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What’s New? Job Board Messaging!

What's New? Job Board Messaging

Take a look at the CPGjobs Job Board and you’ll notice something different.

We are now posting important weekly messages in the Job Board!

To see these weekly messages, go to the Job Board, click the “Filter By Category” drop-down at the top of the list and select “CPGjobs Candidate Messages.” All Job Board messages will be posted for 15 days.

One of the most important types of messages we’ll be posting every Monday, are the announcements of the names of new clients that have joined the roster of CPGjobs employers.

What You Should Do

So why should you care about the new companies that are now posting their jobs on the site?

Remember, your information on CPGjobs is confidential. If you don’t have these companies checked off in your Candidate Profile, they won’t be able to see your Profile when they are searching CPGjobs for qualified candidates.

That’s right. You MUST add our hiring companies and recruiters in the Select Your Target Employers section of your Profile in order for them to have access to your contact information and resume.

Why You Should Do It

Here’s something you might not know.

When our hiring companies and recruiters search CPGjobs for potential candidates, those candidates who have most recently updated their profiles show up first on their lists. If you fail to update your Profile regularly you may never get seen– even though you may fit the criteria for their search

Be sure to check the Job Board regularly for important messages and add the latest CPGjobs employers to your Candidate Profile for maximum visibility of your background, skills and resume!

5 Job Search Resolutions for 2012 (cpgjobs.com)

Featured Employer: Kellogg’s

“To be the food company of choice”

1 Kellogg Square
Battle Creek, MI 49016-3599
Tel. (269) 961-2000

www.kellogg.com

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EMPLOYEES

32,000 employees around the world.

BUSINESS OVERVIEW

“With 2010 sales of more than $12 billion, Kellogg Company is the world’s leading producer of cereal and a leading producer of convenience foods, including cookies, crackers, toaster pastries, cereal bars, fruit-flavored snacks, frozen waffles and veggie foods. Kellogg products are manufactured in 18 countries and marketed in more than 180 countries.

“Kellogg Company’s business is broadly divided into two divisions: Kellogg North America and Kellogg International. Kellogg North America includes retail cereal, retail snacks, and frozen and specialty channels businesses in both the United States and Canada. Kellogg International is divided into businesses in Europe, Latin America, and Asia and Australia (Asia Pacific).

“The North American Retail Cereal business includes many of the Company’s popular brands such as Kellogg’s Special K, Frosted Flakes, and Kashi, our natural brand. The North American Retail Snacks business includes Keebler cookies and crackers, such as Chips Deluxe and Cheez-It, wholesome snacks, such as Fruit Twistables fruit snacks and Nutri-Grain bars, and our popular toaster pastry brand, Pop-Tarts. The Frozen and Specialty Channels business includes brands such as Eggo, Morningstar Farms, and Worthington, and the food service, convenience store, vending, and drug store businesses.

“The Kellogg International business focuses almost exclusively on the cereal and wholesome snack categories within the respective regions. The European business includes cereal brands such as Kellogg’s Special K and Crunchy Nut Cornflakes and wholesome snacks such as Special K bars. The Latin American business also focuses predominantly on cereal, including brands such as Zucaritas and Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, and wholesome snacks such as All-Bran bars. The Asia Pacific business includes cereals such as Kellogg’s Bran Flakes and All-Bran in Japan and Nutri-Grain in Australia. Our snack brands in Asia Pacific include Special K bars, Nutri-Grain bars and Muesli bars.”

MISSION

“To drive sustainable growth through the power of our people and brands by better serving the needs of our consumers, customers and communities.”

PERSONNEL PHILOSOPHY

“At Kellogg, our people are our most important competitive advantage. We know that our fully engaged, highly skilled work force is imperative to our present and future success.

Our world-class human resources programs maintain the extraordinary quality of our talent by supporting the professional and personal growth of our people.

We continue to build the skills of the people who will lead our organization in to the future. Our leaders at every level of our organization focus upon creating direction, delivering results, organizing to win, driving alignment, and inspiring and energizing the people they lead. And to maintain our strong pipeline of talent, we have a variety of innovative recruiting and staffing initiatives.

Kellogg Company’s commitment to diversity permeates our entire organization through our http://www.kelloggcompany.com/commitments.aspx?id=35 K Values, which encourage us to show respect for, and appreciate the value of, all individuals and their unique backgrounds, experiences, styles, approaches and ideas. The diversity of our people has been and will continue to be one of the keys to Kellogg Company’s success..”

ON DIVERSITY

“We also know that diversity and inclusion aren’t just abstract, feel-good” concepts; they are a business imperative. Diversity is key to succeeding in an increasingly competitive global marketplace. A diverse workforce is more adaptable to change, more innovative and more open to new ideas. It’s also aligned with what our increasingly diverse consumers want and need. At the same time, an actively inclusive and respectful work environment, where each employee feels like a valued part of the team, promotes employee engagement, retention and productivity—all of which ultimately contribute to the bottom line.

