference appeared not in the type of appreciation they favored butHOWthey preferred that language of appreciation to be shown.For instance, when thinking about specific actions within the language of Quality Time, younger team members are more interested in working together with colleagues on a project than older generations are. Baby Boomers and older Gen-Xers are fine with working in teams to get tasks done, but they have more of a divide-a nd-conquer approach where they meet together to determine the common goal and then delegate tasks to accomplish individually. Younger employees generally enjoy the process of hanging out together to work cooperatively to achieve the final product.These difference in approach to group projects, relates to another aspect of Quality Time. For older generations, Quality Time with their direct supervisor was much more important than Quality Time with their coworkers. The reverse is true with younger generations. They are more interested in spending time with colleagues and not as much with their supervisor.The overall lesson to learn is individuals from different generations think differently and make alternative choices from other generations because what they value is not the same. Leaders and supervisors need to understand what is important to younger generations and the factors that motivate them to become fully engaged in their work. Earning more money (by itself) is not the prime motivator for most millennial employees. Conversely, working collaboratively with team members, having a sense of improving the world, having the ability for a flexible work schedule, and wanting frequent feedback are all important factors to this generation of employees.The one thing that is foundational for successfully conveying appreciation in the workplace is to communicate in the appreciation language that is desired by each individual. This is a small investment that creates a win-win-win situation (for the employee, for the supervisor, and for the company) and results in a more positive workplaceFor more in-depth discussion and data on generational differences, pick up the new edition ofThe 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace. This article first appeared on Appreciation At Work.

6 Tips That Will Get You Hired Before the End of Summer

6 Tips That Will Get You Hired Before the End of Summer 6 Tips That Will Get You Hired Before the End of Summer Are you a fresh graduate trying to find your first real job after college? Do you feel slightly uneasy when you look at all that empty space on your college student resume? Have you already applied for several jobs but youve yet to score a single interview? What if I told you that your lack of experience isnt the main problem? After all, everyone has skills and knowledge to show off. The biggest challenge is to discover and transcribe these skills and experiences into words in the right way. Still, writing a resume is no rocket science- theres no reason to feel intimidated. If you follow the simple guidelines below, youll easily get hired before the end of this summer. 1. Figure out why youd excel in this ortMany fresh graduates are understandably unsure whether they have what it takes for a job. Yet, adopting a self-confident mindset from the start is absolutely crucial if you want to succeed.Before you start writing your resume, sit down and try to think of 4-5 reasons why youd excel in the job youre applying for. Write them down in detail, it will help you articulate who you are as a candidate. Youll have a much easier time writing your resume once youve asked yourself all the important questions. Moreover, it will also help you succeed at the interview. 2. Do your research and tailor your resume to every jobTheres no such thing as a one-size-fits-all resume. If you want to be seen as a great fit for a position, your resume needs to meet the positions specific requirements. Create several different resumes. Always begin by carefully rereading the job offer and identify the most important skills needed for the job, which you can easily do using Jobscan. Make sure your resume corresponds to these requirements. Even more importantly, research every company youre approaching. At the end of the day, you should know everything about their core business, company culture, and even their hiring managers (LinkedIn is great for that). Once you have a clear picture, you can easily adjust your resume to fit their expectations.3. Highlight your transferrable skillsLack of experience doesnt have to be an unsurmountable obstacle either. Perhaps you didnt have enough foresight to do an internship. Still, youve just spent several years in college learning things. All you have to do is to articulate it now.Many of the skills youve acquired in college may leid be obviously related to the position youre applying for. In your studies, youve probably also demonstrated competence in skills such as time management, oral and written communication, fundraising, or public speaking. Dont forget to include these transferrable skills in your resume together with specific examples of how you used these skills in college or during internships.4. Choose the right resume formatIf youve already tried to write a chronological resume, youve probably realised how painfully empty it looks. Still, you can remove much of the anxiety by choosing the right resume format. After all, even if you dont have much experience yet, it doesnt mean you have no skills. Write a functional resume instead. This resume format highlights your skills much more effectively than a classic chronological resume. For this reason, it works especially well for recent graduates such as yourself. Finally, you might also want to consider using one of the online resume builders such as Kickresume, they will help you structure your resume if you dont know where to start.5. Keep it relevantA resume is not a confessional, it shouldnt be about yourself. Instead, it needs to be about an employer youre approaching. Resume has to show the employer that someone with your skills and experience is best-suited to solve the problems that come with a given position.This can be a bit tricky. After all, even seemingly unrelated experiences can help give a better idea of what kind of a can didate you are. Still, theres no way that something like taking a French class in high school (or high school as such) is still relevant. Scrap it.6. Make your resume fit one pageYour resume has to fit on one page. Period. Especially as an entry-level candidate, theres simply no option you could make use of two pages effectively.Perhaps youve already heard that recruiters usually spent about 6 seconds on each resume. You only have about 6 seconds to make a lasting impression. The shortness of this time is the reason why your resume should also be short. Remember, no ones going to read the second page.Tomas Ondrejkais the co-founder atKickresume worlds most advanced career documents builder with more than 400K users around the world. You can find him hiking in the mountains, snowboarding or traveling around the world.

