Norm’s Top Ten Tips

1. Your Resume
   Assume that the Hiring Authority will only SCAN your resume. They will want to see your work history presented clearly and concisely in reverse chronological order. Provide technical details and brag where appropriate. Remember: NO GAPS, NO LIES, NO BS.
2. Your Cover Letter
   Take the time to find out the name of the person who will receive your resume. Nothing puts you on the bottom of the pile quicker than addressing your letter to: “To Whom This May Concern”. Write a crisp, one page letter that states why you are in the industry, why you deserve consideration for the specific position and when you will follow-up.
3. Do Not Send Your Resume Out and then Wait For The Call: FOLLOW-UP
   Mail Order specialists will tell you that, at best, they expect a 2% response rate. This means that if you send out 100 resumes you may get 2 requests for an interview. The squeaky wheel really does get the grease. Improve your odds by following up.
4. Do RESEARCH Prior To Your Interview and Come prepared with Intelligent Questions.
   How do interviewers separate pretenders from contenders? They look for candidates who have done RESEARCH and come to the interview prepared with intelligent questions. At the end of your interview the interviewer will usually ask if you have any questions. Keep your queries focused on the job opportunity and avoid the temptation to ask questions solely designed to demonstrate how brilliant you are.
5. The Obvious:
   Arrive Early For Your Interview. Dress Appropriately (know the corporate culture of the organization – this will help you choose whether formal business attire or smart, casual attire is your best choice. Remember: you’re trying to put your best foot forward and most books are judged by their covers). Don’t Smoke Prior To Your Interview (it doesn’t matter how many mints you munch prior to your meeting, you won’t be able to hide the smell). Don’t Chew Gum (sounds obvious but you would not believe how often we encounter this). Sit Up Straight, Don’t Fidget and Pay Attention. Do not run down your past employers. Don’t ramble when answering questions – keep on track. Do Not Act Cocky.
6. Anticipate questions and practice your answers prior to the interview. Resist the temptation to bluff. If you don’t know the answer, admit it and move on to the next question.
7. Remember: the interviewer is not your priest, rabbi, minister or psychiatrist. Don’t bare your soul – respond to questions fully but choose your words carefully.
8. When your interview concludes, if you want the job Ask For It.
9. Follow-up Letter. Similar to the cover letter: express your appreciation and interest in the opportunity. Keep it short and succinct.
10. The Decision:
    If you make it to the finish line, think strategically: Do I really want this job? Do I want to work with this company or this manager? How are they doing financially (i.e. will they be in business next year)? Will having this job (or working for this company) make me a more marketable candidate in the future? Is this the industry segment for me?

Recruitment Consultant, Lecours Wolfson

As recruiters, it’s our job to source, screen and select the best candidates in the marketplace for our clients.  We offer candidates the opportunity to be introduced to leading hospitality and retail companies that often do not post their available positions.  At this point, candidates will go through various selection processes with the essential component being an interview.

The word “interview” originates from the French word “entrevoir” meaning “to glimpse or catch sight of”.  Basically, that is the purpose of an interview: for two parties to get a ‘glimpse’ of each other, before each decides if they should work with one another.

In our experience, candidates often become anxious prior to an interview and this can impair their ability to portray their knowledge, skills and abilities.  Although it is often suggested that practice is needed to alleviate stress, the true key to success in the art of interviewing is preparation.  If you believe that being prepared is reading the job posting and browsing a website, you may be in for a surprise – good preparation goes far beyond that.  Here are our suggestions:

• Try to determine, in advance, what the company’s approach to interviewing will be:

• • A brief screening to review main topics such as location and salary expectations?
  • An in-depth overview of your employment history and qualifications?
  • A casual meet and greet over coffee to determine mutual interest and fit?
  • Will there be an aptitude test or psychological evaluation?
  • Could the entire process involve more than one of the above?

