Resume Writing Service in the Career Advice

Job Seekers:  Here's a resume writing resource I just learned about:  www.thederbingroup.com .  Leslie Derbin reached out to me last week, and I know it is hard to find a resume writer with wine industry experience.  Here she is!

How to Land that First Job

All of us need guidance on how to do things, and soon-to-be graduates are just the same.   Here's a question a reader posed, with my advice below.  Hope it is useful for all job seekers out there.

Good afternoon Amy,

I am a senior at Washington State University studying Viticulture and Enology. I wanted to touch base with you about reaching out to wineries and winemakers via email. My goal is to work for a great winemaker as an intern and do whatever it takes to show how hard of a worker I am and the value I can bring as a leader and a team member. I am always learning and I am always trying to get better. 

If you have any advice for me, it would be greatly appreciated.

         Appreciatively, 

         Butch T. Cougar

 

Dear Butch,

Great to hear from you up at Washington State University, and Go Cougars!  I'm glad to hear you are in your last year in the Viticulture and Enology program there.  This is a great time to be graduating with a degree, and a great time to be looking for a job.  The job market is quite a bit different than a few years ago.  It is really active now, and salaries have come up in the last couple of years.

This is a great question and I encourage people to take an active role in the job search.  Contacting wineries and winemakers directly is ideal.  That's what I do, and how I've built my network.  Here are a few things to think about when you are planning your email campaign:

1. Timing is everything.  Right now might not be the best time to start contacting winemakers.  Here in California, at the end of August, winemakers are thinking about one thing--HARVEST.  If an unsolicited email came into their inbox right now, they'd most likely ignore it and forget all about it in a few days.  I would recommend getting these emails out in December through March.  
2. Beware the spam folder!  Your email might get in the spam folder.  This happens.  You'll never know if it does.  And if it does, the person you are contacting most likely will never know you emailed them.  So I encourage you to follow up with a phone call, or if you are able to, an in-person visit to the winery.  
3. Strategize.  Start a list of wineries and winemakers you would really like to work for.  I'm a fan of geographical lists if you need to live in a certain area.  I'd take a map and start contacting wineries closest to home first, and move out from there.  Who doesn't want a 5 minute commute.  It is good for you, for your car and the planet.  
4. Learn everything you can.  Educate yourself on the wineries and people you are contacting.  Know if they are Cabernet houses, Pinot fanatics, or are trying some funky new varietals and blends.  Put this information in the message to them--it shows you took the time to research them, and you are making a case for why you could be a great intern or employee for them.  
5. Cast a wide net whenever possible.  If you are hoping to get in with a renowned winemaker, contact everyone you have been interested in working for.  You'll never know if you could have worked for Rock Star Winemaker if you never asked her.  
6. Follow Up.  This is key.  Follow up with each contact after you send the email (maybe within 3-4 days), and then if you are really serious about a certain place--try to contact them again.  I think I've outlined this in past posts, but try to be pleasantly persistent, not irritatingly hounding anyone.  
7. Be professional, conscientious and gracious.  Yes, you may be dying to work for that Rock Star Winemaker, but she may just not have anything right now.  And if Ultimate winery hiring manager gives you a call, make sure you return it right away.  Thank everyone you deal with and come across professional and eager.  Hiring managers want to hire people that want to work there.  Make sure they know you want the job if you do.
8. Informational interviews can get you in the door.  If you get a winery that is open to discuss career paths or the winemaking team, but they don't have an opening today--take the informational interview.  These are generally with people you have contacted, and that you have expressed interest in.  Information Interviews are way you can learn about their company and to get guidance on your career.  You can learn a lot about the industry and jobs, and they may just have an opening come up down the road or know someone who needs Butch Cougar to help out at their winery, right away.  
9. Interviewing, thank you's, next steps.  If you get that interview, maybe look at some of my posts on how to do it right.  After any interview, informational or regular, send a thank you.  And always see if you can find out what the next steps are during the interview process so you have an idea of the timeline and recruitment process at the company you are meeting with.  

