Many jobs within a brewery require technical acumen and specialized knowledge, and hiring for them often rewards impressive résumé. However, some breweries are succeeding with a different paradigm—one that places a higher value on curiosity, character, and cultural fit, and one that sees specific brewing skills as trainable rather than prerequisite.
At Urban Artifact in Cincinnati, Hannah Kent leads brewhouse operations—a role to which she was promoted from assistant brewer. Before that she had never worked in a brewery, and she had no experience in brewing or management. When she saw Urban Artifact was hiring, however, she took a shot, even knowing that there were more qualified applicants.
Her interview with the cofounders, she says, “wasn’t really focused on my knowledge as a brewer.” Instead, they asked her how she handles stressful situations and manages her time, and how she would approach coworkers if she saw something that could be improved. “It really kind of blew my mind that there are companies that actually look at stuff like that when hiring humans.”
Urban Artifact’s method demonstrates a new way of hiring and promoting that focuses on finding the right person rather than the right résumé. It can be less efficient than hiring someone who can plug in almost immediately, but its advocates say that it’s better in the long run—it allows companies to empower talent they already have on staff and to find the right outside candidates when needed.