Navigating Successfully through Challenging Economic Times
By Michelle Thomas, Senior Manager, Diversity Recruitment, Sodexo

This past July, the International Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education (ICHRIE) held its annual conference, bringing together educators, students, thought leaders and industry partners in the field of hospitality. A major theme at the conference was the impact of the downturn in the economy on the hospitality industry.

Sodexo has long been a huge supporter of ICHRIE and its mission. We were so pleased that Kerwin Higashi, a Vice President in Sodexo's Education Market, was invited to participate in a panel discussion with executives from the Darden Group, Ecolab and Marriott on some of the ways their companies have navigated the economic storm. Read more»

ProStart Engages Students to Address Expanding Industry Demands for Talent
By Sandy Joiner, Senior Recruiter and Scott Sherman, Senior Executive Recruiter

The National Restaurant Association's special program, ProStart, offers high school students the opportunity to learn about culinary arts and food service management by training with professional chefs and foodservice managers. According to the National Restaurant Association, the number of jobs in the restaurant and foodservice industry is projected to increase by 1.8 million from 2009 to 2019. That includes approximately 47,000 management positions. ProStart is already working with 78,000 student participants in 1,650 schools, across 47 states, territories and districts, and through this work will help to fill future foodservice industry positions and attract the next generation of talent. Read more»

Sodexo's Military Community of Heroes
By Angela Guidroz, Military Recruiting Manager

At Sodexo, Employee Networks are a catalyst for ensuring an inclusive and open environment that provides opportunities for all employees to contribute fully to Sodexo's business success. We are thrilled to be launching our newest network group this Fall, which will focus on the Military and Veteran community.

Subarna Malakar, Sodexo's Director of Network Groups and a Veteran of the Army who served during the Gulf War, is excited by the widespread interest across the company in this new endeavor. "Since putting the message out about this new group, I am constantly fielding requests from engaged employees who want to get involved now! I see the Military Network as a way to enhance the awareness internally for our Veterans within Sodexo. Making sure our internal Veteran employee managers understand the benefits and value of their service and contribution to Sodexo's workforce." Read more»

Sodexo to Attend SHPE Conference 2009 – October 28 - November 1st
By Suzanne Thompson, Senior Recruiter and Scott Sherman, Senior Executive Recruiter

Sodexo will be attending the SHPE 2009 Conference October 28th – November 1st in Washington, D.C. SHPE is the Society for Hispanic Professional Engineers and its vision is "to be a leading social-technical organization whose primary function is to enhance and achieve the potential of Hispanics in engineering, math and science". Sodexo is proud to be a sponsor of the upcoming annual conference, and we are looking forward to meeting engineering students and professionals who attend.

Sodexo leaders will be presenting three workshops during the conference. Workshop topics include building an emotionally intelligent workforce, facilities maintenance and operations as a key ROI driver for companies, and developing leadership skills. To learn more about these workshops, click here: Sodexo Workshops at SHPE – Locations and Information

If you are attending the conference, please stop by and talk with one of our recruiters in both #1909 in the exhibit hall. We are looking forward to a great year at SHPE 2009.

Register for the conference.

Network with us before this event by connecting with our recruiters through our networking groups and the Sodexo Careers Blog and become part of our network for future job opportunities.

Sodexo Recognized as Top Company by Black Enterprise Magazine and Hispanic Business Magazine

Sodexo is so pleased to be recognized as a top company by two leading publications: Black Enterprise Magazine and Hispanic Business Magazine. Black Enterprise included Sodexo on its annual list of the 40 Best Companies for Diversity for the second consecutive year. In selecting their "Top 40", Black Enterprise surveyed CEOs and diversity executives from the top 1,000 publicly traded companies as well at 50 leading global companies. The rankings were based on their responses regarding minority participation in four categories, including board of directors, employee base, senior management and supplier diversity.

