Talent Leadership: Food and Ag Executive recruiter and founder of Curtis Food Recruiters, Julie Curtis ’96 headlined the annual Richard Schmitz Food Entrepreneurship lecture series. The 2022 Richard Schmitz Food Entrepreneurship lecture series once again welcomed students, faculty, staff and the community to Ostrander Auditorium for a deep dive into the multifaceted world of food and agribusiness. This year’s topic centered on talent acquisition and diversifying the food and agriculture industry. Julie Curtis, who has worked in the food retail industry her entire career, was on hand to share how she took the entrepreneurial leap in 2006, starting her own food-specific recruiting firm, Curtis Food Recruiters. Curtis and Director of the AgriBusiness & Food Innovation Program, Shane Bowyer, sat down for a fireside chat. The following has been edited for length and clarity. To view the entire event, visit cob.mnsu.edu/foodlecture2022.
SB: What was it like taking the risk leaving the corporate world?
SB: What are the qualities food and ag companies are looking for in new hires?
JC: When I think back about it, I think I was probably overly confident. I didn’t have a real sense that this wasn’t going to work. That was part of my naivete. I’d still planned, and I saved and spent about a year thinking about that before actually taking the leap, but a big reason that I wanted to do that was to have a little bit more control and a little bit more balance.
JC: Communication skills are key; having eye contact and being able to convey your ideas is critical. [When it comes to interviewing]: doing your research, understanding the business, understanding your role and understanding what that business does and bringing your energy and passion whether that’s a first conversation, an interview and into that first role.
SB: Can you elaborate on the challenges of starting a business? JC: There are a couple things that no one tells you, and I think one of them is that you have to be all things when you start a business. You’re the only one. In my case I was the recruiter, I was the salesperson, I was the accountant, I was the marketing person, the PR person. You have to do everything and in many cases you’re not an expert. You’re an expert in the thing that you started out to do, and then little by little you are able to hire others that are experts in those fields. But the sales component and being the face of your brand never goes away. You’re always selling whatever that business is that you’ve started.
34 / C OLLEGE OF BUSIN ES S I N R E V I E W
SB: How can [students] prepare themselves to move up from those entry level jobs to being a leader within their industry or company? JC: I think patience is one of the keys; having enough time in each of those roles to learn what your contribution is to that particular business, really understanding the needs of that business and preparing yourself. Career development is also key at all levels and especially in smaller organizations you’re going to need to ask for it, it isn’t something that they just have a plan for.
