10 replies to this topic

[smart17]

Hello International Food Quality Network and Safety Community,

I hope this message finds you well. I am reaching out to seek advice and insights from fellow professionals who share my role in food quality and safety. I have an upcoming interview with a company that specializes in the manufacturing and distribution of baking ingredients. As part of the interview process, I will be taken on a tour of their manufacturing site and will be expected to provide recommendations for potential improvements.

 

I would greatly appreciate any tips or guidance on what to look for during the tour and any common industry challenges that I should be aware of which could help inform my recommendations. Additionally, if you have any advice on how to effectively present improvement suggestions in such settings, it would be incredibly helpful.

 

Thank you in advance for your support and for sharing your expertise. I look forward to your valuable suggestions and hope to contribute to our community's wealth of knowledge.

 

Best regards,

 

[Alex A.]

Hi Smart17,

 

I think preparation is the key and the company's website is your biggest help. 

Baking ingredients are quite a big range, you can check their website, usually they have a tab "our products" to see what exactly they are manufacturing (bread mixes, cake mixes, glazes, colourings, flavourings etc.) and you can have a look into the process better.

You can look for certification logos as well, if they are BRC certified, you will know what they are trying to comply with and any other certification logos like Halal for example. Also, if they have a news feed, look at their recent achievements, that can tell you what's the company's focus.

It is quite general what I said, but I hope it helps.

 

Alex

[Setanta]

Maybe I am overly cautious, but asking for feedback can be a double edged sword.

They may get defensive at your suggestions, so I would keep it simple and not too embarrassing. Maybe some easy GMP corrections.

 

Also, don't give your good ideas away for free, so if you see something maybe just hint at the solution. "I see you are doing "X" for your flour storage, I have seen other methods that reduce errors and mix ups. Have you considered color coding?"

 

Let them figure out the details, even if you have a whole schematic to present. 

 

Bottom line, be complementary, but don't give away your knowledge without compensation. 

[TimG]

'will be expected to provide recommendations for potential improvements'

 

That's a tricky one. I ran into this once and that interview turned out to be the worst I've ever been involved in as an interviewee. It's going to be very hard for you to provide site specific recommendations on the spot unless you have relevant experience in your back pocket. Even with the experience, what has worked for you in the past might not work for this particular site. 

Pop back in when you go through the process and let us know how it went, I'd be interested in reading that!

[AltonBrownFanClub]

This may come off as cynical, but it was from my personal experience with that question.

 

A past interviewer asked me after a walkthrough, "Do you see any areas for improvement?"

There was plenty to mention. This business had a lot of issues

I went along with the hiring process, and eventually received a job offer.

I declined because the project was massive and their pay range was downright insulting.

 

Over the following years, this same job listing has remained up, and still was last time I checked.

It makes me wonder if some companies are using these interviews as "consulting" so they can identify issues without ever paying anyone.

 

As others said, don't give out your knowledge for free.

And remember: The company should be selling the job to you too.

Is there upward mobility? Continuing education? Parental leave?

 

You should want the job as much as they want you. Good luck! Please update :)

[siskos]

As above ... DO NOT give any information. If they ask your opinion try to avoid saying any that they can use. You may use something like "Its not easy to solve any problem without knowing the big picture or why this is made this way...."

That my oponion anyway...

[Dorothy87]

hi  

 

ok.. a few bullet points

 

- Low risk or high risk? or mixed? - it is important, based on this you should be able to spot issues very easy, normally you would expect a high hygienic standard for both, but usually low risk may surprise you with lower level of hygiene and this is ok 

- Building fabrication - this is usually the biggest issue. Lack of investments, (check pot wash/rack wash and this may tell you everything) 

- BRC ? yes - ok ---> check grade - I wouldn't touch anything below A grade. 

- Retailers ? - yes - ok ---> check grade and challenge them on NC`s  - (Aldi, Lidl, Tesco, M&S are the most difficult to deal with) be aware of their own requirements. Sainsburys, Waitrose and Morrisons are quite ok (but again another set of requirements) 

- Structure (organogram), not only technical but the entire factory 

- Improvement suggestions.. pick max 3, focus deeply on 2 (usually things like traceability documents, lack of QAS (quality attribute sheet) etc.. 

