The relationship between alcohol and consumers is not straightforward. In fact, it’s highly complex, dependent on variables upon variables many of which can’t be controlled. But what is straightforward is that the relationship is changing.
‘The Drinking Code’
The recently published report produced by media agency Maxus, investigates why, how and when people drink and what these changing patterns of behavior mean for the alcohol industry. It analyzed attitudes from 6,500 adults across Australia, China, Germany, India, the UK and the US, and the conclusions are pretty cool!
The Rules of Consumption are breaking
Although Maxus found that only 39% of consumers enjoy experimenting with different drinks compared to the 62% that stick to what they know, the alcohol industry as a whole is breaking away from its categorized nature.
Thanks to the rise of craft vendors, the inventiveness of mixologists, and the “new rituals and occasions” of consumers, the industry is diversifying on all fronts.
And Technology is giving a helping hand
As Maxus explains, “consumers are social,” often making drink choices based on social media experiences and what’s “trending” instead of the brand or alcohol type.
It’s easier than ever to share drinking experiences, access recipes and discover ingredients that bring alcohol consumption to a whole new level. Today, “drinks can truly act local and speak global.”
So what?
According to Maxus, it’s the start of something big:
“This is a new golden and cultural age for drink, a new world for liquor not seen since that pioneering time 150-200 years ago when all our now established brands formed, when Johnnie started walking, Dewar started rambling and Jack began filtering.”
For easier grating, place softer cheeses (such as fontina and Monterey Jack) in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes beforehand.
Soften butter quickly sans microwave by using a rolling pin.
Put the stick of butter between two large pieces of wax paper. Using a rolling pin, press down on the butter and roll it as you would a pie crust. When the butter is about 1/8 to 1/4-inch thick, lift off the wax paper and peel away the butter (before it gets too soft to peel).
If you go with the microwave method to melt your butter, but went a little too far, it’s ok because you can save it! To save partially melted butter, place it in a bowl with a few ice cubes and stir. In less than a minute, the butter will quickly cool and solidify to the soft texture you are looking for. Simply remove the ice cubes and proceed with the recipe.
This won’t work with completely melted butter, so if it’s a puddle, save it for next time!
Use frozen butter instead of milk when making omelets.
Why? Because milk can add excess moisture to your omelets. Instead, try using frozen butter, which melts more slowly and disperses more evenly, creating that perfect fluffy texture. Either cut the butter into chunks, or grate it into your eggs.
Keep ice cream soft and ice crystal free by keeping it inside a plastic freezer bag.
Store your container of ice cream in a freezer bag to keep it soft for easy scooping. This way, you won’t need to wait to enjoy it nor will you be tempted to microwave your solid ice cream and risk the chance of over melting it.
Plus, this will keep those ice crystals that water-down the taste from forming when your refreeze your ice cream!
Froth milk in a mason jar for a coffee shop-level beverage.
First, pour either 2% or nonfat milk into a mason jar no further than halfway, and shake for 30 seconds to create foam. Then, stabilize the foam by microwaving for another 30 seconds. Pour, and enjoy!
You can use whole milk or cream, but the foam won’t be as foamy because, while 2% and nonfat milk are fortified with foam-stabilizing whey protein, whole milk and cream are not.
Next week, we’re dishing out tricks that will make your entrees unforgettable, so don’t miss out!
It may be easier at the time to post one listing for ‘All Positions’ in need of filling instead of listings for specific positions, but will it pay off in the end? Probably not, and here’s why.
Let’s start from the top of the hiring game: attracting talent.
This begins with discovering your open job(s), which Sirvo strives to make as easy as possible; with our Search feature, candidates can simply type in a keyword and see all relevant results.
In most cases, the keyword will be a job title, which means that “All Positions” with no mention of actual positions won’t be shown as a result. This drastically decreases your chance to reach potential employees right off the bat.
Beyond the title, the description and requirements are even more important!
To make a smart hire in less time, attracting the candidates you’re looking for, from personality to skill-set, is a necessity.
The specifics you require for each position are must-haves in the job listing because it tells candidates exactly what you need in an employee, so they know whether or not they fit the bill. Without them, you’re more likely to receive applications from those who don’t possess the necessary credentials required to fill the position instead of those that do.
Plus, in the future, Sirvo will offer job-candidate matching based on how qualified candidates are according to the details in the job listing, but you won’t be able to take advantage without including specifics about experience, skills, and requirements.
When it’s time to review applications, let Sirvo help.
To make it easier for employers to hone in on qualified candidates, Sirvo provides an applicant tracking system, which assists in organizing and managing candidates.