Success isnt about knowing, its about acting on imperfect information

Success isnt about knowing, its about acting on imperfect informationSuccess isnt about knowing, its about acting on imperfect informationJohn Goreman said that.Its a profound statement.Youll learn more by doing than you ever will by reading a best-seller.The quickest way to learn is to experience.Preparation is highly overrated.No one is ever ready.Start once youre ready is a surefire way to never begin.From departureing a side project to exercising, changing careers or launching a creative project, you can get lost in getting ready.While some preparing is necessary, be mindful of your actions.Getting ready is comfortable and easy because no actual leap has taken place.Getting ready is insanely distracting because you start to think that you dont know what you are doing, so you need to spend more time getting ready.If you are bedrngnis careful, you be caught in the cycle of preparation without taking an actual step towards your goals.If you spend too much time getting ready, you mig ht be a perfectionist.Dont tolerate perfection if you want to start anything worthwhile.When we start to believe that we can do no wrong, we lose the edge that keeps us alert and open to new opportunities for growth.When you practice something - anything - you improve, you grow, you advance, you gain a skill and heaps of confidence in the process, because you get better with time.Have the courage to suckA genius For 37 years Ive practiced fourteen hours a day, and now they call me a genius - Pablo SarasateIts not just you.The first mile of a journey sucks for everybody.Every successful person or business had to start somewhere.Go easy on yourself in that first mile, though, and you can set yourself up for a great race.We ask too much of ourselves, sometimes.The road to success is seldom a linear path, but it pays to start.Your first book, podcast, app, real business meeting, interview, pitch will not be great. But dont let that get the best of you.Most people quit the moment they experience that first disappointment.Its a test.You have to fight your way through. Thats what matters.A few people stick around until they get it right. In fact, you rarely get it right in the beginning.Give yourself permission to suckDont quit. Never give up trying to build the world you can see, even if others cant see it. Listen to your drum and your drum only. Its the one that makes the sweetest sound.Simon Sinek said that.Most people dont give themselves permission to suck.They beat themselves and stress over their imperfections.We are humans. Nobody is perfect.The real world rewards those who get stuff done.Those who choose to show up. Those who launch. Those who have the courage to start. And those who choose to create.Choose to be your authentic self, let go of who you think you should be to be who you are.Even it means, embracing your weaknesses.Show up and share your work, even if it sucks.Find a way to be okay with sucking for a short time.If you pursue your dreams long enough, compounding takes effect. Momentum will surge. Dont ever give up on yourself.Youll suck at most things in the beginning. It takes time, persistence, and patience to create your most amazing work. Keep on trying.Perfect is great, but you cant afford it. None of us can.Never miss an opportunity to show up and share who you are.Matthew Trinetti addsTake small steps. Hell, half steps if you must. Conduct experiments. Work on projects. Act first and reflect all along the way What are you learning? About yourself? About your ideas? About new possibilities for yourself? About what you enjoy? What you dont? What youre great at? What youre not so great at? How doesthe world responds? How does this inform your next small steps?Stop waiting for inspirationHow many times have you read a great post, finished an inspirational book, or had life-changing idea, and wanted to make a change, take action, do something, start a passion project. but then didnt?How much time do you spend thinkin g vs. doing?Youre less likely to succeed if figure things out but dont actually take a step, any step to make a move in the direction of your dreams.If youre really committed, you will make a move. Show your progress. Tell 100 people about it. Put money and time on it.There will be a moment, possibly a bunch of moments, when you think, Oh, Ill do it tomorrow, I will start writing next week, I will learn that skill next month, start my new passion project next quarter.Thats the moment you have to seize and take action.Ive read more articles and books on personal growth and sharing your meaningful work than I can remember, and all of that knowledge is worth very little compared to the simple habit of taking action every day.Application of knowledge is hard work. Reading a book or listening to a podcast is easy. Doing nothing with that knowledge is even easier. Doing nothing is the default for many people.Want true success? Richie Norton says ask yourself these 3 questions daily1. Who can I serve?2. Where can I contribute greatest?3. Is my work today congruent with my future goals?A 30-day challengeWhat I want you to do now is to pick one piece of knowledge you have that you havent been applying, and commit to applying it daily for just 30 days.Try something youve always been afraid to try, and put it on video.Be yourself, loudly.Start a new company, doing only one thing, but doing it very well.Start a business that does a service youve always wanted, or that you are frustrated with in other companies because the service sucks.Put your heart into something.Say something that no one else dares to say.Do something others are afraid to do.Help someone no one else cares to help. Make the lives of others better.Make music that makes others want to weep, to laugh, to create.Teach young people to do amazing things.Write a play, get others to act in it, record it.Empower others to do things theyve never been able to do before.Show up every day and work on your most impor tant life work.Whether the outcome is magnificent or eternal, whether it changes peoples lives, changes the world, changes you or groundbreaking, it matters that you show up.Whatever your dream is, there is always something you can do today that will get you closer to it. Even if it is a microscopic task.Think about what you could easily do today.And follow with another small task tomorrow.Ready to start a life-changing habit?Im creating a course to help you master the kaizen principles for starting and maintaining healthy habits. Kaizen Habits will teach you how to make any change in life, one small habit at a time. Sign up to be notified when it launches.You can also subscribe to Postanly Weekly (my free weekly digest of the best posts about behaviour change that affect health, wealth, and productivity). Join over 50,000 people on a mission to build a better life.This article first appeared on Medium.