Butch, I hope that is helpful.  Let me know how the search goes--I wish you the best of luck.  

How to Sideline your Wine Career: Drink and Drive

T.G.I.Friday!  Cheers everyone--here's to a hard week at work!  Let's stop by the bar and grab a couple of drinks to get the weekend started off right.  We did our best this week, whether that was signing a big sales contract, dealing with unseasonably warm weather in the vineyards, bottling the first round of wines or finishing up our tax returns.  It is time to celebrate the beginning of the weekend.  And we are so lucky to be in the wine and spirits industry.  We know what to drink, we know where to get it and often we have friends and co-workers who will share in the celebration.  So bottoms up!

That is quite the siren song, and I wouldn't be here if I had not shared many a happy hour with co-workers, hosted clients to a wine dinner or participated in my fair share of wine tastings.  But that siren song can have a high price, especially if it is paired with the siren of a cop car pulling you over on suspicion of driving under the influence.

DUI:  An Occupational Hazard?  I have heard plenty of folks in the wine industry say that drinking and driving comes with the territory; an occupational hazard so to speak.  I've also met plenty of people who had one too many, stepped behind the wheel and ended up with a DUI.  In turn they end up losing their job and spending over $40,000 because of the DUI.  Not much to celebrate after that happens.  And unfortunately, I have also had friends and family lose a loved one in a drunk driving accident.

Drunk driving laws have gotten stricter over the years.  According to MADD, the number of drunk driving deaths has been cut in half since MADD was founded in 1980.  We can all agree that reducing the drunk driving death rate is extremely important, and stricter laws have done that.


Now, for those of us who have never had a DUI, we may not know the high cost of getting one.  It may not be important to you now, but believe me, if you get a DUI you will very quickly come to realize the true cost of it.  First there is the actual monetary cost.  The DMV.org website has a great reference article,  The Real Cost of a DUI in California.  According to this the overall cost of a DUI here is $45,435.  That's a lot.  But there are long term costs that are not taken into account that I think you need to know about.  And they are in your career.

Over the years I have talked to many people who only learned about the detrimental effects of a DUI to their career after they got the DUI.  Some people lose their jobs because they can't drive for work under the employer's insurance.  Others cannot get their dream job because the employer requires a criminal background check and their records will show an arrest and conviction--whether it be a misdemeanor (often for a first offense without any injuries) or a felony (subsequent offenses or injuries or death to others while driving under the influence).  Employers may back off on making an offer to someone with this kind of criminal baggage and hire another person.

From Rising Star to Underemployed:  One of the first stories I heard was of a young, aspiring distributor sales representatives who had recently been promoted to manage sales in a large metropolitan territory.  This sales manager was the rising star and went to dinner with one of the company's executives.  After sampling some great wines, enjoying a wonderful dinner and probably having a night cap, she drove off towards her new house in the suburbs.  The world was her oyster, and she was living her dream of success.  That was until she was pulled over and her field sobriety test showed her way over the legal limit.

Of course she was panicked, and dealt with the legal aspects of her arrest and conviction, but she also quickly learned what the cost was to her career.  Once her employer found out they terminated her position because she could not be driving on company business.  Having just relocated to the area, she didn't have the safety net of family and friends nearby and had to go it alone finding a way to support herself while also paying the high legal costs of the DUI.  Looking at new jobs, distributor sales positions were essentially unavailable to her because of the requirement of a clean driving record.  Having built her career on distributor sales, she had to quickly regroup and figure out what else she could do.  A DUI can stay on your driving record for 10 years in California, so she needed to reinvent herself.  She enrolled in an MBA program with a great local business school and was up front with potential employers about her DUI.  She ended up getting a sales management position with a small winery and has been getting her MBA completed.  The DUI costs may have been around $40,000 but she took an annual pay cut of close to $40,000.  Four years into it she would have missed out on over $160,000 in salary.  Ouch!

