Are you looking for a job in the beverage industry? Do you have any idea how competitive is it? Do you know which beverage sector you should target? Are your goals well-defined? There are many more questions that you might ask yourself before considering to work in the ruthless beverage industry because just like any other industry, this one also requires you to have a particular set of skills, attributes and approaches to ensure that you receive what you deserve.
Guide To Follow
The following are some guidelines which can help you land and sustain a job in the beverage industry:
1. Know The Industry
Have you researched adequately about the beverage industry? Do you know about all the opportunities and threats that the market has to offer? As already mentioned above, the beverage space is a very competitive one, and you should think twice before entering it. The first step is to do thorough research about everything there is to know about this market, and then step into it. Uninformed steps waste time, efforts and connections. The recruiters will not even consider you for the profile if they perceive that you don’t have any valuable knowledge of the space that you desire to work in.
2. Be Specific
Just like other industries, this one also has numerous options. If the industry is finalized, then you should choose the liquid you desire to pursue. Do you want to enter the soft drinks’ space or the liquor space? Do you have a job role in mind? Do you have a particular brand that you want to work for? You have to narrow down your choices and align it with the opportunities that space has to offer. It is not easy to choose one drink, but it is necessary because, between a king of one beverage and jack of all beverages, the king always wins. Knowing the brutal competition in this space, being specialized in a particular job role will increase your chances of getting the job as people prefer novice specialists to amateur all-rounders.
3. Speak Your Liquid
Be it the soft drinks’ space or the liquor space; you have to know your liquid better than anyone. To become a professional expert in a specific part of the beverage industry, you have to learn about your liquid in-depth to ensure you have all the right answers to the questions that would be raised to you. There are specific jargons in every industry, and every expert should be fluent in communicating them. If you haven’t learnt the language of your space, then the path to a good job will have many hurdles because you are expected to use particular jargons in business communications. Some examples of jargons are as follows:
- ‘Citron’ meaning ‘lemon’
- ‘Frappe’ meaning ‘chilled’
- ‘Mise en scene’ meaning ‘getting the surroundings ready for service’.
4. Assist And Learn
Experience is the key to success. Period! Before setting your foot in the professional world, you can assist an established expert to learn about the space extensively. This will allow you to gain experience as well as make valuable connections in the space. You can overcome your weaknesses without causing a massive blunder as an apprentice because lesser the responsibilities, lower will be the intensity of there consequences. Assisting will also improve your art, and give you opportunities to learn new ones that can help you sustain the competition in the beverage industry with ease.
5. Learn The Art
To land a job of your desire, you have to make sure that you are suitable for the position, like a bartender needs to have people skills, juggling skills and the ability to create a delicious cocktail; a manager needs to have leadership qualities, management skills and the ability to handle a problem; a waiter needs to be quick on his feet and have a hospitable attitude to ensure a satisfying service, etcetera. Art will also be a differentiator between you and your competition because if you have the skills that your recruiter requires, then it will increase your chances of getting the job. Every job requires an art, and to achieve what you desire; you have to be deserving.
6. Experiment With Care
In the beverage industry, you might have to do little experiments to be perfect. As a bartender, you have to create mouth-watering cocktails and mocktails, as a manager, you have to know how to handle conflicts and so on. You have to be creative and precise while you are testing to make sure that the intensity of negative results is lowered noticeably. Always experiment with care because if it ends well, then you can enhance its use, but if it ends badly, then you can continue to experiment without worrying about its consequences. Experiments, like shaking a red wine cocktail instead of stirring/eyeballing random ingredients to fix a mocktail or resolving conflicts with new methods can have uncertain results. With experience you will learn that even experts don’t experiment every now and then; instead, they analyse situations and accordingly, take a decision. Sometimes, landing a job will require you to audition first. Don’t ever experiment during an audition because that might hamper your chances of getting the job.
7. Approach The Right Person
Approaching the wrong person may not only waste your precious time but may also cause you to lose a great opportunity. You should study the market before contacting an expert to ensure that you get hold of the right one. The right person is the only individual that can help you land a job. Making fruitful connections during your college life or early professional life is essential because of this reason only. They will either be the right ones or be your mentor, who will guide you towards the right ones.
Never Stop Learning
Some of the guidelines mentioned above can also be applied in other industries. You should have the following two policies to land and sustain a career in every industry:
- Mistakes will not end your professional life if you are willing to improve
- Learn something new every day.
Author Bio: Mark has a wealth of experience working in the wine industry. His know-how and expertise lead to him opening Hard to Find Wines – a premium provider of wines from boutique wineries from around the world.