Our goal is to have a workforce that reflects the diversity of our consumer base. We know we aren’t there yet. We have made good headway in recent years, and our efforts have been publicly recognized by a number of organizations.” You can read more about diversity and inclusion at Kellogg’s here.

Kellogg fourth-quarter net income jumps (sfgate.com)

Six Issues to Avoid In Your Elevator Speech

Dorothy Tannahill-Moran

These days we all know we need an elevator speech, especially if you’re a job seeker or a business owner. An elevator speech can be a great and memorable way to introduce ourselves, if done right. When these speeches go wrong however, they are memorable for the wrong reasons – mostly they’re boring or cringe-worthy. Don’t let that be you.

Here are six of the more common issues that you want to avoid…

Waaaay too long. I have heard elevator speeches that were longer than commercials. These speeches are attempting to put a full length resume in an oral review. Don’t do that. Make yours 1 or 2 sentences as a maximum length. In the case of elevator speeches – less is more.
Filled with over-used terms. Just as you need to avoid certain over-used, trite terms in your resume and interview, that also applies to your elevator speech. Terms like: “customer service oriented – people person – results oriented” need to be kept out of your speech. Use more powerful, specific terminology.
Wimpy words. Instead, use powerful verbs. You need to think about your results and if you can toss in numbers or comparisons. They all add to your credibility.
Starting your elevator speech with “I am”. The fastest way to the snooze button is to start an elevator speech with “I am….” The primitive brain of your listener will go into autopilot. “I am” allows their brain to instantly categorize you and go to sleep. You will lose them. Your speech should be interesting and compelling enough to make the listener want to ask more about you. They can’t get too engaged with you when they’ve checked out.
You’re cringing and so is your listener. I’ve heard some elevator speeches that simply made you cringe with embarrassment. The person saying it made up something, but it wasn’t something they were comfortable with. You do have to practice it so you’re comfortable, but if you’ve fully memorized it and you feel like you have fleas in your shorts – you need to toss it out and start over again. Apparently, it’s just not who you are authentically. Your elevator speech needs to be something you can feel comfortable with or even proud to say.
Not compelling. It is kind of tough to think about ourselves in glowing, interesting terms. But you only have one opportunity to make a first impression on someone; and that needs to hold their attention. I have yet to meet a person who didn’t have at least one seriously interesting thing to say about them or their business. That should be the thing you have in your elevator speech. If you can’t think of it, you haven’t thought hard enough. If you still can’t think of something, ask people you know to tell you what sorts of things they tell people about you – those are usually very memorable.

You don’t want to be on the receiving end of an elevator speech that you want to run away from. More importantly you don’t want that elevator speech coming out of you. Keep these tips in mind; and you will have an elevator speech that will make a great, lasting impression.

For more career tips and advice – FREE newsletter and eworkbook: http://CareerMakeoverToolKitShouldIstayorShouldIGo.com/ From Dorothy Tannahill-Moran – Your Career Change Agent from www.nextchapternewlife.com and www.mbahighway.com

Your Elevator Speech is a Mini-Presentation (slideshare.net)
The Art of Story Telling (globalskillsforlifeandwork.com)

Top 50 LinkedIn Groups MBAs MUST Join*

Last month I was pleased to learn that MBA Highway, the premier career website for MBA degreed professionals, included our Professional Group, CPGPeople on their list of top 50 LinkedIn Groups for MBAs. Chris Perry, founder of MBA Highway has some great suggestions here for LinkedIn Groups n multiple disciplines, so I was pleased when he kindly permitted me to reprint his article in its entirety for you here.

Oh, and by the way, if you’ve not yet joined CPGpeople, do it now and invite your colleagues to do so as well! We are one of the most popular Groups on LinkedIn- now over 18,000 members and STILL growing! – Penny

Networking is one of the most important — if not the most important — activity that you can leverage throughout your career.

Because the majority of job opportunities are not publicly advertised, it becomes vital that you manage and grow your network of career stakeholders to ensure a healthy flow of support, information and potential job leads.

In today’s digital age, while in-person networking will always be important, many first impressions begin with an online search, making it even more essential that you be present, searchable and branded in everything you do online.

LinkedIn is the ideal place to start the process for several reasons:

LinkedIn is an interconnected network of over 120 million professionals (and growing) from around the world, representing 150 industries and 200 countries.

LinkedIn is highly ranked in Google and other search engines, and your LinkedIn profile is often in the top search results for your name.

Your LinkedIn profile is your online resume. Not only does your profile require your experience, education and credentials for 100% completion, but it is also where career stakeholders expect to find you and your professional information.

Your network of contacts is one of the most valuable assets you have to leverage throughout your career. While similar to other top social networking sites, LinkedIn is specifically designed to help you manage your professional network for your career and/or your business.

One LinkedIn feature many professionals overlook is LinkedIn Groups. LinkedIn Groups are free to join, and you can choose to join up to 50 groups from a list of thousands of user-created groups for literally just about anything. Not only do these groups provide you access to connect with and contact fellow group members who could become future partners, employees, investors, customers etc., but the groups’ discussion board can provide networking opportunities, job leads and insightful advice, tips and support.

