(upbeat music)
- Today we have Ivy Gichohi.
Hello Ivy.
- Hi Lin, how are you?
- I'm good what question do you have for me today?
- Well I would like to know how you could help me
through this job search.
Being a new graduate in the Bakery Science degree,
I would love to know what are some advice you have
in terms of job searching?
- Well, um, let's first start with LinkedIn.
I think you have to have a good profile on LinkedIn.
This days employers don't look anywhere else,
but your Linkedin profile first.
So do you have a good LinkedIn, updated profile?
- Yes I do.
I make sure I update it as often as possible.
- That's, that's great.
And how about your networks?
Are you working on getting to know people
and liking companies on LinkedIn?
- Yes, I make sure follow the companies.
I also make sure that I reach out, you know,
if I see something.
I also follow some of the feed, you know,
just to be updated on what each companies doing
and what are some changes they're going through.
- Well sounds like you're doing the right things on
- Ah, good thank you.
- The internet and digitally, right so let's
- Yes
- dig in a little bit more about yourself
and figure it out from there if you don't mind.
- So can, you tell our listeners
what is your story,
what's your background?
- Okay, my story started in Kenya.
I was born and raised there.
I moved to Kansas
and I completed my two years of high school.
I started college doing pharmacy and then I started,
I changed majors so I went into Bakery Science
and I recently just graduated
with a Bachelor's in Bakery Science.
- That's interesting.
- So, just to be clear, are you allowed
to work legally in the U.S.?
- I am, yes.
- Awesome.
- And why did you choose Bakery Science as your major?
- Growing up, my mom was a baker.
She started out as a baker
and she worked with so many different companies.
So I grew up in baking in my family.
So I was very inspired.
I was intrigued by it
and I wanted to learn more,
so that was a very good
kind of degree for me
to at least learn more about the industry
as well as just baking and the science of it.
- I mean you sound very well versed to me.
Can you tell me which Bakery Science course
that you loved the most?
- I would say I loved the Bakery Science classes
as well as the lab themselves.
They were very hands-on.
So I loved interacting with students.
I love learning more about, you know,
what happens when you add this ingredient with that?
What happens in the oven?
So I just, I loved finding, you know,
the back story of all of these wonderful products we eat.
- You mean you love standing for six hours on your feet
(chuckles)
doing the lab?
- So basically yes, cuz the knowledge and the, you know,
just interacting you even forget that you've been standing
for that long.
- So taking a few steps back,
why did you go to K State
and how did you hear about this program?
- I knew K State had the Bakery Science
and through Grain Science department.
And being that it was such a known institution,
I wanted to, you know, I'm already in Kansas
and it's a wonderful school.
I've heard so many great things about the department itself.
So I just wanted to be a part of the Bakery Science,
the people.
Learn from all these different professors
and mentors who can, you know,
help me through this journey as an undergraduate.
- Man, you did everything right there.
- Thank you.
- What, like, when you were doing your coursework,
what did you think your dream job would look like?
- My dream job was the one that I can grow
and I can make a difference for the company
as well as inspire people to know that, you know,
there's nothing impossible.
You just need to try and
one that I can definitely be myself and, you know,
grow and use my skills, knowledge to improve.
All the problem solving strategies I have learned
over the years really just do that for a company
and the company that can, you know,
at least take my input and, you know,
just make a difference in any way I can.
- So let me ask you, are you willing to put
in the long hours to be on the bakery floor?
- I am, yes. I know
- Good
- All that can happen, I'm ready.
- Let me tell, we put in some long hours in there.
(laughs)
- Yeah, definitely.
- Sometimes the weekends as well.
(laughs)
- Oh yeah, you have to be dedicated and patient.
- Yeah, so what type of a job would you settle for
in terms of, you know, your first staff,
your first job?
What are you willing to do?
Are you willing to be a mixer operator?
Are you willing to, you know, run shifts or do shifts? What?
- I'm willing to do this shift to where
if I'm a production supervisor, I know that I'm working
with so many wonderful people that, you know,
if something happens we can work together
to solve and you have close to a hundred people
that you are working close with that you are a supervisor
for them, so such a position will give me a chance
to grow as an individual
as well as just impact other people.
And, you know, just make everything go smoothly
and then within five years from now, you know,
my goals are to be in a managerial position.