The Truth About Resume Job

The Truth About Resume Job Hiring somebody who could be great in some specific things, but doesnt fit the criteria of the job can be an expensive mistake. In the work interview, youre going to be evaluated on what youre wearing as much as what it is you are saying. If youre making a resume for employment and wish to come into the opinion of the hiring manager then you have to highlight yur abilities. If a person is interested in speaking to you about work, dont make them wait. No matter when you have a gap of merely 6 months or a long one, creating a valid explanation is critical. If youre intent on doing a fantastic job search, and youre searching for at least 1 kind of job, theres not any way around it, you will need mora than one resume. When you supply the reason in your resume, make certain it sounds logical and fair. The objective just enjoy the remainder of your resume is about you. Resume Job No Longer a Mystery Resume objectives can be a little controversial. Buil d a constructive and information-rich resume and youll be developing a new career in no moment. By carefully targeting resumes for particular jobs and situations, it is possible to greatly improve your odds of getting noticed in the work industry. Dont discredit your preceding experience simply because it was not full-time. Know that recruiters are taking a look at all social platforms to receive a feeling of your abilities. You ought to be using SEO to make certain that your company is the best it can be. Employees generally feel that a powerful resume is sufficient to fetch them with the dream job. It is often as easy as stating your preferred job title, or it may show where youve been, and where you aspire to go in your career. The ideal method is to select the support of Resume builder for writing a resume so you will not loose the work prospect. Each of your interview answers should try to hit on at least two of the crucial skills desired in the job. What results were a chieved because of the job you performed. Employers will demand for a minimum of two references when you submit an application for any job. Planning your attire for the work interview is a rather straightforward practice. Take a look at our article on the best way to put education on a resume. If You Read Nothing Else Today, Read This Report on Resume Job When youre pleased with the results that you will be ready. Adding action verbs to your resume is an excellent way to strengthen it and help it become more targeted to the position youre applying to. So many resumes utilize poor verb choices and, consequently, are not too engaging. The template starts off with an expert overview of the worker. The Truth About Resume Job Perhaps youve worked 20 years in 20 distinct businesses, or you might have invested 20 years with precisely the same company. In america, resume images and profile photos are typically not encouraged. Focus on how you wish to grow within the organization . When a provider makes the decision to hire for a position, there are particular things which should be carried out first, prior to making the candidate selection. Youve got to present your qualifications and your skills in a means that will catch the interest of a hiring manager, and among the best strategies to do that is by way of the goal statement on your resume. Therefore, it should represent what type of employee youre. So if youre searching for an entry level job, dont hesitate to mention that on your objective if you prefer. If you dont have the suitable proportion of keywords on your resume for the position, you dont make the cut. You have to be aware, however, that not all certifications are made equally. When youre asking for work, your very first aim is to let employers know your abilities and talents align with the demands of their open position. Its far better to customize your resume to every job youre applying for.

