By SARAH E. NEEDLEMAN

Daphne Batts sometimes wonders if practical jokers with hidden cameras are spying on her as she interviews people for jobs at Bankrate Inc., an online publisher of financial information in North Palm Beach, Fla.
That’s because job candidates—including experienced professionals—behave so inappropriately that Ms. Batts, vice president of human resources, suspects she’s the target of a prank.
“I find myself peering out my blinds to see if Ashton Kutcher is on my office balcony with a camera crew,” she says, referring to the host of the former MTV show “Punk’d,” which featured pranks being played on celebrities.
Of course, there’s nothing funny about a bad job interview, especially for the long-term unemployed. Yet hiring managers say many job hunters don’t take their search efforts seriously enough and make the kind of mistakes that they should know better to avoid. In fact, many say they are frequently amazed by some of the colossal blunders they witness at a time when there are five job seekers for every job opening, according to the Labor Department.
Here’s a look at eight bone-headed moves job hunters commonly make.
Bringing a child—or any relative—into the job hunting process is a major faux pas. Here, Will Ferrell’s character brings his step brother to an interview in the movie Step Brothers.
1. Entitlement syndrome.
At the conclusion of a job interview last year, a candidate for an administrative position at PopCap Games Inc. in Seattle asked human-resources executive Pamela J. Sampel if she could take him out to lunch on the company’s dime. “He said he was a poor student and that I could just write it off,” says Ms. Sampel, adding that for a moment she thought he was joking but his demeanor indicated otherwise. “I was so startled I almost started laughing.”
The coalition Government is drawing up controversial plans to help relocate the unemployed to areas of the country where there are jobs. Video Courtesy of Sky News.
Also last year, Ms. Sampel says she received an unsolicited résumé full of grammatical and spelling errors with a note asking her to have someone on the company’s staff correct them. “I’m sure you have people there that could fix them before they put it into your online database on my behalf,” the applicant wrote, according to Ms. Sampel.
2. Behaving rudely.
Earlier this year, a candidate for an administrative position at BankRate showed up to an interview with a preschooler in tow. “She didn’t try to make any excuses or apologies, such as her babysitter backed out,” says Ms. Batts, who conducted the meeting anyway, but didn’t extend the candidate a job offer.
Similarly, a recent candidate for an entry-level outsourcing job at Accenture Ltd. unwrapped a sandwich during an interview and asked the hiring manager if he could eat it since it was lunchtime, says John Campagnino, senior director of recruitment for the global consulting company.
Job hunters have also acted rudely by showing up more than an hour early for interviews, interrupting interviewers in mid-sentence and refusing to fill out a job application, referring hiring managers to their résumés instead, say hiring managers and recruiters.
3. Acting arrogantly.
Recruiter Peter Polachi recently met with a candidate for an executive-level marketing job at a midsize technology firm. In the middle of the meeting, Mr. Polachi says he suddenly heard Madonna singing—it was the ring tone for the candidate’s cell phone and the person took the call, which lasted about a minute.
Mr. Polachi, co-founder of Polachi Access Executive Search in Framingham, Mass., says the incident, plus the fact that the candidate was employed and arrived late to the meeting without apologizing, signaled that the executive considered himself a shoo-in for the job or just wasn’t interested. Either way, “to accept the call and have a conversation is over the top,” says Mr. Polachi.
Dumb and Dumber Résumé Blunders
Faking job history
Recently, a job hunter handed Liz Crawford, a hiring producer for Factory VFX Inc., a résumé that listed RotoFactory as a previous place of employment. When Ms. Crawford exclaimed that RotoFactory is a partner of Factory VFX, the candidate quickly presented her with another résumé listing different former employers. This candidate then proceeded to explain that the first document was actually a “wish résumé,” which contained employers she’d like to work for, says Ms. Crawford.
Résumé misdirection
Job hunters who rely on services to distribute their résumés to scores of hiring managers may be surprised whose hands those documents end up in. Among the recipients are journalists who write about employment and headhunters who recruit in unrelated fields.
“Deep ending” on spell-check
Despite the wonders of modern technology, computer writing programs like Microsoft Word can’t always distinguish between words that sound the same but have different meanings. Given the competitive employment landscape, hiring managers urge job hunters to take the time to proofread their résumés for those not-so-obvious misspellings.
Other candidates show arrogance by demanding to bypass human resources, inquiring about salary and job benefits at the start of an interview and insulting former employers, say hiring managers.
4. Lies, lies, lies.
Six months ago, a candidate for an editing position at Factory VFX Inc. told hiring producer Liz Crawford that he came recommended by an artist on staff at the Santa Rosa, Calif., visual-effects company. After the interview, Ms. Crawford says she called the artist so the applicant could say hello to his supposed associate. That’s when it became crystal clear that the two men didn’t know each other. “He admitted he had fibbed and walked out of the room,” says Ms. Crawford.
Job hunters also commonly lie by taking credit for work they didn’t do, inflating their salaries and saying they don’t smoke when seeking positions at companies with no-smoking policies.
5. Dressing down.
Last summer, Amy Demas says she was uncomfortable and distracted while interviewing a copywriter candidate for the small Los Angeles ad agency she co-founded in 2008, Standard Time LLC. “She was wearing a t-shirt three sizes too small with bright red letters across her chest,” recalls Ms. Demas. “I couldn’t help but pay more attention to her breasts than her résumé.”
While it might be acceptable to skip a suit and tie in some office environments, it’s never appropriate to wear jeans, cleavage-revealing tops, flip-flops or skin-tight pants—all interview fashion don’ts hiring managers say they’ve seen.
“You should also take out all your funky piercings and hide your tattoos,” says career coach Cynthia Shapiro, who is also a former human-resources executive. “Even if you wear a business suit, if you have a piercing through your lip” it doesn’t look good.
6. Oversharing.
After learning that a position involved a great deal of travel, a candidate for a senior sales job at a midsize manufacturer told the interviewer he was worried about how his saltwater fish would get fed while he was away. The worst part of the exchange? “He wasn’t kidding,” says Russ Riendeau, an executive recruiter who set up the interview and confirmed the account with the job hunter. “He was trying to say that it was his only concern.” The man, who had been unemployed for four months at the time, wasn’t extended an offer for the position, adds Mr. Riendeau, a senior partner with East Wing Search Group in Barrington, Ill.
Other things employers say that job hunters reveal—but shouldn’t —include comments about their health problems, details about their love lives and tales of their financial hardships.
A finalist for a head of business development job at a well-known Internet company recently sent a pricey fruit bowl from Tiffany & Co. to a hiring manager following a third interview. The candidate was instantly knocked out of the running. “That was a real big faux pas,” says Erika Weinstein, president of Stephen-Bradford Search in New York, and the recruiter who introduced the candidate to the employer. “It’s trying to buy yourself a job. It’s brown-nosing.”
A thank-you note is really the only appropriate way to show appreciation. But even so, hiring managers say they’ve received everything from pricey tickets to sporting events to bottles of alcohol—all big no-no’s.
8. Sporting a mom-and-dad complex.
In the past two months, Accenture’s Mr. Campagnino says he has received two emails from parents of applicants asking why the company hasn’t extended their adult children job interviews. “There’s a significant lack of judgment when you have your parents intercede with a potential employer,” he says. “We expect individuals to be able to represent themselves and sell themselves.”
Hiring managers say they’ve also seen moms and dads accompany their offspring to job interviews and try to intervene in salary negotiations.