And then eventually I would love to be a consultant.
So I know there is a road to where I would love to be,
but right now I'm good with, you know, supervisor.
I'm also interested in quality, research and development.
So, you know, my interest is very broad.
- Yeah, okay, that's great.
And do you have kind of like a ideal employer
or company in mind?
- I would like an employer who is very open
to other people's opinions, who is diverse who
they, know you, include other people
with all different backgrounds.
A company that, you know, you can make a difference
and they take your input in and, you know,
acknowledge you.
Acknowledge everyone that works there.
Makes sure that, you know, you're good and that,
you know, the vision and the goal for the company
as well is implemented and they match your own as well.
So, I'm just love a company that is very people oriented
and also there to make sure that their food is wonderful,
safety of their food and safety of their people is very big.
So I would love a company that embodies that.
- Yeah, there are lots of, that the good news
there are lots of companies in the baking industry
that's very socially responsible
and that has a really good corporate culture
going on for them.
- Yes, yeah.
- So, what is the biggest hurdle you have experienced
so far in this job process?
- I would say being an undergraduate, I wasn't able
to get as much of an internship experience
that I would've hoped.
And what that, the experience is definitely a hurdle
when you're interviewing with people from all over
and some may have more experience than yourself.
But really it's just, you know,
knowing that you can do the job
and knowing that you can give it your all,
but through, you know, interviews
and going into different companies
that is definitely a hurdle knowing
that you may have a limitation
in how much experience you have.
- Right, have you ever been
to the ASB BakingTech in Chicago?
- I have not, no.
- Oh, okay.
- That would have been like
one of the best networking opportunities
for you as a student.
And I believe the Baking Science Club, you know,
sends the students who work in it
every year to Chicago.
- Yes.
- What is it that you're most intimidated with
in the process of finding a job?
- I would say something that could get very intimidating
is through the interview process, you know,
you are, it's one position,
and you could have close to 10 or 12 people
trying to get that one position.
So, trying to, you know, be the one that's qualified
and being into different interviews
where you have one person versus five people
and it can take close to two hours.
So, that process itself can get very intimidating
knowing did I really, you know, catch them
to where they can definitely trust me in this role?
And leaving knowing that you gave it your all.
So it can get a little intimidating, but, you know,
as much as you're confident, it will halt.
And you just go in and give it your best.
- That's true.
You know, sometimes, it just takes five or six interviews
before five of six interviews with different companies
before you get the second step into one company.
So, it might take awhile, yeah.
- Definitely.
- How many companies have you interviewed with?
- I have definitely interviewed for a lot and really it's me
not giving myself a limit.
There is a position, companies are wonderful
in their own different ways.
So, being a part of any company is going to be a good start
in terms of an entry-level position.
So I have tried applying to a lot of companies
and also connecting with the companies through LinkedIn
to know more about them and, you know, to keep up.
- Sounds good.
What do you think is your best work ethic?
- I would say I'm very team oriented.
I bring a can do attitude.
I include other people's opinions,
even based off of background, their personal experiences,
or their education.
I always make sure that whoever I get to work with
I always make them feel comfortable to share their opinions.
To contribute however they can
and that their opinions matter.
And, you know, I give them a chance to be
the best version of themselves they can be.
Even if it's a project,
I would take a couple weeks or months.
So, you know, just working with other people
has always been really good for me.
- Okay, so I have a couple of suggestions for you.
- Sure.
- Have you hooked up to the network at K State,
like do you know past alumnis that graduated?
- I am a little connected.
I have had a few chances to work with different professors.
Currently I am a research assistant so that has definitely
gotten me into
- Awesome.
- More connections.
- Who are you working with, by the way?
- Doctor Sajid Alavi.
- Great guy, great guy.
- Yes.
- He's got plenty of connections by the way.
And that's where I would start.
I would start with people that you know
as students that just graduated.
So just reached out to them
and say hey I'm looking for a job.
Do you have any positions in your company open?
You know, can you send my resume to the HR person
and, you know, my suggestion is always have a contact
in the company hand the resume to the HR person.
That's going to let you stand out, you know,
above the crowd.
So that's my suggestion is reach out to your K State alumni
and ask and keep asking.
The second suggestion I have is
there is a BakingTech coming up here in Chicago.