While there are thousands of quality groups out there, here are the Top 50 LinkedIn Groups MBAs MUST Join to help build their brands and launch their careers:

MBA Specific

MBA Highway – MBA Job Search & Career Network

Entrepreneurship

Consulting

Marketing & Communications

Sales & Business Development

Product & Brand Management

Finance & Accounting

Business Intelligence & Information Technology

Project Management

Operations

Human Resources

Industry Specific

Special Interest

Career Search & Development

Academic & Professional Career

Your Graduate School/MBA Program Alumni LinkedIn Group
Your Undergraduate College Alumni LinkedIn Group
Your Past Employer’s LinkedIn Group

*These 50 groups are not listed in any particular order.

http://mbahighway.com/ MBA Highway is your MBA Job Search and Career Network, a career blog, resource and community exclusively for MBA students and MBA professionals across all industries, functional areas and career stages. MBA Highway brings together MBAs from across all industries, functional areas and career stages into a single community for mutual career benefit and success.

Six@Six: Building and Leveraging LinkedIn Groups (bulletproofblog.com)
LinkedIn groups: Have you joined the conversation? (marketing.yell.com)
4 Genius Ways to Use LinkedIn Group Statistics for Lead Gen (hubspot.com)

How Do You Know When It’s Time To Change Careers?

Guest Post

Is it time For A Career Change? Our reasons for changing careers are often the source of much contemplation and certainly self examination. While the question of what would we do next is a big one, two other questions are equally important: 1) When is the right time to change? 2) Are we truly ready?

Let’s look at some of the signals and circumstances that will tell you you’re ready to change careers:

You’re done. You may have gone into your career with specific goals in mind, and now that you have achieved them, you’re simply done. I did this with my first career and once I was solidly past the goal line and had time to reflect, I knew it was time to move on. This set of circumstances is a good clean break with no confusion or ambiguity.

You hate your job. Usually we get to this point after an ongoing barrage of unacceptable events. As the saying goes: “Death by a thousand cuts”. Rarely do we leave a job because of just 1 thing (although it does happen). We arrive at this point because the pile of issues and the damage from those issues is too big to reverse. We are a very hopeful species and usually stay on much too long hoping that things will improve. By that point, we’re suffering! This situation can do damage to you if you don’t do something to get out. People can incur deflation to the self esteem and career. The career might have been ok, but so much damage has been incurred that you need to walk away and start over.

There are too many things you don’t like to do. Every job has parts to it that we don’t like; it’s just how this works. With this issue, there are too many things you do that you’d rather avoid. It makes up too much of your day and even if you change your place of work, this issue won’t go away. I once had an admin who had been a divorce attorney. He hated all the conflict and animosity that went with that job. He liked law, but he didn’t like how adversarial the environment was. Time to change careers.

You’ve worked on improving things, but it hasn’t helped. You may be a proactive person and have worked on some of the things that have dissatisfied you about your career. Despite your best effort, it is just not enough. You can’t even find enough other things outside of work to distract you from the discontent. Time to go.

The job is boring. You may have topped out and this is as far as you can go. There is nothing more to learn and very few surprises. This happens sometimes. Although having a boring job sounds like it might be good because it’s not demanding – think again! We all have an urge to feel like what we do matters. This situation will eventually grind away your self esteem. If you’re in this situation, it’s time to go.

The career is sinking with you in it. Like the poor guy who used to craft buggy whips, there are some careers that shrink until they no longer exist. For example, today loads of people in print journalism are finding that situation to be true. Don’t go down with the ship. Leave before you’re forced to. It is hard to admit things like this, so you’re going to need to get honest about the future of your career. Start figuring out your next career as soon as you discover the problem.

You’re getting restless. You might be doing fine in your job, the career has been rewarding but it’s not holding the interest for you that it used to. You’re starting to think other things look better and you’re day dreaming about what it would be like to shake things up. You may not feel too motivated to really take that leap, but the stirring within you is becoming a constant companion. Listen to yourself! Not all reasons for changing careers are external. Sometimes our own alarm clock goes off and tells us it’s time to change careers. We tend to like more blatant signals to force us in to a big change but if you ignore your own voice for change long enough you will eventually be unhappy.

It can be a tough decision to leave a job and also leave a career to start over again. The days of having a lifelong career are in the past. Today most people have 3-4 careers in their working years. In general, we’ve become more restless and demand more than just a paycheck for our time. We want meaning and interest in what we do. It’s ok to acknowledge that it’s time to leave your career. It’s not a sign of failure. It’s a sign that you’re ready to expand yourself in new ways.

For more career tips and advice claim your Free Instant Access to the Career Makeover Newsletter AND eWorkbook “Should I Stay or Should I Go” – both dedicated to Your career success, when you visit

http://CareerMakeoverToolKitShouldIstayorShouldIGo.com/ From Dorothy Tannahill-Moran – Your Career Change Agent from www.nextchapternewlife.com and www.mbahighway.com