When I was getting my bachelor’s degree, I used to work at my school’s career center. By the end of the school year, I had reviewed and corrected over 500 resumes and 100 cover letters. After discovering wine in Italy and taking a wine class during my last semester of college, I leveraged my career center knowledge to land a job in the wine industry. By now, we all know that I used to be a social media coordinator for a large wine company. Recently I got a job as a harvest intern for the 2022 harvest because I’m studying to become a winemaker! I’m not about gatekeeping, so in this post, I’m going to give you some tips on how to get a job in the wine industry.
Step One: Start job searching.
This might sound counterintuitive because you need your resume to apply to jobs, but hear me out first. If you start searching for jobs that sound interesting to you, you can edit your resume to include key words from the job listing. Ideally, you’d have a resume for each job you are applying for, but realistically no one has time for that. Instead, you can have a resume for each type of job you’re applying for.
Let’s say that you are interested in positions such as social media coordinator and tasting room associate. You’d have a resume for social media highlighting your marketing and content creating skills. Then you’d have another resume for tasting room positions highlighting your customer service experience and anything else related to that. Each of these resumes would be updated with keywords from each of the job listings you’re looking at.
Where do you find jobs in the wine industry? The obvious one is LinkedIn job boards. There are a lot of positions listed and you can filter based on experience and city you live in. It’s important to note that you won’t find a ton of jobs unless you live in states known for wine. I also use Google to search for jobs; however, my favorite place to look for jobs in the wine industry is WineBusiness.com. Most wineries use winebusiness.com to post job openings and on this job board, you can narrow your search down even further than LinkedIn.
Step Two: Update your resume.
Again, duh. One of my biggest tips for editing your resume is that it’s okay to have your resume take up more than one page. A lot of people will tell you one page only, but the more relevant information you put on your resume, the more likely you are to get an interview. After I graduated, I was using a one-page resume and getting almost no responses. Then, I updated my resume to two pages so I could fit all of my skills. It wasn’t until I started applying with a two-page resume where the responses started to pile in. Don’t stress about fitting everything onto one page.
Another thing to note is that you want to use a simple, black-and-white format. You don’t need your resume to be colorful to stand out. You stand out based on your experience. Unless you’re a graphic designer or something along those lines, colorful resumes with tons of graphics are not recommended. Pro tip: don’t even use the templates on Microsoft Word. All you need is a professional font and to play with bold, italics, and underlines.
I mentioned this earlier, but you want relevant information on your resume. Yes, put your most recent work experience on your resume, so you’re not asked about a “gap” in your work history, but it doesn’t have to go first. If you’re working in engineering, but want to manage a tasting room, list your managing experience first, then any customer service experience you have after that, then put your engineering job last. Resumes are strategic. Piece them together in a way that makes sense for the job you’re applying for. Sure, you might be a software engineer and your bullet points might say something about coding in Python, but in a tasting room, being able to code means that you’re detail-oriented.
Step Three: Write a cover letter.
Yes, I know. Ugh. Cover letters are so annoying to write, but my secret is to use the same exact template for each one. Most people will tell you that in the first paragraph, you should write about who you are and where you found the job posting. The second paragraph should be about your qualifications. In the third paragraph, you’ll write about the company and what they’re doing that inspired you to apply. The final paragraph is a simple conclusion reiterating that you’re the right candidate for the job.
Sure, that’s the way to go, but writing that third paragraph gets super tedious after 20 applications or so. My cover letter? It looks kind of similar to that template. My first paragraph is the same. My second paragraph starts with, “My resume will tell you everything you need to know about me and my qualifications; however, one thing it’s lacking is my passion for the wine industry.” I end that with a quote about wine or passion. Then I go right into telling the story about how I got into wine. While the story is long and the hiring manager has to read a lot, it highlights my passion for the industry and reiterates that I’m applying because I want to be here and not just because I need the money. I end it with “That’s why I’m applying for [winery here]. I truly believe I could make a difference as a [position here].”
You’d think writing out a whole story is a lot work, but I found that I was done in 20 minutes because I just had to write it from memory. One thing the wine industry loves is passion. Even if you don’t have the experience they’re looking for, they’ll hire you based on passion. Everything can be taught, but the one thing that is hard to find is genuine passion for wine.
Step Four: Ace the interview.
Interviews are nerve-wracking for sure. I definitely struggle having conversations with people and I get nervous around strangers. It’s okay to come prepared with notes and it’s okay to take notes during your interview! Some people might frown upon taking notes during the interview, but having notes and questions written down was one of the main reasons I landed my social media job! It shows organization and it shows that you’re actually listening and digesting what the interviewer has to say.
Always ask questions when your interviewer asks if you have any questions. I think that’s a given, but don’t be afraid to ask the fun questions as well. Yes, you want to know what a successful candidate looks like under the manager’s management, but you can also ask what their favorite grape variety is. It opens the door for a fun conversation and eases any tension that might be lingering in the room. Ask how the interviewer got into wine.
Trust me. Asking the interviewer about their wine preferences on top of your regular questions about management and environment makes you more memorable than someone who didn’t bother to ask anything about wine.