If you can make it, make it because everyone
in the industry of, you know,
the people that you need to know are all at that conference.
And if anything, if you don't come out of a job from there,
you get tons of contacts, you know.
- Yes
- It's something that you should look into.
If you have issues with, you know,
the expense of going there
reach to the Society of Bakery Women.
- Okay.
- They might be able to help you.
Because you are a student and you are a female,
so our society supports that and also society supports
the first step for women into the industry.
So that is my second suggestion.
And, you know, lastly it's just
keep trying on LinkedIn.
Keep liking people's posts and keep following companies.
If anything, just know that you are competing
with a lot of people in this field
and unfortunately, you know, you lacked experience
and that's the downside of you.
You just need a first job.
- Exactly.
- So, did you think those suggestions helped you?
- Oh yeah, definitely, and now I would do as you said.
Just try and
- Well just try some of those
- Mm-hmm
- Right, right
- And LinkedIn as well as the graduate students
and, you know, just see how that goes.
- Great, yeah.
I'm pretty sure you'll get a job here pretty soon
because anyone with a bakery science degree
doesn't like stay in the market for too long
without a job offer.
(laughs)
So yeah, good luck.
- Thank you.
- Do you have any questions for me?
- I do so tell me a little about BAKERpedia
and, you know, how did you get into baking?
- And that is a long story,
but I will try to summarize it.
- BAKERpedia is my dream
of creating a resource
probably for the commercial baking industry.
When I was working in Wendy's,
I found this gap and we couldn't
I was on the floor.
I was, you know, running a tech services department,
you know, QA, R and D and we would deciding,
we were like, you know,
deciding how much ascorbic acid to dose.
And what is a particular dough conditioner ingredient do?
And what are emulsifiers?
And while I can explain that very well,
I can't do it all the time for everybody.
So I tried to look into resource
that will help me explain this to many people on the floor.
And I couldn't find any.
And I was in charge of teams
and I asked them to go look on the internet
and they said they couldn't find any.
(laughs)
So I found a gap and I decided to start working
on this idea in 2014.
The same year that you entered college
I launched this company.
And basically we've been going ever since.
And I'm a stickler for providing information for free
because I believe that that's the only way
that the bakery industry is going to benefit from it.
A free resource.
And how we sustain it is through sponsorships.
So a lot of sponsors come on and support our research
and writing for being just to keep it free.
As far as baking goes,
I've loved baking since
I was probably about 13, 14.
So the story is when I was 13, 14,
I baked a cake
and it was this very simple
out of the box chocolate cake.
And it sunk, like it created a crater, right.
- Oh, yeah.
- So when you're 13, 14, you don't really listen
to instructions.
(laughs)
- You just put it in the oven.
Why is this not right?
You see now so, the inability of that cake to not rise
really peaked my curiosity into food science.
So I've always liked what's going on in my food
and I always like the science aspect of it.
So, when I graduated from Ohio State University
I wanted to focus on baking.
I had a food science and technology degree
at Ohio State and I went to Kansas State
just like you did cuz I staked out the best
in my Bakery Science career.
So, from Kansas State I actually started my own business.
I opened a bakery cafe.
And that was during the height of the Atkins diet,
so that didn't go very well.
And I closed that business and I moved
and I went back to Ohio and went to work for Wendy's.
And from there I just continued my career into baking
and I love it so much.
And I haven't left it and I've just done more research
and studies into the baking industries
and its, this allied industries.
And I'm just learning so much more.
So I'm learning as I go along and I really like what I see
because I do see a gap in research right here
in the baking sciences.
There's so much we have not gotten,
so that's why I love baking and that's why I'm still baking.
- Oh that's so good.
- And I'm a consultant too, yeah.
- That's so good.
- Cool.
- When it comes to the company, what are you most proud of?
- What am I most proud of here?
I think our growth in the last couple of years
and our acceptance in the market has made me
really happy and proud of what we,
- Yeah.
- How we've grown and where we come from.
We started with over 200 pages, like I launched this site,
this small little website just with 200 pages
and I really got a lot of criticisms
about it and for it in the beginning,
but, you know, like any entrepreneur
you really need to just bite it and move forward.
- Yeah.
- But, over the years I've hired excellent people
and they have helped me grow this resource
to over 900 pages right now.