• Be able to identify the type of questions being asked, and be prepared to answer them appropriately:

• • Behavioural questions are very common.  They are said to predict future behaviour by asking how situations were dealt with in the past.  They key in answering these questions is to BE VERY SPECIFIC and use REAL examples.  Stick to the relevant details (don’t make anything up) and always offer the result of the situation as a conclusion.  You can prepare in advance by coming up with about five or six examples on how you’ve handled issues relating to customer service, management, time management and conflict resolution.  You will be amazed at how these will address most of the behavioural questions that come your way.

• • Situational Questions. These questions use hypothetical situations and ask “How would you handle this?” (vs. “How did you handle it”).  Since you’ve already come prepared with the details of past events, project an ideal response to the situation being presented.  As always, ensure that your answer is relevant to the question; don’t go off topic.

• Read the job description in great detail.  A well-written job description identifies the objectives of the position and key competencies that the employer is looking for.  Use these areas to prepare for behavioural questions by linking past achievements to the expectations for the position.

• Learn about the company from as many sources as possible. And, more importantly, find opportunities to relay the knowledge during your interview.

• • The company’s website should outline its history and overall scope.  Key points that you should research: what is their mission, what is the full scope of their business, who are their customers, how many units do they currently have and are there plans for expansion?  The ‘Press’ section should reveal historical high points and current initiatives.

• • Know the brand – if you are looking to join a division or franchise of a larger branded group, it is important to understand the service standards that dictate their culture.

• • Research other news media.

• • Ask trusted industry contacts.  Find out details from your recruitment consultant, as it is our job to know our clients well.

• • We strongly recommended that you make a personal visit prior to your first interview.  Our industry is about service and it is not enough to know about the company’s product, as it is important to experience it first hand.   You will find it easier to relate your background to their business and most interviewers enjoy hearing your perspective on their business to see if it matches their vision.

• Find out what you can about the company’s culture and dress appropriately for the interview.  If in doubt, it is better to be overdressed.

• Arrive early, but not too early. If someone has asked to see you at      2 pm, assume that they have commitments up until that time.  Yes, you should give lots of time to account for any delays, and announce yourself 10-15 minutes ahead, however, use this extra time to further familiarize yourself with the environment.  Your observations will serve as a valuable resource during the interview – and that will be much more impressive than arriving 30 minutes early only to sit in the waiting room and read the newspaper!

• Be prepared for the Money Question.  This can be tricky – you don’t want to ask for too little, but we’ve seen many candidates sail through the interviewing process only to lose out because they answered the money question by asking for too much.  Always try to relate your answer to the specific position being discussed and to your previous compensation.  Your recruitment consultant is invaluable at this point in the process.  Always avoid ‘this is what I need to pay my bills’.

• Following up after an interview is the way to prepare for the next interview or even your job offer.  You must think ahead and get contact information, mailing addresses and/or email addresses (and especially correct spelling!) for the people that you must thank for their time.  Do so immediately upon return to reiterate your interest in continuing in the process.  Always call your recruitment consultant immediately after the interview.

Preparation begins as soon as you apply for a job and continues well throughout the course of the interview process.  Any bit of information that offers a prospective employer a better ‘glimpse’ of yourself or your interest in the position is key to your success.  Remember, it is not only you that must perform in an interview to get the job of your dreams – the interviewer has the responsibility of selecting the best person for that job.  The goal is to offer them everything they are looking for and make their job easy!!

Good luck!

For $50,000 a year and up, Toronto’s wealthy families can bring in their own full-time personal chef.

Such personal service – preparing meals, planning menus, stocking the fridge and cupboards in the city and at offshore and country homes and, sometimes, private airplanes – rises to well over $130,000 for a top level “name” chef.

“There’s just so much more money around today,” said Charles MacPherson of Charles MacPherson and Associates, who has offices in Toronto and New York and advises clients on domestic management.   “We’ve just placed a chef in New York with a base of $130,000 plus a health plan and room and board. The whole package is worth about $200,000 a year. He had a smile on his face.”