Every job listing has its own ATS Inbox where, upon receipt, applications are stored by default. From that point, after reviewing applications, candidates can be moved to Qualified or Declined based on whether or not they are still in the running for the position.
This way, applications are automatically sorted by position, making it easy to review and compare candidates. This is also helpful if hiring is conducted by several people. All applications to ‘Position A’ are separate from applications to ‘Position B’.
However, job listings for “All Positions” will negate this first level of organization built into the ATS, making it more difficult to review and manage candidates for each position.
The bottom line: hiring for ‘all positions’ is harder than the alternative.
Although it may take some additional time up front to create job listings for individual positions rather than lumping them together, you’ll definitely make up for it when it comes time to review applications and hire.
Not only are you increasing the odds of engaging professionals that have the specific qualifications that you’re seeking, you’re also making it easier for you and your staff to manage the entire process.
It all boils down to making your hiring process as efficient as possible, meaning the resources you spend attracting candidates, reviewing applications, and ultimately hiring are just what’s necessary to find the right person for the right position.
Experience Sirvo for yourself
Sign up now to find hospitality jobs and hire top industry talent.
When it comes to your daily meals, cooking is the cheaper, and healthier, option, but it’s not always the most convenient. For those who know this all too well, we’re publishing a 4-part Kitchen Hacks series to make you a better, faster cook. Part I is all about getting as much use out of your ingredients as possible.
First, cook your corn on the cob, with the husk, using your method of choice (mine is microwaving; 3-4 minutes per cob). Once it’s cooked, grab the cob by the tapered end with gloves or oven mitts (it’s going to be HOT!). Then, cut off the shank, and a bit of the actual cob, with a sharp knife. To remove the husk, continue holding by the uncut end, then squeeze and shake the corn out of its husk.
Before the bath, take your herbs and start by cutting off the stems. Then, remove and discard any bruised or damaged leaves. Now comes the ice bath. Submerge your herbs in the ice water, and soak. The cold water will shock the herbs back to life. The amount of soaking time will vary, but you can tell they’re ready when the herbs start to float to the top and look bright green and refreshed!
To store, place the herbs in an air-tight container or sandwich bag lined with a paper towel on the top and bottom to absorb any extra moisture. Use within a couple of days.
To keep brown sugar from turning into rock-hard clumps, put a slice of bread, apple or even a damp paper towel in with the brown sugar to keep it soft. And, what is quite amazing is that neither the apple nor the bread gets moldy or rancid. They dry up and become inedible, but they do keep the brown sugar soft.
Don’t waste time peeling potatoes before cooking. After boiling them, place them in a bowl of ice water for a few seconds. Then, just grab it with both hands, twist, and pull apart. The skin should slide right off.
To find out if your eggs are still good without breaking the shell, just fill a bowl with cold water (and add ice for more accuracy). Then, place your egg in the water and if it sinks like a rock, you’re good to go. If it floats, toss it!
Give pomegranates a whack with a wooden spoon to easily remove the seeds.
All you need to do is cut it in half as normal, push out the center a bit, then just start whacking the back of it with a wooden spoon. If done correctly, all the seeds should fall right out into the bowl in just a few seconds!
It’s official: Women Who Launch was a success! Michael Kilcoyne, the panel’s MC, did a spectacular job, asking a variety of relevant questions. The panelists, Stephanie Maxwell (@gosirvo), Jenna Walker (@artifactuprising), and Amy Baglan (@meetmindful), were in kind, sharing insight and experiences from their unique perspectives.
The highlights included discussing work-life balance, or “congruence” as Jenna calls it. Each of these women have had to conquer their own challenges to achieve zen: for Stephanie, it’s the small but no less important things, like eating and exercising, that she had to learn how to put first; Jenna didn’t want to sacrifice being a mom, so even though it meant less sleep, she woke up early to get work done so she could fit in school drop-offs and pick-ups; Amy has discovered that the key to maintaining her balance is mindfulness and meditation.
When it came to handling the strong emotions that go along with the stress of founding a tech company, each woman had a different take. Stephanie sets her emotions aside with her team because that’s how she’s most effective as a manager, while Jenna does the opposite, sharing that she “threw a fit” the week before as an example, because she’s found that she’s at her best when there’s no pretense. Amy falls somewhere in the middle, but highlighted the importance of having a second opinion when emotions run high by telling the audience about an email mishap that involved a dick pic. We all got a good laugh out of that!
All in all, it was great discussion about what it means to be a female founder in the tech industry.
