My husband watches a show called Kitchen Nightmares.
Famed chef and Michelin Star winner Gordon Ramsay steps out of his own five-star establishments and into some of the country’s most unsanitary and unsuccessful restaurants to help them turn their businesses around or close their doors forever.
I don’t know much about Gordon Ramsay beyond the tabloid allegations and the celebrity gossip — which is fierce, by the way — but I do know that he likes to drop the F bomb with wild abandon. Also, I do have a thing for tall, white guys who think they know everything.
I gave it a go, last week, and watched episodes of the show.
I loved it.
I could care less about the drama of reality TV. Most of these restaurants fail for two reasons: a lack of leadership and a lack of business savvy. Gordon Ramsay sees this, very clearly, and doesn’t mince words. There are no committees to review policies & procedures at the restaurant. No task forces have been created. There are no feedback mechanisms. Ramsay sees the issue, addresses mediocrity in a very direct way, and doesn’t allow the owners to place the blame anywhere but on themselves.
It’s a great coaching model. Candid. Direct. Honest. Targeted. Specific. He sets expectations, he gives very clear direction, and he expects you to trust his expertise or get the eff out of his way. He expects quality food, clean kitchen facilities, and smart business practices. Inventory management. Operations. Payroll. If you can’t get the basics right, you have no business running a restaurant. Failure is an option for you.
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I wanted to write a more thought post about the crossover appeal of Gordon Ramsay’s leadership style, so I went to the main website to learn more about his corporate infrastructure. It turns out that Ramsay has a career page where you can apply for a whole host of jobs, and one of those jobs was HR Advisor.
I got distracted and applied for the job out of curiosity.
My husband thought I was nuts, but I wanted to see the hiring process from the eyes of a consumer who is loyal to Gordon’s brand. I wanted to have a first-hand experience with the resume and candidate database software. I wanted to know if the HR Department at Gordon Ramsay Holdings could see that I am a great candidate for something even though I’m not the ideal candidate for the job.
They could not. I was automatically rejected via email within 48 hours.
I am sure that some of my answers didn’t meet the screening criteria, and I don’t even have a resume at this point in my career. I am both overqualified and under-qualified for the role of HR Advisor in the hospitality industry in the UK. What the hell do I know about food service and restaurants?
But I know HR.
And I’d be a great asset to that company.
And I was rejected outright.
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I am still a big fan of the show and a big advocate of Gordon Ramsay’s leadership style. I would pay to hear him speak before I’d pay to hear Jack Welch speak at a conference. I just wonder how amazing it could be if someone like Ramsay, or any other celebrity with a big infrastructure, could rethink the hiring process and move away from resume databases that automatically reject candidates because of stuffy and incomplete screening criteria.
Oh well. I have higher hopes for my application with Alicia Keys.
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Actually, I’m pretty impressed that you got a response within 48 hours. It seems to line up with Mr. Ramsey’s desire for efficiency in operations and the level of attention to detail he demands of his own company. I can count on two hands the number of responses (rejection or interview, automated or live) I’ve received to resume submittals in the last 18 months, and I prefer not to think about how many submittals I’ve made.
Besides, I prefer you unencumbered by formal employ. It gives you more time to post on the site.
I LOVE Gordon Ramsey. #justsayin
Once again, a home run of a post. I love the concept of applying for the job in hopes to see more of the screening process and candidate software. I wonder if you’d dropped the F bomb in the application if you would have made it. =)
You also bring up a great point about having keynotes at conferences that are out of the safe zone. Personally, I’d learn as much or more from someone like Gordon Ramsey, Duff from Ace of Cakes, CoCo, or Taye Diggs (had to throw in a hottie because they need HR skills too). Great post and condolences for not getting the job.
Great post!
Just say ‘ugh’ to dehumanized, automated systems; aka, ‘resume databases.’ Your resume is your unique, Laurie Ruettiman story, and automated keyword resume sifters do not have the capacity to interpret, be compelled and be moved by your unique credentials.
~Jacqui
My apologies for misspelling your last name. I left off the second ‘n’ in Ruettimann!