MacPherson says it’s not just behind the stone walls and iron gates of the Bridle Path and Post Road, but farther south in Rosedale, Lawrence Park and Forest Hill, too.

For that though, they step into a very different world, one where they are not royalty within their own kitchen, where they must check their egos at the door and knuckle down to the whims and whimsy of their new bosses.

Still, many chefs switch from the hustle and bustle-back-stabbing world of restaurants and hotel kitchens as a chance to get off the merry-go round of brutally long hours, says Norman Wolfson of Lecours Wolfson, a Canadian recruiter of hospitality executives, managers and chefs. “Some were chefs in our clients’ favourite restaurants,” said Mr. Wolfson, “Those with small egos and sincere work and service ethics do best with the ability to respond each and every request with a “yes m’am.” Also, the more experienced get organics, macrobiotics, vegetarian, vegan, Atkins et cetera.”

But it’s also a world where discretion is tantamount; those who talk about what happens in the home end up blackballed from further domestic service.

“We have chefs who, from over-hearing dinner chit chat, have known about corporate takeovers before they happen,” said Mr. Wolfson. “Or, shall we say, witnessed personal indiscretions and messy marriage breakdowns. It’s an unwritten rule to keep your lips sealed and never speak poorly of a past employers – no matter how challenging.”

THE CANDIDATE

A look at who’s hiring whom

FIRST REQUIREMENT: TALENT

Winning personality must combine with odd hours, hot work

By DAVID MENZIES

Chefs have emerged as the new celebrities. Indeed, chefs who are as skilled at kibitzing as they are at cooking are among some of the hottest TV stars. Want proof? Just tune into The Food Network.
But there’s a lot more to being a superb chef than cracking jokes under tungsten lights or attempting to beat the clock on The Iron Chef.
According to Norman Wolf son of Toronto-based Lecours Wolfson (Canada’s leading recruiter of hospitality executives, managers and chefs), being an executive chef means embracing a regime that is a combination of extremely long hours and hard work in the kitchen. This is, of course, in addition to possessing “sheer, raw (cooking) talent, “he says.
Mr. Wolf son says the likes of Humber College and George Brown College both have excellent hospitality and tourism management programs. Formal education will give an aspiring chef insight into such realms as food and labour costing to food safety and administrative tasks.
Once a would-be chef has the required training in the culinary arts, there are many different career paths to pursue. He or she can work at a small restaurant or manage a hotel’s expansive kitchen operation. There are also opportunities at large foodservice companies or major food processing firms. Mr. Wolf son recently placed a high profile chef to head up Cara’s Swiss Chalet operation. While being behind the scenes of a quick-service restaurant chain might not have the same cachet as working for a critically acclaimed five-star bistro, Mr. Wolf son says such a job requires an impressive (albeit different) skill-set.
“She [the new head chef for Swiss Chalet] has to be able to come up with a great menu that is both teachable and transferable – and [the entrees] must taste exactly the same, whether you’re in St. John’s or Victoria,” he says. “That’s not easy.”
Being a chef means being skilled in facets other than cooking. For example, an executive chef at a major hotel requires “talent, a passion for creativity, and the ability to manage a brigade [of other cooks] under extreme pressure,” says Mr. Wolfson. “Also, it’s a reality today that a chef must be able to work with food and beverage costing. Computer skills are a real plus.”
As well, Mr. Wolf son notes that the days of an executive chef embracing the management skills of Attila the Hun are over. Indeed, the cliché of the perfectionist chef going ballistic on his kitchen staff is something that is seldom tolerated today. “An ideal chef is one that is good at team-building and having the ability to delegate his vision to others without threatening to cut their fingers off,” he says.
Also, in this era of the celebrity chef, many restaurant owners and management types are partial to a chef who “has the ability to put on a clean white coat and interact with the guests after the meal has been served. It helps to be extremely confident and have the gift of the gab,” says Mr. Wolfson.
Wages, says Mr. Wolfson, are “all over the board” depending on where the chef chooses to work.
A chef may start at an operation for as little as $30,000 a year just to get his foot in the door. Indeed, Mr. Wolf son knows of some rookie chefs that have worked for free at a restaurant for several months just to gain valuable experience working under a “star chef.”
Mr. Wolfson says some of the experienced executive chefs his firm has placed earn more than $130,000 a year. Chefs working for the likes of a large food processing company such as Nestle or Campbell’s can expect to earn a salary of $55,000 to $75,000 “plus incentives such as a good benefits program, car allowance and reasonable hours.”
Perhaps the ultimate benefit of being a chef these days is rising through the ranks to become a “media darling” to the point that a celebrity chef gets his or her own television show. “If you look at some of the world’s top chefs today, hey, they’re like rock stars,” says Mr. Wolfson