Young Student Doing Everything Right Until the DUI:  A more recent story I heard was of a student in the Viticulture and Enology program at a well known California university.  This guy had recently turned 21 and was at a bar on the weekend.  He had some drinks and then hit the road.  Unfortunately, he had a bike rack on his car that caused his license plate to be blocked.  A CHP saw that and pulled him over.  When he was pulled over, the officer detected alcohol on his breath, gave him the breathalyzer and he was over the legal limit.  Now he has a DUI and can't work in viticulture;  his chosen field.  He had already worked in various viticulture positions, building strong experience for his future career.  With the DUI, he most likely cannot work in most viticulture positions due to the need to drive a company truck and be on the company's insurance to drive vehicles and operate machinery.  He has had to rethink his future and is now looking at cellar and enology positions at companies that do not require a clean driving record.

My advice to him is to stay keep his record clean, build up a strong list of references and stay on top of his DUI record.  It is expensive, but anything that can be done to make your driving record reflect a lesser offense is worth it.  In some states you can get a past conviction expunged.  Nolo Press has some great information about DUIs, including this on getting a DUI off your record.

Don't Drink and Drive.  It can ruin your career.

Hourly to Salary: The Good and The Bad

Featuring a guest contributor, Amy Klimek of ZipRecruiter.  The Pros and Cons of being salaried

Hourly to Salary: The Good And The Bad

Many hourly employees aspire to earn a salary. A salary, after all, represents guaranteed income in a sense, and this can give you peace of mind in knowing that you will have a steady source of income as long as you have the job. You may have been offered a salary position, and you may be wondering if you should give up an hourly job. Perhaps you are searching for a new job, and you are wondering if you should look for an hourly or salary position. There are pros and cons associated with both types of pay structures, and you may need to look at each position carefully. In addition, you should consider your personal financial situation before you make a final decision about which pay structure is best for you.

What to Expect From an Hourly Position 
With an hourly job, you are required to log your hours at work using the employer's preferred method. This may be a standard punch card system, a paper log sheet or even a computerized system. At the end of each pay period, your total hours worked will be calculated. You will receive compensation at the specified hourly rate for the exact amount of time that you worked. This means that the amount of your paychecks will most likely fluctuate from pay period to pay period. You will receive no guaranteed income, and if you are late to work or if your shift is cut short, your take-home income will reflect this.

Steady Income From a Salary
With a salary, your employer will specify how much money you will earn over the course of a year. This amount is divided equally by the number of pay periods for the employer's pay schedule. If you arrive a few minutes late one day, if the office is closed due to bad weather or if some other event prevents you from working your full shift one day, you generally will not be penalized. Both full-time hourly and salary positions may qualify for sick time and vacation time, but you may find that many employers are more lenient or flexible with time off for doctor's appointments or if you are running a little bit late one day for salary employees. This is not the case with all employers, but it is rather common.

A Word About OvertimeAn important difference to note between hourly and salary positions relates to overtime. A standard work week is considered to be 40 hours. The hourly rate that non-salaried professionals receives applies to the first 40 hours worked during a week. Any time that you work beyond this 40 hours during a week may qualify for overtime pay. There are some exceptions to this, but generally, you will be well-compensated if you are required to work extra hours during a week. Some hourly employees count on the availability of overtime to pad their paychecks, and they actively seek out overtime hours. With a salaried position, you generally will not be compensated for overtime pay. Essentially, hourly employees are paid an annual salary in exchange for a specific job being done. If it takes you longer to do your job, you will not receive extra income. In some cases, salaried employees may regularly work as many as ten or 12 hours or day, and some may even work six or seven days per week.

Making a Decision That is Right For You 
Each job position is unique, and each employee is also unique. For a position where overtime is common or even expected, a higher than average salary may be adequate compensation. However, if an average salary is offered and the employee likely will be required to work more than 40 hours per week, this may not be financially beneficial to an employee. An job applicant may need to ask questions during the interview and hiring process to determine how many hours he or she will reasonably be expected to work before making a decision. In addition, the job applicant's personal financial situation should also be taken into account. Those who have some flexibility with regards to the amount of their take-home pay each pay period may more comfortably accept an hourly position.