 

Good Luck :)

[smart17]

hi

 

ok.. a few bullet points

 

- Low risk or high risk? or mixed? - it is important, based on this you should be able to spot issues very easy, normally you would expect a high hygienic standard for both, but usually low risk may surprise you with lower level of hygiene and this is ok 

- Building fabrication - this is usually the biggest issue. Lack of investments, (check pot wash/rack wash and this may tell you everything) 

- BRC ? yes - ok ---> check grade - I wouldn't touch anything below A grade. 

- Retailers ? - yes - ok ---> check grade and challenge them on NC`s  - (Aldi, Lidl, Tesco, M&S are the most difficult to deal with) be aware of their own requirements. Sainsburys, Waitrose and Morrisons are quite ok (but again another set of requirements) 

- Structure (organogram), not only technical but the entire factory 

- Improvement suggestions.. pick max 3, focus deeply on 2 (usually things like traceability documents, lack of QAS (quality attribute sheet) etc.. 

 

Good Luck :)

 

Thank you for the email and all the tips . its a massive company and they have AA+ BRCGS and they supply to many retailers ...  Any points to fro during mixing and baking the ingredients?  

[smart17]

This may come off as cynical, but it was from my personal experience with that question.

 

A past interviewer asked me after a walkthrough, "Do you see any areas for improvement?"

There was plenty to mention. This business had a lot of issues

I went along with the hiring process, and eventually received a job offer.

I declined because the project was massive and their pay range was downright insulting.

 

Over the following years, this same job listing has remained up, and still was last time I checked.

It makes me wonder if some companies are using these interviews as "consulting" so they can identify issues without ever paying anyone.

 

As others said, don't give out your knowledge for free.

And remember: The company should be selling the job to you too.

Is there upward mobility? Continuing education? Parental leave?

 

You should want the job as much as they want you. Good luck! Please update :)

 

HI , its a massive company in UK and they will known . They have  BRCGS AA+ and I they have many benefits  if you work for them.  Any tips for this kind  of bussinees  of making and producing baking products and etc? 

[Dorothy87]

 

hi

 

ok.. a few bullet points

 

- Low risk or high risk? or mixed? - it is important, based on this you should be able to spot issues very easy, normally you would expect a high hygienic standard for both, but usually low risk may surprise you with lower level of hygiene and this is ok 

- Building fabrication - this is usually the biggest issue. Lack of investments, (check pot wash/rack wash and this may tell you everything) 

- BRC ? yes - ok ---> check grade - I wouldn't touch anything below A grade. 

- Retailers ? - yes - ok ---> check grade and challenge them on NC`s  - (Aldi, Lidl, Tesco, M&S are the most difficult to deal with) be aware of their own requirements. Sainsburys, Waitrose and Morrisons are quite ok (but again another set of requirements) 

- Structure (organogram), not only technical but the entire factory 

- Improvement suggestions.. pick max 3, focus deeply on 2 (usually things like traceability documents, lack of QAS (quality attribute sheet) etc.. 

 

Good Luck :)

 

Thank you for the email and all the tips . its a massive company and they have AA+ BRCGS and they supply to many retailers ...  Any points to fro during mixing and baking the ingredients?  

 

many retailers...double check your technical team (how many people you have), and QA shifts cover.. retailers loves to ask silly questions at 7pm on Friday and they expecting your answer ASAP.. (just saying), as mentioned check their traceability system, you will be lucky if they are using scanners and tablets (happy days) if still using paper and pen.. then here is your call.. is hard to manage without a good traceability software...

 

 

[AltonBrownFanClub]

HI , its a massive company in UK and they will known . They have  BRCGS AA+ and I they have many benefits  if you work for them.  Any tips for this kind  of bussinees  of making and producing baking products and etc? 

 

Although I don't agree with consulting for free, here is a resource you can use to study up on BRCGS.

@Tony-c posted the BRCGS audit standard here:

https://www.ifsqn.co...ailable-online/

 

Good luck at your interview!    I hope they recognize your efforts and don't take advantage of your expertise.