by: Marion Kane

Leo Lecours could charm the birds from the trees.

And last Tuesday, as friends sat around the patio table of the sprawling Beaches home where he lived with his wife Pasqua Amati and the beloved 6-year-old son he called “Crown Prince Julian,” a particularly persistent sparrow kept swooping down as if to share our colourful stories, heartfelt laughter and the occasional tear. Leo died early Monday morning, June 10, after a two-year battle with cancer, four days after his 47th birthday. His death was a shock to most who knew him because, although obviously in failing health, he talked, to the end, like a man with a rosy future. And Leo knew how to talk. Raconteur, bon vivant, joker, thinker, reader, talker. These words kept coming up as those gathered around that table shared tales of the tall, gangly Scarborough lad with the spiky red hair, off-kilter grin and wonderfully rich radio voice. Leo lived up to his dramatic alliterated name, the result of what he called his “mongrel” heritage that was mostly French and Irish. “Leo loved words,” says Amati of the original, sometimes difficult but never boring man she met 15 years ago and loved “at first sight.” She attributes much of that to the mother he adored who died when he was 14. “He got a lot of praise from her for his vocabulary,” Amati says. “As a child, he would literally memorize words from the dictionary.” This natural and nurtured gift of the gab would serve Leo well in his career of choice. After two years at university, at age 23, he started his own Toronto-based hospitality recruiting firm with a couple of partners. Soon, Green, Busch and Lecours was growing along with our city’s burgeoning restaurant scene. It was in those early days, that I, a fledgling food writer, first encountered Leo. In 1982, I interviewed him for an article called “Consultants: The Men Who Save Restaurants” for the now defunct trade magazine Canadian Hotel & Restaurant. Little did I know, as we chatted at length by phone, that interviewees as amusing and articulate as Leo would be few and far between in the years of food-writing to come. Those in the food industry, many of whom are mourning his loss, noticed his unusual skills. Some, like Scott Willows, owner of the excellent downtown restaurant Patriot, became his friends. Willows was looking for work when the two first met almost 20 years ago. “Leo got me a job as general manager of a Mother Tucker’s in Winnipeg,” he recalls with a chuckle. “He was very, very intelligent,” Willows is quick to note. “Leo could predict the outcome of both personal and professional situations and how things would happen, step by step.” The two often got together with their families over good food and wine. “Leo was wise and extremely eloquent,” Willows continues. “It was beautiful just listening to him. He loved to travel, schmooze, eat well and enjoy good wine. He was very enthusiastic about those things.” Peter Oliver, co-owner with Michael Bonacini of five important Toronto restaurants including Jump, Canoe and Biff’s, had a professional relationship with Leo for more than 10 years. “He was our search person of choice,” says Oliver, who used Leo’s services mainly to find managers but also chefs. “In fact, he was one of the most acute minds in the industry.” Like Oliver, Leo was fascinated with “what makes restaurants tick.” But it was more than that. “Leo was an intellectual who was a keen observer of the human condition,” notes Oliver. “He could see through smoke and mirrors. He thought more acutely than most people and about everything.”