I have been a fan for a very long time, appreciate the way he has to get to the core of the issue in a very short time. I really enjoy The F-Word ( http://www.channel4.com/food/on-tv/f-word/ ). You see more of the person and less of the persona on that show, but I do like his style. Maybe we’re all just ready for people to take responsibility with no excuses. If you or I tried that style however, lawsuits abounding.
thank you for noticing the cross-over leadership style of Ramsey. His head on no BS approach is refreshing.
He generally has the same model for the shows, cleans up the mess, cuts the menus to 10-15 quality items, and is direct in his directions.
Also as you mentioned – if you trust and follow his advice he works it out. Plus he or the show invests in your infrastructure.
Love it! I watch the show too and like it for all the same reasons you mention. Sure he comes across as a dick sometimes but that is necessary – and he’s always right in what he is advising. He knows his business and he doesn’t allow mediocrity. I think this is a great analogy for how we SHOULD be doing things.
Over the years I’ve become a bit cynical and impatient with that certain, oh I don’t know, shall we say – Stupidity that resides in some people. Sometimes you just need to get things done and can’t be nice about it. It grinds at me to see people sugar coating things for people which is something Ramsay doesn’t do. At work I’m a customer service champion, I’m PC, I’m empathic and I’m always a nice person. But I also try to be direct and explain things in a way that doesn’t allow for misunderstanding.
BTW – BBC America runs the British version of Kitchen Nightmares too.
“Move away from resume databases that automatically reject candidates because of stuffy and incomplete screening criteria”
This should be put on a plaque and hung in the HR / recruiting offices of every company in North America, in my very humble opinion.
I’ve been a long time reader, or lurker as some would say, but first time commenting.
I wish more HR resumes sifters would get on board with what you have proposed here. When I interview potential employees, I go through the obligatory questions we all must ask, but then I just talk to the person. (Egad!) You can find out interesting things about people if you lead an interview that is less like an interrogation and more like a conversation. Of course it does depend on the particular position that they are interviewing for, but I have found that a direct and open conversation is a great way to get to know someone. I mean how else would I have found out that a 60 year old woman, applying for a position of a truck driver, could throw 50 pounds of hay bales out for the animals on her farm to feed at the crack of dawn enery day, and this was before she went to “work” I hired her on the spot….if you can do that on a smelly farm pasture, you can handle delivering packages for my company. To look at her you’d never know, but she was one of our best drivers, her work ethic was rock solid!
Oh and sorry about the rejection.. I could only imagine the HR meetings with the two of you! Could have been a TV show all on its own.
Hi Laurie,
Have you seen the English version of this show yet? If not, BBC America airs re-runs. The British version is great because Ramsey goes back to the restaurants after a few months and does in-depth follow-ups, some even with unhappy endings, unlike happy endings of every American episode.
The other great thing about Ramsay is that he also seems to be good at coaching people with talent – not just people who are screwing up. My favourite episodes are always the ones where he discovers that the sous chef in the failing restaurant is a really promising talent being under-utilized by his/her short-sighted boss and takes a personal interest in helping them develop (spending a bunch of time with them, mentoring them – I think he even sent one to his own cooking school so she could get some skill and experience and break out on her own – I might be remembering that wrong though).
Hell’s Kitchen is an unfortunate bastardization of what Ramsay does, but Kitchen Nightmares still stands up. Love that guy.
Sorry I advised Gordon on a number of names to automatically reject. I was working on the basis that two people who swore as much would be a bullying case waiting to happen. And basically, well I wanted to keep the job for myself…..soz!
Gordon has another show called “The F word” which is total genius. This included raising a couple of pigs in the back garden (called Trinny and Susannah – if that means anything) with his kids and then taking them through the slaughter process so that they would understand that meat wasn’t abstract. Brave and commendable.
I don’t watch television and don’t know who this guy is, but I LOVE that you applied for a job that you know you would be great for, and the company would benefit from, and got rejected outright. As another commenter mentioned, it’s amazing that you at least got a response that quickly.
I feel like I am in terrific company now, and you have REALLY given me a shot of confidence and validation. This is the kind of candidate experience I am going to talk about at TruUSA. I’m buying margaritas for you at HRevolution. Count on it.
Laurie – Man, Ramsay is a fool. He may be a good talent manager personally but his recruiting team is for $#*t.