So that's what I'm most proud of.
- Okay, good.
And how has your company's vision evolved
from the first day until today?
- That's a good one.
When I first started this,
I wanted to be a mix between a Wikipedia, you know,
and what Google does in terms of search for baking.
And have as much baking resource for the bakers
as much as possible.
Along the way, people have offered to help me the Wiki part
by providing information, but I found that that method
of Wiki is just not what I was striving for
in terms of excellence and proper science information.
So I left the Wiki behind.
I did not like the things that were coming to me
because they were half-baked
and they were not well researched.
And, you know, I got a lot of requests for back links
from holistic websites.
So I really did not like that Wiki part,
so along the way in the last three years
the more we are in this business,
the more sponsors we bring on,
the more sponsors we bring on,
the more resource you can do.
We can have to hire better researchers and writers.
So we have a team of researchers and writers on staff
that creates all the content for the website.
- So that has been the toughest
and actually the most rewarding of my journey.
- Okay, and is there any other challenges
that you may have faced over?
- Yes and, you know, being a female
is not always easy, right?
You can attest to that?
- Yep, mm-hmm.
- So, really it's just
you have to just keep working
and keep accomplishing and keep executing.
As in anything in life, I think you really need
to sometimes just hold back the tears
and just move on.
And even if there's no one around,
if you're the only employee of the company,
you still have to trudge on.
Trudge a lot.
Because if you believe in your dream,
if you believe in yourself,
that that will really bring you to places, you know.
And I also believe that every day is a miracle.
And when you are alive and when you can function
and you can function well that is a miracle
and I don't take that for granted.
So I work every day like my 100% or more.
You know, I go full-on force every day
and I collapse at the end of the day, so.
(laughs)
That's how I work.
(laughs)
- Yeah.
- And I still do have the passion for what I do
and it didn't change from day one.
- Yeah, that's good.
If you could do it all over again,
would you change anything?
- Oh absolutely.
Anyone who tells you that they wouldn't change anything
is telling you a lie.
(laughs)
But I would change my entire logo.
I would change the look of my first webpage.
That was like absolutely embarrassing.
(laughs)
I would've changed how I did business
because I was literally selling my sponsorship
at way below market price.
So I would have changed all of that,
but, you know, I wouldn't have learned
if I wouldn't have started, right?
So you always have to start somewhere
and you always have to know that you're on a journey
and you're going to get better.
You're gonna learn to be better
and that's everything in life.
Like, you're gonna start, you know,
you're gonna start your first job.
You're gonna learn so much.
You're gonna get promoted
and you're gonna learn more
and you're gonna keep working up from there.
- Yeah
- So it's the same thing, that's how I see it.
I mean, being an entrepreneur it's like being a saint,
you know, it's like being an employee of the company.
It's just like, you're given opportunities
whether or not you work
and on those opportunities is entirely your choice.
- Yes, yes.
- The more scary of an opportunity you have,
both as an entrepreneur and at the corporate level,
the more risk you take with your career,
will provide more rewards for you.
- So even if something feels like it's not
in your realm of comfort in this particular job
that they are offering you,
feels like it's too intimidating,
but you have all the credentials for it,
I say go for it, you know.
- Yeah.
- Do things that are uncomfortable.
Do things that are challenging.
I believe that's the only way you will learn.
(laughs)
- I can definitely attest to that.
(laughs)
- Yeah, yeah.
- Thank you so much, those were my questions.
Do you have any more questions for me?
- Well, what are you doing now
that's gonna help you find a job tomorrow?
- I haven't stopped applying.
I haven't stopped searching.
I haven't stopped, you know, being any best
of a version of myself I can be
to help my future in any way.
So, even the work that I do now as a research assistant,
I do it to the best of my ability,
knowing that, you know, something I learn
over these couple days will help me in the future, so.
I'm just gonna keep trying applying
and just doing as much of what I can now
to make a difference as I could possibly do.
- That's really awesome.
And keep up the positive attitude.
- Definitely.
Thank you so much.
(laughs)
Yeah, but that's good for me
and those are my questions for you as well.
So thank you so much for sharing.
I've learned so much from you.
(laughs)
That's good.
- Alright.
(upbeat music)
No comments:
Post a Comment