In 1991, when Norm Wolfson and Leo became partners after working together for several years, the company was re-named Lecours, Wolfson. “Leo launched a thousand careers,” says his former partner. “From entry-level managers to the presidents of organizations. He was one of the prime movers who brought Toronto from being a meat-and-potatoes town to what it is today.” Wolfson was managing a midtown restaurant called The Daily Planet in the mid-`80s when he first met Leo. “He would come in for lunch,” Wolfson recalls. “He was this big guy with big feet and a carrot top wearing a suit with red suspenders and red gym socks and loud colours that didn’t match.” Somehow, eccentricities like this added to Leo’s charm. “Leo had a way of talking out of the side of his mouth,” Wolfson recalls fondly. “He fancied himself as a gentile version of Duddy Kravitz.” Over the years, when I would call Leo about an article I was writing or meet him occasionally for lunch, I noticed his predilection for things Jewish. “I’m a bit of a wannabe Jew,” he admitted when I questioned him on this. “Actually, he usually mangled his Yiddish words,” says Wolfson, laughing gently. “He learned most of them from a bartender called Marty.” But Leo had a brilliant mind and a photographic memory, Wolfson adds. “Someone would phone him from Asia after five years and he could remember every detail of their résumé.” Leo was a headhunter who loved the thrill of the chase. “He was a sales guy,” Wolfson continues. “Sometimes unbridled. He loved the deal. He thrived on it.” Leo’s favourite deals involved placing talented chefs. Among those recruited by him at some point in their careers are Michael Potters, Didier Leroy, Chris Klugman and Martin Kouprie. Brad Long, executive chef at the Air Canada Centre, was a friend and fellow musician. “We used to play guitar together at his house,” says Long. “He had a great singing voice. And, of course, we both loved talking about food.” Leo also loved to write. During the 1990s, he regularly penned articles for Foodservice And Hospitality magazine. Its editor and publisher, Rosanna Caira, enjoyed working with him. “I found Leo very honest and forthright,” Caira says. “He knew everyone and everything in the industry and always had good gossip and a great story.” The most memorable one was his idea and pure Leo. In 1995, he turned the tables on The Globe and Mail’s longstanding restaurant critic in an article titled “The Trouble With Kates.” It appeared in Caira’s mag as a two-page spread opposite the reviewer’s response: “Kates Bites Back.” Leo, not one to mince words, called Joanne Kates “as sour as a crate of lemons,” “a fresh disappointment every week” and more proof that “bitchiness sells.” She, in turn, charged him with “conflict of interest,” “fake objectivity” and “sour grapes.” In the past three months, realizing though not admitting he did not have long to live, Leo wrote what he called a thinly disguised memoir. He was keen for me to read it. After a long chat at his home, during which he took frequent breaks to inhale oxygen, he handed me the manuscript. Three days later, he was dead. Part Damon Runyan, part Kitchen Confidential but mostly Leo’s inimitable take on Toronto’s often cut-throat headhunting and restaurant scenes, it is a brilliant read. It’s by a man who called himself “an artist who wore a suit.”

Lovely, loquacious Leo Lecours, who died too young.