If only Morrissey spoke more than a few times a year and actually needed a head blogger, you’d be set. Me, I want to be blogger and brand manager for Courtney Love. If you’re going to go, go big!
@TheHRD: Trinny and Susannah are sort of the British versions of Kathie Lee and Hoda, but specific to fashion. They fall squarely into the pseudo-celebrity-reality-show category. I’d compare them to Martha Stewart but it would probably offend Martha – and that is NOT a good thing.
Have you ever worked in a kitchen?
If you wanna hear swearing and cussing, it is one of the most direct places outside of a Truck Stop.
I remember when his show Hell’s Kitchen first came out… I was working in a Kitchen… It was like a biography I didn’t want to see lol.
However, being out of the kitchen/restaurant industry for a few years now I too can look at him in a leadership role.
But think how he would be perceived outside of a kitchen? Can you imagine him going after an accountant saying, “You used the wrong F@#%ing spreadsheet – redo it now!!!”
Just saying, as amusing as he is – his leadership style is very much kitchen-environment specific.
Ramsay’s act reminds me of some former managers in my past. Several would hide behind the company’s culture of “open and honest confrontation” and just be complete jerks. Fast forward to today, those managers are still in staffing, still jerks, and churning & burning through the recruiting ranks here in Miami.
I have heard him interviewed on BBC radio and he’s actually quite interesting and was genuinely nice. So I’m curious about how much of his act is really shtick?
When I first saw Gordon Ramsey, I, too, was swayed by his leadership tactics, attention to detail, open and honest confrontation of crucial issues, etc. After watching a few more episodes though, it got to the point that his F-bomb style just became redundant— or it really came off as, like John said above– plain shtick. The last episode I watched, all I wanted to do was kick Gordon’s ass the whole show—- and so did the restaurant owner (he was English as well– and didn’t buy Ramsey’s style). Funny—
@John re: schtick – yeah, it’s a good question, isn’t it? If you watch Kitchen Nightmares enough times, you start to think that he’s really hamming up and overstating his disgust with the kitchen/managers for effect (don’t get me wrong, it’s usually pretty disgusting – but sometimes he lays it on a little thick).
And if you watch Hell’s Kitchen and compare it to ‘Nightmares, you can see it even more – his confontational style is OBVIOUSLY being played up and overstated (either through scripting or editing) for cheap drama. I even heard a rumour that the producers planted a particularly short-fused contestant on the show (or someone who was paid to act particularly short-tempered) just to foment a blow-up so they’d have good teaser material. That’s unconfirmed, though.
I hate reality TV.
I got tired of Hell’s Kitchen real quick because it was basically 42 minutes of him yelling in a contrived “reality” competition setting. But I love Kitchen Nightmares. It’s like my other favorite, Tabitha’s Salon Takeover. On both shows, it’s the same thing. Bad leaders have failing businessness, but they think they know it all. In come the no-bullshit experts who say and do exactly what needs to be said and done. Though it kills me that restaurant/salon owners ask to be on these shows and then get pissed when they don’t like Gordon or Tabitha telling them what to do.
You were totally robbed in that hiring process, but after all the nightmares I’ve heard from other HR folks who work in the restaurant industry, maybe that’s a good thing. The Alicia Keys gig is better for your sanity (and street cred!).
when I have a generalist opening you can come work with me…although you’ll have to move to Long Island…oh we have less drama (but I do drop the F bomb on occassion)…no tv camera’s but great perks!
M
I feel like I need to clarify that I didn’t really want this job. I’ll take a role with a cushy title and awesome responsibilities where I can make a difference and earn $295K/year + 45% bonus + options + grants + executive perks too numerous to list. Other than that, I’ll stick to writing.
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@Phillip The response was so quick — I wondered if it was a European law or something.
@Minion Ha! I knew it!
@Trish Amen on the keynote.
@MRW No worries on the name and thanks for being so nice!
@Karen I think my style at work was like Ramsay’s, which is why I no longer work in HR.
@michael Good infrastructure = better chance at your business surviving when you do face challenges, IMHO.
@glen good comment. thanks! I need to start watching bBC america.
@Jeff
@Carol I’m so glad you commented. Thank you. I love your examples!!