Sodexo was also cited by Hispanic Business Magazine as a Top 60 Diversity Elite Company. This recognition is based on our company's commitment to diversity and inclusion. In developing the list, Hispanic Business considered a number of factors that measure a company's commitment to hiring, promotion, marketing, philanthropy and supplier diversity. To compile the list, Hispanic Business contacted the top Fortune 1,000 companies, American subsidiaries of Global 500 companies, and large U.S. public and private companies.

Sodexo Scores High Points with Marine Corps Community Services Youth Sports Program
By Tracie Hoffman, Senior Recruiter

Sodexo is proud to be an international sponsor for the Marine Corps Community Services (MCCS) Youth Sports Program. As part of its ongoing commitment to encouraging healthy lifestyles among youth, Sodexo is partnering with MCCS to help children and teens on Marine bases around the world develop athletic abilities and healthy lifestyles.

The Youth Sports Program, a MCCS program on 16 Marine Corps bases, gives more than 18,500 boys and girls the chance to participate in sports including football, baseball, basketball, cheerleading, soccer, golf, boxing and track. The program's goal is to build physical skills, a sense of teamwork and self-esteem. Read more»

Strengthening the Financial Future of Our Employees: September Is 401(k) Month at Sodexo

Within the current economic environment, many in our country are facing serious challenges, especially those who are considering their retirement options. This is such an important topic, as according to the Employee Benefit Research Fund, the average American will spend 25% of his/her life in retirement! Additionally, EBRF estimates that:

• Nearly 7 in 10 workers expect to work into retirement, but 4 in 10 retirees end up having to leave the workforce earlier than expected due to health problems, disability or company downsizing.
• You may need 60-80% of your current working income for each year in retirement.
• 1 in 5 Americans have not saved for retirement. 

Read more»

I joined Facebook, now what? Using Social Media to Find a Job
By Angela Guidroz, Military Recruiting Manager and Kerry Noone, Marketing Communications Manager

You've lost your job. Now what?

The recent growth in social networking makes it easier than ever to network with people and get your resume in front of the right person. Networking with people in today's world goes way beyond email, telephone, tradeshows and websites. There are so many social networking tools available and it's easy to get confused or overwhelmed. To help our candidates and employees understand the many different ways to network with our team of recruiters, we introduced a Network with us page on our career site this year. This is your "one stop shop" for connecting with us. Sodexo's entire Talent Acquisition Team is actively "talking" with candidates across the country about their career opportunities on Facebook, Linkedin, our blog and on Twitter and more. Read more»

Sodexo Future Leaders Interns Shine as Student Ambassadors on Their College Campuses
By Darla Mayse, Senior Recruiter

The celebration of Labor Day signals the end of summer and the beginning of a new school year for many. For those completing summer intern programs, there are generally questions of "what's next?" While many internships send students back to campus with insider knowledge of their business, Sodexo goes a step further by offering its interns an opportunity to become a Student Ambassador through the Sodexo Ambassador Program.

The goal of the program is to build Sodexo's employment brand on campus with administrators, faculty, staff, students and alumni. A Student Ambassador is a former Sodexo intern who serves as a representative on their college campus for career opportunities with Sodexo. Since its inception the Ambassador Program has been a success for all involved. Serving as an Ambassador provides former interns with a leadership opportunity to work with a global organization, expand communication skills and share knowledge of Sodexo with classmates. Ambassadors are selected based on feedback from their internship supervisor and their applications. A monthly stipend is also provided. Read more»

Sodexo Facilities - Investing in our People
By Suzanne Thompson, Senior Recruiter

One of the great benefits of working for Sodexo is the investment the company makes in its employees. In an era where many companies are cutting back in training and development, Sodexo has not only maintained its traditional education benefits, it has also sought to find creative new ways to invest in employees whose preference and need might require a non-traditional approach.

A great example of this is the way that Sodexo's use of on-line and web based training programs for management and frontline staff is creating new opportunities for employees in our facilities business to grow and further develop their careers. Georganne Georges, a National Director of Engineering for Sodexo, notes that Sodexo partnered with TPC Training to provide web based training to employees, giving non-traditional students the opportunity to enhance their skills. Read more»