A Fine Balance

The headlines screamed the news loud and clear: “Hotel group says it cut 500 jobs since the U.S. terror attacks,” read the Associated Press. “Wyndham International Inc.: Hotel Chain Slashes Jobs In Wake of Terror Attack,” reported the Wall Street Journal. “Hotel Industry Hit by Massive Job Cuts, Layoffs: An estimated one million are out of work or have had hours cut in ‘catastrophic’ blow. Owners, unions to lobby Congress for federal relief,” mourned the Los Angeles Times. With the combination of these casualties, the effects of an already dwindling economy and the collapse of Canada 3000, Canadian hoteliers began bracing themselves for the worst.
While the financial effects of last September’s events were felt through- out the hotel industry, they also created a turbulent job market for the thousands of staff at Canadian hotels. As travel slowed down, occupancy rates started to diminish coast to coast, dramatically shifting the power in the job market. Almost a year ago it was an employee’s market, with numerous jobs available and an abundant demand for good employees. Now, with occupancy rates dropping, positions are being cut, hours whittled back and budgets shifted, leaving those who still have jobs thankful, stressed and overworked.
But just how badly did the collective events of September 11 affect employment and employees in Canada’s hotels? Probably better than you think. “How are hotels coping? Are they rebudgeting? Are they cutting back hours? Are they laying off people?” asks Norman Wolfson, president of Toronto-based hospitality recruitment firm Lecours Wolfson. “The answer is all of the above.”
If hotels are laying off staff, they’re certainly not shouting it from the rooftops. In fact, some Canadian hotel managers are reporting that they didn’t suffer as much economically as other major tourist cities such as New York and London, England. At Toronto’s Strathcona Hotel, changes primarily resulted in trimming hours and rebudgeting. “Our September 2001 revenues were drastically different from September 2000,” says general manager Dermot McKeown. “And we had three months of reduced revenues and reduced occupancies over the previous year, and reduced hours were the result of that.”
At Halifax’s Westin Nova Scotian, general manager Guido Kerpel also didn’t have to lay off employees, although there was some natural attrition of employees, In fact, the hotel added one position -concierge. “If there – are fewer guests, service becomes even more important, so we added extra service to the hotel,” says Kerpel. Michael Haywood, professor at the University’s of Guelph’s Hotel Administration program, believes cutting strategies seemed to differ according to a hotel’s organizational philosophy. “If their HR departments are well managed, they tended not to slash positions,” he says. “I think hours were cut back rather than just laying people off. But then again, some had no option but to layoff.”
Not surprisingly, the changes have affected employees at all levels, from front-line staff to management. Wolfson says his company is receiving numerous calls from employees searching for new positions because in their current jobs they’re overworked, under-supported and looking over their shoulders for what’s yet to come.
-For-some of the more seasoned hotel employees, particularly those who survived the early 1990s, there’s a feeling of having been through this before. Managers also say there’s an empathetic feeling during this economic decline, since there is a tangible event to directly tie the drop in business to. “I think we’re a little more sensitive to each other,” says McKeown. “On a personal level it’s just made all of us question our values, and it’s the same thing with the hotel. If anything, we’re probably closer as a group, despite the fact that hours were cut back and people are suffering with their paycheques.”
Employees have also become more flexible and open to switching shifts and other changes, either out of fear or empathy. “We’ve been fortunate to have employees with great flexibility in work assignments,” says Wolf Hengst, the Toronto-based president of Worldwide Hotel Operations for Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts. And If the strain of doing more than their share is present. managers say that employees are quick to cover shifts and jobs needing completion.
For operators, the change in the economy has meant there is now a larger pick of the crop for new hirings, if there are any. That’s been good news for properties such as the 18-month-old Hyatt Regency Calgary. Since it’s still in the growth stage, general manager Steve McNally says the hotel has remained largely unaffected by September 11 in terms of employees, and hasn’t had any layoffs or wage freezes for its 300 staff. “We’ve certainly seen a lot more applicants coming through the door and we have not stopped hiring,” he says. “I guess from that standpoint we’re a bit lucky.”
Yet underlying this optimism is the knowledge that a slowdown is coming. After all, it’s a wave some have ridden not so long ago. “These are temporary measures,” says Wolf son. “When we emerge from difficult economic times we run our businesses tighter, and then we expand and get comfortable. And then the economy goes into a downturn and we rethink everything again.”
One permanent change seems to be in the way companies communicate with their employees, with many realizing that what their employees need most from them is information about their situation. The Westin Nova Scotian, for example, held regular meetings every other day last fall to keep workers aware of the situation. Kerpel also made sure to focus on appreciation for both front-line employees and management. “They were obviously closer to the numbers and could really see the impact that 9/11 and/or a recession has on the business.” That meant little extras such as company sweatshirts, a Christmas lunch and management parties. As well as continuing to work on boosting staff morale, Wolf son suggests hoteliers look towards the future as a way to encourage key employees. “You’ve got to sit down with the smart ones and say ‘Look, here’s a five-year plan for the company and we see you fitting in and doing this with us,” he says. “That’s how you motivate your employees in tough times.”
While managers work on motivating their employees, most are not concerned that this ultra-tight job market has deterred future job-seekers, despite the fact that Haywood says he hears students joking about the possibility of turning to graduate school rather than trying to break into the industry. “I have no concerns for the long term,” adds Hengst. “This is temporary. This is always going to be an exciting business to be in and one where you can actually make a decent career starting at the bottom.” Kerpel agrees: “You either have it in your blood or you don’t. So 1 think those people who have a service disposition will still be attracted to the hospitality business in the future.” .