@Jenny I need to watch it!
@Ian Good eye. I like his coaching style, too.
@H Aria My friend http://colsblog.com got her hair done by Tabitha before she was Tabitha. Go search for that story on her blog. Hilarious. I’ve never seen that show. Maybe I should watch it, too?
@TheHRD I knew it was you. Boo!
@Joan I adore you and I will buy YOU a margarita. #fact
@Patrick Your dreams are HUGE. First of all, get Courtney off Twitter — or get her on there more and get her MORE fucked up. She’s a train wreck.
@Ian I don’t even go in my own kitchen.
@John I’m sure it’s 99% schtick. Hollywood happens to the best of us.
@Mattymat Alpha-male dudes in a dick-off. I need to watch that.
@Mark Okay, I’m yours.
@Ian and John. I do know he curses a lot, but in talk shows and such, he’s a down-to-earth guy even if he curses. Kitchen Nightmares on BBC America is essentially the real Gordon Ramsey, while Hells Kitchen is the caricature people remember Gordon.
Since you mention which celebrities can be great HR speakers for conferences: George Clooney, David Simon, Jerry Cantrell, Anthony Bourdain, Peter Lassally
Hit apply, attach resume and cover letter, submit to the black hole, receive timely rejection in boring, shitty email that says a whole lotta’ nothin. Something like this.
We want to thank you for taking the time to apply with us for the position of Senior Talent Specialist. Unfortunately, the opening for this specific position is no longer available.
If you have expressed interest in other positions, we will be glad to review your qualifications and will keep you informed about your status as we evaluate candidates. Please feel free to check in to our candidate portal to check on your status for any other positions you may have applied to. You can view a list of all positions applied to from your profile by clicking into the tab “My Jobpage” and sub tab “My Submissions”. To view your status on a completed application, refer to the Submission Status for more information.
We will retain your profile in our database for two years. Additionally, we will inform you of jobs matching your criteria if you selected this option during your application process.
At our over sized completely lost company, we are constantly seeking to reinforce our team to make meaningless work greater than ever and hope you will explore other positions and continue to consider us as your prospective employer. If in fact you are still awake after reading this long and drawn out silly email rejection where we like to use as many words as possible instead of just telling you No.
If you have not applied for other positions at over sized, deeply confused company where hundreds and thousands of people wonder around aimlessly pretending that what they’re doing means something to someone somewhere, we encourage you to visit our Careers website and review the current openings. Just click on the following link that will take you back to our on-line abyss.
Again, we appreciate the time and effort you have taken to apply at this corporate cluster fuck. We hope to see your name among the candidates for other opportunities.
Rinse. Repeat.
Hey, I think you just picked the wrong chef – Mario Batali is the one for you. Read the book Heat…reminded me of my restaurant days…ack!
Restaurants – the easiest way to fail in biz. Too many variables, too few controls, and anyone who can cook thinks they can run one. Knew it was tough when I was waxing the floor at 1:00 a.m. so it’d be dry before prep work at 5:00 a.m. Yikes!
I’m not defending the auto-response auto-rejection thing here, but it’s a two-sided coin where the applicant culture is just as at-fault as the employer. There was a time when HR departments weren’t managed to some arbitrary consultant-driven employee headcount-to-HR headcount ratio. This was also the time when candidates for jobs had to peruse the newspaper or go to the library to research prospective employers; send resumes printed on cotton-linen cardstock accompanied by real, thought-driven, considerate cover letters; and nearly all applicants followed up their interviews with handwritten thank you letters extolling their virtues and how well they matched up with the position. Employees and employers didn’t go through this dance every three to five years with a new partner because people pursued careers with a single employer or a small number of employers and people could expect a decent retirement with a gold watch after punching the clock for 35-40 years.
As easy as it is to villify headhunters, HR folks and hiring managers for insensitivity to applicants; you have to understand the niceties and dignities afforded to applicants of a bygone era were allowed because the volume was manageable. If you submit your resume to a blind ad without making some kind of human connection with contact in the organization to whom you submit your resume you have to expect to be treated like a number. I’m really hoping you push the issue and try to get in front of this guy. Whether you want the job or not I think you could push this guy’s buttons and come up with a video TMZ would pay top dollar to air!
