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How to be hired in a food delivery company: leaks from industry insiders
Some suggestions and stories from some foodpanda HRs around the globe by online marketing manager Davide Pettenuzzo
The food delivery industry is one of the fastest evolving fields in the digital market. Having food delivered to one’s place is a quite an old habit, but doing it via a website or an app and having the chance to select from a broad list of restaurants is something that is disrupting the whole eating process.
Foodpanda, a food delivery platform active in 24 countries, has collected some numbers and insights from several countries where it is active and we now offer a deeper insight in the industry. Starting from the most debated working topic — salary — as well as career development, application tips and funny episodes that have happened during interviews, we have collected some interesting facts leaked from industry insiders.
How to negotiate a good salary
Salary is an important point when applying for a new job. Salary also helps to motivate a prospective employee to face the new challenges of a new position. We asked foodpanda HR Managers across the world which is the best practice when negotiating a good salary.
Veronika Braun, Head of HR at the foodpanda HQ in Berlin says that the best way to negotiate a good salary is by making it clear to the company which additional value the candidate is bringing to the organisation.
In other words, why is it worth investing money on her/him. At this point, it is really important for a candidate to sell their qualifications and competences by providing specific examples of achievements in past experiences.
Of course there are also other factors that may be involved when negotiating a good starting salary. For instance: the financial situation of the company at that moment or how badly the company needs someone to fill that position.
Also Read: What foodpanda taught me is ‘execute, execute, execute’: Pawel Netreba of Bfab
In Singapore, the best way to negotiate a salary is already during the first phone call. You need to be straightforward with the expectations.
On the other hand, according to the information collected from India, HR managers must understand the components of the salary and the perks, and make a good tradeoff with the offered salary.
On the right moment to ask for a pay rise
This aspect really changes from country to country and how they deal with pay increase. But generally speaking, when the employee feels that he or she have definitely given an undeniably higher value to the company than before, then it is the right moment to speak up.
Braun explains it better with the following example:
“Imagine you are purchasing a product on a daily basis: when are you willing to spend more than usual for another product or accept an increase in the price of that product? When you know this product offers an undeniably higher value to you and are accepting the cost of it.”
When asking for a pay rise in Egypt or Singapore, the best moment would be after one year of employment, with a strong performance, concrete results and the right working attitude.
On being convincing enough to be accepted even without experience
We hear it all too often: “I am not skilled enough. But I want this job so bad. And I think I can really do well in that position — With just a little training! How is it possible to convince an HR manager in an application?”
In this case the candidate has to focus on other criteria. At first, you need to make it clear from the CV and cover letter why you would be a suitable match for the role even though you don’t fulfil the ‘official’ criteria. For example, if three years of experience in the field are required, but the candidate has fewer years, the solution is to focus on other previously gained experiences and why that experience could be an advantage for the role.
In this case it is much harder to convince the HR manager than in a personal interview, therefore good writing/persuasion skills might help.
Also Read: What trial and error taught me about my hiring model
If you are in a face-to-face interview, then it’s important to show your drive and passion. A candidate has to make clear why the company should invest some training instead of hiring someone that already ticks all the boxes. A good way to have more chances in being hired is to explain successful experiences during previous jobs, mentioning successful projects, and showing recommendations from previous managers and colleagues.
Madeeha Arain, HR Manager at foodpanda Singapore says: “Research, innovation and creativity: think of a way to differentiate your application and come up with a presentation on the impact you want to make on the company.”
Which is the most common error that most applicants commit when applying?
HR Managers see a lot of mistakes when going through CVs and cover letters, but the most common error on which all managers agreed on is that candidates don’t read the job description when applying. Most of them just quickly read the job title and apply.
It’s extremely important to carefully read the job description, understand what the company is looking for and why the applicant is the perfect match for the position. Usually job titles are very company-specific, and they might mean something very different outside the organisation. This type of application is what HR’s call ‘blind application’.
Some other errors are not including the cover letter with the CV, having a messy CV or sending a spammy application, like when candidates apply for many different companies at the same time and don’t change the name of the company they are applying for.
Does HR really look at cover letters? What should a candidate mention in a cover letter that just a few people include?
In some countries, cover letters are mandatory when applying for a certain job position and in other countries they are not. Sometimes it depends on the company. If not specifically required it is hard to know if the candidate has spent time preparing the application or they just applied without much reflection.
Also Read: Hiring a Millennial can become your cup of tea too
Cover letters are only worth if they are good — as Braun, says — so better a short and good one than a three-page letter that is very generic and clearly indicates that the candidate only replaced the company and position name. She also adds that usually HRs will only read a cover letter if the CV is at least good — not taking into consideration internships and very junior positions.
And finally a couple of funny things that have happened while hiring a candidate
To end our investigation we asked a couple of funny stories that some of our HR managers at foodpanda experienced while interviewing applicants.
Once there was a candidate has been interviewed in two different Skype calls with two different managers, on different days. The candidate wore the same clothes during both interviews.
This would not be anything unusual if the outfit wasn’t a Superman costume. Nerd Level: 8/10
One applicant for Delivery-Club explained during the interview that he provided a fake medical certificate while he was on medical leave at his previous job. Even though he was being honest, it is not the best confession to make to your potential new employer. Sometimes better keep certain information to oneself.
At foodpanda Singapore, a candidate asked the interviewer out for adate. This happened during the first job interview. Stalker level: 8/10
In India, a candidate wanted to see the facility and the cafeteria after he did the first interview. After visiting them, he started to give suggestions for improving everything, even the toilets. Not all feedback is necessary and welcome!
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