In some cases, job applicants will not be able to choose between an hourly or salary position. The pay structure will generally be determined by the employer rather than the employee. However, if you are in the enviable position of being able to select between two job offers or if you want to make sure that you will be compensated well for the work that you are being asked to do, you should understand the differences between hourly and salary positions. While the face value of a job offer may seem attractive, it is always important to determine if it is generous based on the work required of you and if it is ideal for your financial situation. 

Amy Klimekis an experienced HR recruiter and VP of Human Resources for ZipRecruiter, a company that simplifies the hiring process for small to medium size businesses. Prior to that Amy has held similar roles at Rent.com, eBay and US Interactive.

For Amy, corporate culture isn't about dogs and free lunches, it's about empowering employees and creating an enriching environment for people to excel.

Life Lessons You Didn't Learn In College--But Will Need at Work

Life Lessons You Didn't Learn In College--But Will Need at Work

By Vicky Oliver

Millennials, or people born between 1983 and 1999, are a talented generation of workers, bringing with them new skills to the workplace. And while this generation has been studied a lot, not all studies concur on their conclusions. Are our youngest employees more socially conscious than previous generations? More into life balance? Sometimes it seems there are almost as many theories as studies.

But a recent surveyby PricewaterhouseCoopers found that more than half of Millennials surveyed were not content with just working. They wanted to be provided real opportunities for career advancement. A new Deloitte study found something similar; 75% of its millennial respondents sought hands-on leadership development from their employers.

Perhaps we can all agree that the newest group of workers seek more power, responsibility, and influence at work faster than their older counterparts did. In this 24/7 Internet-connected world, it makes sense that this generation would expect speedier recognition. But do they have the right skills and attitudes to do it? Here are seven essential lessons for career progression that most Millennials didn't learn in college.

1. Don't feel entitled.  There are now three generations of workers at the workplace. And sporting the entitlement chip can be very off-putting to older workers. The truth is, no one is entitled to any special perks or plum assignments until after he's proven himself. So come in early, leave late, and respect those deadlines. (Unlike in college, deadlines at work often can't be pushed back.)

2. Pay those dues. Today research can be pulled up in a nanosecond, and we're all six degrees of separation from Warren Buffett. But one thing hasn't changed: in order to scramble to the top rung of the corporate ladder, you still have to excel at the bottom. So don't shirk the boring assignments, and do volunteer for additional work if possible. Show supervisors and coworkers alike that you're diligent, self-motivated, and reliable.

3. Find a mentor. How, you wonder? Everyone decries the disappearance of mentors. Seek mentors from the outside if you can't find them on the inside. Look for mentors among your peers at other companies--particularly those who are 5-10 years ahead of you in terms of experience, and hold the kind of position that you yourself would like to occupy in a few years. (Be sure to return the favor once you advance. It's only fair.)

4. Work hard. Make your first job your number one priority--above your love life, exercise routine, and hanging out with your friends. When you're at the office, resolve to be mentally present by turning off your mobile device, too. Thomas Jefferson famously claimed, "I am a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it."

5. Master the rules, then challenge. Learn the way things are done, and excel at that system and process, before trying to change anything. Too often, especially when we're first starting out, we believe we know a better way. Trust that the system in place is probably there for a reason. If it isn't efficient or up-to-date, learn everything about it so you can build a cogent and convincing argument for doing it differently.

6. Hone your people skills. As the old adage says, "It's not the grades you make, it's the hands you shake." Realize that every business is a people business. Yes, it's essential to be good at the details of your job. But it's even more important to polish those soft skills, including helping others, listening, asking smart questions, not interrupting, being attentive, and getting along.