How and Why to Hire for Cultural Fit

How and Why to Hire for Cultural FitWatch Now Mark Jones from WeAreAMS on how (and why) to hire for cultural fitClick To TweetIn the 20th episode of The Recruiting Reel, Mark Jones, Head of Operations across the Americas for Alexander Mann Solutions,chats with us on hiring for cultural fit. Heres the transcriptJosh Tolan My name is Josh Tolan and Im the CEO of Spark Hire, the leading video interviewing platform used by thousands of organizations around the world.And this is The Recruiting Reel, a video series in which we discuss real recruiting challenges with von rang recruiting experts to provide you with actionable tips you can apply to yur own recruiting.Coming on this installment of The Recruiting Reel is Mark Jones, the Head of Operations across the Americas for Alexander Mann Solutions.Mark has an 18-year track record with Alexander Mann Solutions and is currently building their North American service center from the ground up, creating a Best Places to Work winning infrastruc ture which currently employs close to 100 staff delivering services to their clients across the recruitment, surcing and administration functions.Given Marks experience in the recruitment industry, we wanted to get his insight on why hiring for cultural fit is important and how to do it.Mark JonesHi, Im Mark Jones and Im a Senior Vice President at Alexander Mann Solutions, a global talent acquisition and management company who specializes in the recruitment process outsourcing for blue-chip organizations. Ive been working with the company for over 20 years, the last five of those have been based in the US. Every organization has a culture, but finding somebody to fit into that culture, whether that culture is for a specific role or the organization at large, is massively important. It works best when an organization has deeply held, and clearly defined culture and values that everyone in the company knows and strives to embody. For example, our culture is built around our core value s of being passionate, authentic, distinctive, and brave. And I think youd be hard-pressed to find anybody in our organization that did elend know this and did not have their own personal connection to these values. And that personal connection is really, really important.Keep cultural fit uniqueWhen it comes to hiring, one mistake we see organizations make is thinking that a cultural fit needs to be very rigid. But one individual who is a cultural fit, will have the same skills and intangibles as another. But it doesnt need to be this way. The lifeblood, I think, of any organization is new ideas and innovation. So its actually really important that you hire people who each represent culture in their own unique way. And the recruiter is the gatekeeper of culture, so its important that they understand the culture, of the role and the organization. I would argue that hiring managers looking to hire people exactly like them, has the potential to restrict innovation.Questions to askI th ink some good questions to ask when youre interviewing somebody and trying to understand the right cultural fit, first and foremost have they done their research? Do they understand the organization? Have they looked at the social media feeds? Have they downloaded a whitepaper? Can they talk to what the company is trying to achieve, the vision, mission, the goals, etc.? I think thats a really good way of understanding whether somebody is going to be the right cultural fit, by them understanding what the organization actually does and where they are in their journey, or their vision right now. Another great question that I often ask candidates is what motivates you? Why are you here, what are you looking to achieve? And surprisingly, it isnt really about money, its about opportunities to advance their career, to do something different, to try a new role. By understanding what motivates them, then I think you can understand and build the right role for them in the organization because you can understand what is driving them.Hire for fit, not for skillsFinally, its better to hire for cultural fit than to hire for skills. I think if someone has the right cultural fit, then the odds are that they will find a place in your organization. And that you will find a role to hire that individual. Ive hired many people in the past based on the right cultural fit, not necessarily with the right skills, but I was confident they had the right cultural fit for our organization and that we would find the right role for them. And I think in every situation it proved right. If they have the right cultural fit, then they can add tremendous value to our organization. Josh TolanThanks, Mark. You hit on some really nice points that our audience can find value in.In particular, you highlighted what I believe is a common misconception about hiring for cultural fit and that isHiring for cultural fit does not mean hiring people that like the same things as you it means hiring candidates that align with your companys core values.If you define these core values, you can structure interview questions around them and identify the candidates that are truly the best fit for your company.In the end, youll find yourself with a strong, tight-knit team full of diverse individuals with a wide range of interests. I relate this to sports teams that have great chemistry and culture. Its not because they all like the same things, its because theyre all bought into the core values and mission of the organization. Those are the teams that win championships.A huge thank you to Mark Jones for joining us today. If youre interested in learning more about Alexander Mann Solutions, head over to alexandermannsolutions.com. To connect with Mark, you can find him on LinkedIn.Thank you for watching The Recruiting Reel and stay tuned for more episodes. For additionalHR and recruiting content, head over to hr.sparkhire.com and subscribe. Also, follow us on Twitter,sparkhire. And subscribe to ourYouTube channelto be the first to know about the newest episodes of The Recruiting Reel.Thanks again for watching and happy recruiting