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

They all at some time used the recruiting service Lecours Wolfson Ltd. to help them find staff for their restaurant and food operations.

They are just a few of the hundreds of companies in the food and hospitality industry in which Lecours Wolfson has placed chefs, managers, and executives into jobs. The business grew to $750,000 in sales in the past year, a big jump from 1991 when sales had sunk to $160,000. The staff of recruiters, which was at seven in the I 980s, was reduced to two in 1991, but has since moved up to eight.

“Things were pretty good in the 80’s. We worked hard, but frankly it was a lot easier then,” said Norman Wolfson, a partner in the company with Leo Lecours. “When the recession hit, our backs were up against the wall.”

The company discovered that during the ensuing lean years, food companies that catered to less expensive tastes were still growing.

But often, human resources staff that did the hiring was also downsized. Lecours Wolfson realized it was more important than ever not only to find workers with good resumes, but to spend the time to get to know the company’s needs and to find out if the job seekers would fit the company’s culture.

“It became clear we were servicing the service industry and we repositioned ourselves as an external arm of many of our clients’ human resources departments,” said Wolfson, who joined the company in 1986 when it was known as Green, Busch and Lecours. In 1991 that partnership dissolved and Wolfson became partners with Lecours.

John Mortimer, who recently left as director of human resources at Wendy ’s Restaurants of Canada, called Wolfson a relationship builder. He cited as an example a vice-president of operations he recently hired for Wendy’s that Wolfson thought would be a good match for the company.

“The most interesting thing about the hire is that this was someone Norm and I had been talking about for about four or five years and when the opportunity was finally there to hire him, we did,” Mortimer said.

“But if he brings me somebody and I say, ‘I don’t need him’, Norm will say, ‘okay, whenever you are ready’.”

Sales are expected to reach nearly $1 million this year. The company is looking to increase its business serving the Canadian hotel industry. It also expects to increase its international placements, now about 15 percent of the business.

“I can see it really growing to a significant amount – 30 to 40 per cent down the road,” Wolfson said. And the reason is that international operations find North- American- trained managers very attractive.

The company recently placed a manager of operations for a Planet Hollywood located in Guam after reviewing its data-base of resumes on file, and it may be getting further work for the restaurant chain’s Russian operations.

The placement began with a phone call company recruiter Christine Kovich made to Planet Hollywood’s head office in Orlando, Fla., to see if it needed help recruiting personnel for its North American outlets. Kovich was told there might be a need for the overseas operations. First, she called planet Hollywood’s European manager who referred her to the Asian office. Within a couple of days, Kovich had compiled a short list of candidates. In this case, Planet Hollywood picked a restaurant professional from Pittsburgh.

“He was not very satisfied with the quality of candidates he was getting from his Singapore contact so he was happy to entertain candidates from us,” Kovich said.

“The irony is that a small Canadian boutique agency placed an American for an American company in a Guam restaurant.”

That work involved mainly working the telephones from Florida to London to any Asian country where the Asian manager happened to be with his cellular phone.

But Lecours Wolfson employers might also find themselves on a plane flying to a Canadian city to help conduct a job search for Canadian companies.

That was the case with Wolfson, who flew to Vancouver recently to help the Famous Players cinema chain find theatre managers on the West Coast as part of the chain’s $75 million expansion.