7. Lead your own way. Don't look for your boss to carve out your career path. You may get lucky and have a boss who will take a special interest in helping you get ahead. Then again, you may have to make horizontal career moves a few times before you move up or find the right career trajectory. With today's "flat" hierarchical structures becoming the norm--i.e., having few if any managers between employees and the top leaders--you may be expected to define your own leadership role.

* * * * *

Vicky Oliver (www.vickyoliver.com) is a Manhattan-based job interview and image consultant and the author of five bestselling books on personal branding, etiquette, and career development, including 301 Smart Answers to Tough Business Etiquette Questions, 301 Smart Answers to Tough Interview Questions, and Bad Bosses, Crazy Coworkers, and Other Office Idiots. She is a popular speaker, has made more than 500 radio appearances, and is interviewed and quoted often in the major business media. 

There are Two Sides to this Job Hunting Scenario

Yesterday I got a call from a job seeker that I've advised in the past.  He has been job hunting for several months now, and is a bit discouraged about how it is going.  He said that when he sends out a resume to a job posting, he never hears anything back.  Unfortunately, that seems to be the norm when submitting resumes.  From stories candidates tell me, they rarely if ever hear back from a submission, not even a confirmation that their resume was received. 

This has got to be hard to take.  Yes, I do advise people to follow up on any submittal whenever possible.  If you just sent your resume to an individual at the company, check back with her before the week is out to make sure she received your resume.  While email is good, if you can call her to check that could just do the trick.  Not all hiring managers like the call, but gauging how often I get follow up I think they don't get a lot of calls. 

Why would you want to follow up on a submittal.  Well you would of course want to know that your resume got to the person intended, and also to find out what the status of the job opening is.  You do have to use a little finesse in your follow up, gracefully saying you were making sure your resume was received while also casually inquiring into what the next steps in the review process are.  Being pleasant and also eager are great qualities to exhibit when making these inquires. 

Sometimes my best candidate for a job has ended up in my spam folder, and only after they inquired about their submission did I find the email.  It happens, not all the time, but I am sure those candidates are glad they did follow up with me.

Now, I want to discuss the flip side:  What it is like to be a job poster.  Over this past weekend I posted a job to Craigslist.  I put information about the job and that WineTalent was the recruiting company on the position. 

Quickly I started getting responses.  Some were very detailed email messages with attached resumes and cover letters.  Some didn't have any email message at all, only a resume attachment.  Some email messages were kind of bossy, "Read this message to hire me for the job", and "Contact me immediately about my candidacy".  This role is for an Executive Assistant who will be handling all of the communications for the winery owner and will be supporting the company in many different settings.  Attention to detail, strong interpersonal skills and a professional demeanor are all traits I am looking for in this person.  My first impression is going to come straight from the first email communications.

Knowing that all too often candidates never get any feedback about their submittal, I can understand if they don't put much effort into the submission.  If you'll never hear back why bother finding out anything about the company or the person you are submitting to?  I can understand the logic there.  But maybe you need to go the extra mile when you are sending your resume to a posted job listing? 

Now I'm not one to complain (That's Cranky Recruiter's job), I do think if my contact information is on the posting a candidate could address the email to me directly.  Granted, Craigslist does use a blind email submission process, but someone could still find out who they are sending their information to.  Doing a quick Google search of the word WineTalent immediately brings up my website.  If someone pulled up my website they could probably quickly find out who to address an email too.  Maybe addressing it to Dear Sirs isn't the best salutation...?!  Also, if I have listed that I'm recruiting for my winery client, maybe discussing your interest in working at my winery doesn't make sense.  I don't have one, only many of my clients do.  And if you note on your submission that you are impressed with the wines I have produced and you want to be involved in a world-class production operation like mine you really do not know who you are submitting your resume to. 

So what?  You want a job and I'm going on about etiquette in email submissions.  I will say that some folks who submitted their resume have already gotten a call from me, and I'm off momentarily to conduct an interview with someone who sent her resume in yesterday.  Why did these submissions make the cut?  These emails were professional and directed to this specific job posting.  The emails expressed their relevant experience to the job posted.  They were concise yet compelling.  Of course their resumes showed they had solid work histories and the skills needed for the job. 