Yes, you should check out Tabitha’s Salon Takeover. She’s brilliant!
Yes. You need to see Tabitha’s Salon Takeover. It will change your life. Whenever I feel like not writing a post, her voice rings through my head saying, “You are lazy and complacent. You need to get to work.”
It works every time.
I’m using the pseudonym login this time not because I don’t want anyone from my company to recognize me when I talk about my firm, but because I don’t want anyone to know I have a mad crush on Gordon. And Tabatha is my hero too.
Gordon had nothing that I was remotely qualified for, so I didn’t apply. But I am sure there are so many applicants these days, they must use keywords and probably had a minimum number of hits. Does that give them the most qualified applicants? Hell no. But they are in the driver’s seat. For now. Their loss.
Insane. What a PRIME example of how BROKE hiring processes are today. Thanks for sharing this. Can I share your story?
“a 60 year old woman, applying for a position of a truck driver, could throw 50 pounds of hay bales out for the animals on her farm to feed at the crack of dawn every day”
Have you read “Good to Great?” This is the philosophy that steel mini-mill company used for building new mills. They went to farm towns thinking it was easier to teach farmers to make steel than to teach the work ethic they wanted to union steelworkers.
The writer interviewed a Marine. How does the Marines turn out such good men (and women)? What is it in their process? The Marine answered that they picked good people and made them into Marines.
Find good people and they can do what you want them to do.
“Move away from resume databases that automatically reject candidates because of stuffy and incomplete screening criteria”
While I agree in principle, the Internets are practically clogged with complaints from HR folks about candidates who “can’t follow directions.” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard/read something along the lines of “If the requirement — however stogey it is — is to attach a resume and you don’t, you’ve self selected yourself out of the pool because you can’t follow directions.” Perhaps Ramsey’s recruitter is following that line of thinking?
I like all of Ramsey’s shows, Hells Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares and the BBC version of Kitchen Nightmares (Can’t recall the name of that one). One thing that bugs me about him is the way he hooks his thumbs in the bottom of his shirt when he stands with his hands kindof on his hips. It’s just . . . strange.
Thank you for your comment on this issue. The mere fact that a company (computer?) can determine if you are a good fit merely by analyzing the words you use in answering a questionnaire is probably one of the most depressing aspects of job hunting.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve applied for something, KNOWING that I would be able to bring something to the organization, feeling hopeful and optimistic, even more so because it’s a company with whom I want to work … only to get an e-mail 24-48 hours later, as you did.
Seriously, is this where we’re at? No wonder I don’t want to do it anymore.
“As easy as it is to vilify headhunters, HR folks and hiring managers for insensitivity to applicants; you have to understand the niceties and dignities afforded to applicants of a bygone era were allowed because the volume was manageable. If you submit your resume to a blind ad without making some kind of human connection with contact in the organization to whom you submit your resume you have to expect to be treated like a number.” scottthekyhrguy, even connecting with people on the inside, candidates still have to go through the channels. (Unless it’s the nephew or niece of a disgruntled executive’s spouse and nepotism rules.) And going through the forced channels of on-line applications has led us to the sad state of affairs that we currently find ourselves in.
It really is time to ditch the crappy software and put qualified PEOPLE back in positions where they are face to face with job candidates again! It’s worth the cost of salaries and benefits to bring quality back to the hiring process instead of paying exorbitant licensing fees and little or no IT support to hide behind shitty software that does NOT work. But can sometimes generate charts and graphs in a rainbow of colors to distract from the reality of what’s really going on… which is nothing meaningful and productive.
Iknowtoo — I disagree. Yes, you have to submit your application and such even when networking for a job. But that’s formality done to appease an AA/EEOC goal or an administrivia requirement with the employer. My point is more that cyberspace applications produce cyberspace responses. If you can send your resume to 50 employers with one click, you have to expect the employer to be able to send response to 50 applicants with the same forethought (none). I’m not defending. I’m just explaining.
Yes of course cyberspace apps generate cyberspace responses. My point is that it has become one big abyss that we find ourselves in today. It just produces more colorful reports and overdone poorly written auto-responses. And all of it is too bad- but that’s what we get sometimes when we try to automate and imitate human interaction.