Are You Ready to Start Your Career?

Did you go to IFT17?  I wasn’t able to go this year, but I kept a close eye on what was going on with some of our biggest supporters, especially when they were helping students and grads!

Adam Yee has been with us from day 1.  He started the My Food Job Rocks! podcast after reading a post I had written for New Food Magazine about the Challenges Facing the Food and Beverage Industry in Recruitment.  He called me up, expressed his interest to help the mission and we have been supporting each others efforts since that day.  If you call yourself a ‘Foodie’ and haven’t already, you need to add My Food Job Rocks to your playlist immediately!

I am so impressed that someone just starting out like Adam, is so dedicated to helping others.  I remember my first job and the lifestyle change–creating a podcast to help others–was not top of my ‘To Do’ list.  I applaud his drive and ambition, we are BIG supporters.

While Adam was at IFT17 he was part of a session focused on his experiences in the food industry and career preparedness.  Here’s the notes they took (check out the awesome shout out to FoodGrads!)

The questions below are based on what Adam was asked in the focus group.   If you could answer some or all of them, that would be great.

I want to help Adam gain insight and create some content that will be valuable to students, grads and employers too.  Look out for future podcasts, blogs etc. as we join forces and strive to close the gap!

For Students:
1. Do you feel prepared to get a food job?
2. What classes/extra-curriculars would you want to take to prepare you for the real world?
3. How can we support you in getting a job? If we were to offer webinars, what would you like to know more about?

For Professionals:
1. When you entered your first job, did you feel prepared?
2. What could have prepared you better?
3. What is one piece of advice you’d tell people on their first day in their job (perhaps something you wish you had been told)?

Please share this with your network as the more feedback we can generate the better we can help students and grads be prepared for the work ahead.

Do you want to get involved?  We are celebrating and supporting the people in Food & Beverage and all contributions are welcome.