Take the time with the first step, and you'll set yourself up nicely on the path to a new job.

Book Review: Promote Yourself

Promote Yourself.  I couldn't have said it better myself.  Whether you are starting your first job out of college, re-entering the workforce, thinking about starting up your own business or hoping to improve your standing with your colleagues, you have to promote yourself, and Dan Schawbel's new book: Promote Yourself:  The New Rules for Career Success does a wonderful job of explaining why you need to, how to do it across various aspects of your life, and how to continue to build your own personal brand.                            

Theoretically, Dan Schawbel's book is geared to the recent graduate who is looking to make his way in the work world.  His model candidate is part of the new generation: Gen Y, Millennials, Echo Boomers, Generation Next.  The young Gen Yer is firmly part of his generation, but needs to learn how to work across generations, including folks like me, Gen Xers as well as Baby Boomers and his younger counterparts, the Gen Zers.  The book does a good job of explaining how a younger worker sees the business world, and it is insightful to learn about Gen Y's work styles and those of the other age groups.  

Promote Yourself does serve as a field guide to the young business candidate who needs to understand the work world and how to stand out in it, but I think the information in it transcends the generation monikers and is insightful for anyone.  And the information and recommendations in the book do not just revolve around the business world.  Promote Yourself gives the reader thoughts on building your personal brand, gaining visibility with people that can be advocates for you, being a smart protege and mentor, and the idea of being an entrepreneur/intrapreneur and how to build that into your career.

Ok, so Dan Schawbel may have had me at the title, Promote Yourself:  The New Rules for Career Success, given what I write about on this blog, but his book is a smooth read, has insightful anecdotes, is well researched and gives informative data and case studies.  And I think Dan Schawbel talks the talk and walks the walk.  I get a lot of pitches about books, events, etc. and most of the time I can just send them to the trash folder and no one is the wiser.  But from day one Dan followed up with me and asked me to read his book.  He did it in a very friendly, non-confrontational way, and kept following up.  I love follow-up, think it is many people's key (or lock) to success, and was pleased to see that Dan addressed it in his book, and followed up with me.

Promote Yourself is my first interaction with Dan Schawbel, but reading his book and his website:  Dan Schawbel, now I know he already is a best selling author, successful entrepreneur and a columnist at TIME and FORBES.  I'm sure I've read some of his articles --and am glad he promoted himself to me.

I highly recommend that the Gen Y's out there read this book, and also to all my readers who want to see how to navigate today's work world and to build a highly successful personal brand.  It takes work, but it is definitely worth it.

Cranky Recruiter: Must Love Wine. But Not Too Much!

I like to think I'm a passionate person, and I love it when people say they are passionate about wine.  I have read countless interviews where someone in the wine industry describes their passion for wine, and how it drives them to create phenomenal things.  Good, keep the passion flowing.  Makes the world go round.  But beware of loving wine too much.

I read emails daily from people who want to follow their dreams of working in wine.  Good, makes sense why you are emailing me.  Glad to hear you dream.  Cranky Recruiter has dreams too.  The jaded reader that I am always wonders, hmm, what does it mean to be passionate about wine, and to dream about wine.  Sounds vaguely similar to an addiction.  And that's where I worry.

Yes, it is fun to sit with friends and dream big, and often the dreams are bigger over a couple glasses of wine.  After a few they can get really big, really fantastic, and perhaps occasionally nightmarish.  If I get your resume on a Tuesday morning and call you to discuss your background during working hours, are you a different person after-hours.  If I put you in front of a client for an interview and the client offers you a glass of wine, are you going to down the glass, then the bottle and then leap on the table proclaiming your love of wine and this interviewer!  Oh, I daydream too.  But really, you need to temper your adoration of wine with evidence of your work ethic, your smarts and your stick-to-it-ness.

This Cranky Recruiter once was sitting in a cubicle, working through a database, and had aspirations of bigger things.  While I often wanted to take over the world, (another allusion to my love of Pinky and the Brain) I sometimes had to rein my dreams in a little.  When I started interacting with winery clients, a kernel of a dream to work exclusively in the wine industry took root.  I slogged through plenty of database updates, direct mail campaigns, cold calls and dicey offer negotiations afterwards, and that seedling started to sprout some leaves, the trunk started to thicken up, and I had grown my abilities to make my dream a reality.  Eight years ago I left a thriving technical services company to dive exclusively into the wine world.

People often ask me why I did this.  And it isn't because I love wine.  Yes, I do like wine.  Yes, I drink wine, and yes I enjoy knowing everything I can about wine.  But that isn't why I'm in it.  I'm in it for the people.  I place people at companies that are run by other people.  I talk to people about how they have worked with other people, what types of people they work with best, and how they manage people.  I don't usually talk to them about their favorite wine.  I don't ask them how much they drink (I don't think I can legally ask that anyways!)  And I don't ask them how passionate they are about wine.  Yes, be passionate, but think about what it is about wine that is stirring this passion.   Then take that information and use it to help you figure out what you want to do in the wine world.

Wine is an ancient beverage, something that has been written about for centuries.  There are ancient ruins of wine vessels, murals depicting winemaking, and works of art depicting people enjoying wine.  Yes, it has a lot of allure, but remember that I am looking for a capable person who can do the job I am recruiting for.  Not an accomplished drinker.  I have written before about what I want to see on a resume.  Check it out.  You may notice on there that I don't mention "passion for wine" once.  It is all about how you handle yourself, and what you can bring to the table. 

And one last morsel of advice here folks.  Make sure you enjoy yourself responsibly.  We can all have our a nights of bacchanalian revelry with friends and live to love another day.  Make sure you realize how to do this as hedonistically as you wish, but safely.  What do I mean?  Don't drink and drive.  Drink and drive, and you could lose your license.  Drink and drive and you could lose your wine job.  If you have a DUI on your driving record, some companies won't even consider you for employment.  Get a DUI while on the job, and you'll possibly lose your job and your license.  So be careful if you follow your passion for wine and commit your career to the wine industry.  If you happen to get a DUI, you may just have a lot fewer prospects for your next job.  And of course, we all want our roadways free of reckless drivers.  Don't Hesitate, Designate.  And there are plenty of very friendly and competent chauffeurs happy to help.  That pricey limo or taxi ride could be a very wise career decision. 

What Did You Do When You Grew Up? An Interview with Harvey Posert

(The second installment in a series of interviews with notable figures in the wine industry)

At the beginning of this month I sat down with a legendary winery public relations man, Harvey Posert.  Harvey worked with Robert Mondavi Winery for sixteen years, and was instrumental in creating the California wine lifestyle concept that was Robert�s vision.  He has also been a newspaper reporter, an ad man in the Mad Men era, and quite a successful PR man for Edelman and Wine Institute.  Harvey started out in newspaper reporting, then served in the U.S. Army Counter-Intelligence Corps, and now is happily consulting in public relations with his clients, most notably Bronco Wine Company (Two Buck Chuck).  I visited with Harvey at his house in Saint Helena, his dog Jerry checking in frequently to see if I had any treats to offer him. 

Harvey has seen the wine industry grow and prosper in Napa Valley.  He has formed many long-term friendships and continues to work behind the scenes on many winery projects.  So how did he get to where he is today, and what would he do differently?

What did you want to be when you grew up?  I wanted to be a foreign correspondent for a newspaper.  I had two uncles who worked at the Memphis Commercial Appeal, one as a sports writer, the other covering politics.  My father was an attorney, and my mom was a housewife, but an accomplished musician.  My mom wrote musical criticism for the local paper.  Writing always came easy to me, and at the age of fourteen I started working for the newspaper scoring sports games.  At 16 I was the city editor, providing summer relief for news desks including business, cotton, tri-state, and obituaries.

What encouragement did you get from family, teachers, etc?  My parents forced me to go to school outside of Memphis.  I went to prep school in Pennsylvania, and received my bachelor�s degree in English from Yale.  When I announced I was going to law school, my parents raised their eyebrows. 

To raise some beer money while attending law school I went to work for the Bar Association�s PR department.  I learned quickly that PR paid well; I could get $50 a week working for the newspaper and $100 a week at the PR firm.  Soon I had three boys and a wife to support, and I quickly did the math.  I went to the paying industry.  I worked for several years at a large PR firm, Edelman, and had my own firm.  At Edelman I was part of the firm�s evolution to become the largest independent PR firm in the world.

How did you end up in the wine business?  I was working in public relations in New York for the Edelman office there.  I was working with The Chocolate Association, National Bedding Association and other similar accounts.  I was raising three kids outside of Manhattan.  Edelman got the Wine Institute account and needed me to open up a California office.  I got here and thought, �Eureka, I found it.�  I spent July 4^th of that year at the Atlantic Ocean and Labor Day at the Pacific Ocean.

What drew you to the wine industry and your role?  I was drawn to the personalities in the wine industry.  It also is a happy industry.  People laugh all day.  When I started in the industry it was all about sharing a glass of wine. 

With all the opportunities you had, why didn�t you leave?  I loved the wine industry.  It was a growing industry. What isn�t to like?  Everyone is nice, gracious.  I grew up in Memphis with southern hospitality.  I knew more about PR than others here and I could make a difference.  It is also a nice business for a family.  I have two kids in it and I get enormous pleasure from getting to work with them and from us being able to help each other. 

Were their mistakes you made or lessons learned that you would like to share?  I don�t feel I made any mistakes, but think I could have done better financially.  If I had stayed at Edelman and done as I was told, I would have gone to Silicon Valley or stayed in agency work and made $500,000 a year instead of only $120,000 on average.  Thinking about mistakes made, I bring up David Brooks, the writer who recently wrote a series called The Life Report, asking people aged 70 and above to reflect on their lives.  Reading over the essays people submitted, I think the things I could have done better were to learn how to deal better with my parents and the women in my life.  From outside of the wine business I�ve learned that you have to have balance and intelligence so that you can make more good than bad decisions.

Were there mentors in your career?   I had three of the best mentors: 

Dan Edelman, Edelman PR.  Dan taught me how to adjust newspaper writing to the publicity biz.  He said to always throw the net out wide. 

Harry Serlis, President of Wine Institute.  Harry said you can�t ever know all there is to know about the wine biz.  It is OK to say �I don�t know.�

Bob Mondavi, Robert Mondavi Winery.  Bob taught me how to deal with people and teach people about wine.  He evoked the wine, food, culture belief and created the lifestyle. 

Did you have any prot�g�s?  I am proud to have helped a complete generation of wine publicists. 

Is there any advice you would have given yourself years ago?   I would learn to understand the financial business.  It is an area that I have not been as savvy in as I think I should have been.

Are there any changes in the wine industry that you have experienced?  It was quite interesting coming to the Napa Valley in 1965.  When I started, I knew so little about wine.  With the changes of the wine industry to become a true �industry,� it has gotten very competitive.  Before, wine people were very cooperative, and it seems like the industry has moved to an MBA-type environment where wine is marketed in a commercial context, losing some of the glamour or mystique it once had.  I have also seen wine become a product.  When I started, wine was unknown to many, and now wine is on all tables.  It is rewarding that we were able to accomplish that in the States.

Southern hospitality is still quite present when you meet with Harvey.  He is a gentlemen, and quite smart.  He is involved in so many things and still has time to sit with a cub reporter like me, even popping a fresh batch of popcorn.  Thank you, Harvey, for your time and thoughts, and I look forward to our next meeting.  I�ll remember to bring Jerry some treats!