Are you looking for a job? You have to use your body!
by Robert Ordona, for Yahoo! HotJobs
Savvy job seekers know how important choosing the right words is when we communicate with prospective employers–but what about nonverbal communication?
“You could be saying how great you are,” says image consultant and “Hello Job! How to Psych Up, Suit Up, & Show Up” author Alison Craig, “but your body could be giving your true feelings away.” Mark Bowden, the author of “Winning Body Language” agrees with Craig–and with the highly regarded Mehrabian communication study, which found that if what’s coming out of your mouth doesn’t match what your body is saying, your audience is more likely to believe your body.
Here’s some expert advice on how to effectively let your body do the talking in a job interview:

Making a great entrance
Craig and Bowden agree that the interview starts even before you get to the interview room: “You don’t know who could be in the parking lot with you, looking at you from a window, or standing next to you in the elevator,” says Craig. “Your body should tell anyone who might be watching that you’re confident and calm. It’s not the time to be frantically searching through your portfolio for printouts of your resume.”
Show your good side
Hiring managers often ask receptionists for their take on people who come to the office for interviews, so Bowden suggests letting them observe you without letting on that you know they’re watching. “Sit with your profile to them,” he says. “It makes them feel comfortable, and if they’re comfortable, they’re more likely to form a good impression.”
Craig suggests trying to predict the direction your interviewer will come from, so you can sit facing that direction. It’ll make the greeting more graceful.
First impressions
While waiting, don’t hunch your shoulders or tuck your chin into your chest, which will make you seem closed off. Sit with your back straight and your chest open–signs that you’re confident and assertive. “But don’t take this to the extreme,” cautions Bowen. “Elongating your legs or throwing your arm across the back of the chair can make you appear too comfortable, even arrogant.”
Also, says Craig, don’t have so much stuff on your lap that you’re clumsily moving everything aside when you’re called. You want to rise gracefully, without dropping things, so you can smoothly greet the person coming to get you.
Shake it–don’t break it
Job interviews mean handshakes–so what are the secrets to the perfect handshake? The overly aggressive shake (or “death grip,” as Craig calls it) can be as off-putting as the limp handshake, so practice with a friend before the interview to find the right balance.
You’re going to be shaking with your right hand, so prepare by arranging your belongings on your left side. Offer your hand with the palm slightly up so that your interviewer’s hand covers yours. “It’s a sign that you’re giving them status,” says Bowden. And never cover the other person’s hand with the hand you’re not shaking with–it can be interpreted as a sign of domination.
Important steps
The walk to the interview is the perfect time to use body language: “Always follow that person, whether the person is the hiring manager or an assistant, to show you understand the protocol. You’re saying, I’m the job candidate, and you’re the company representative–I follow your lead.’” Bowen adds that you should try to “mirror” that person’s tempo and demeanor. “It shows you can easily fit into the environment.”
At the interview desk
In the interview room, It’s OK to place a slim portfolio on the table, especially if you’ll be presenting its contents, but put your other belongings on the floor beside you. Holding a briefcase or handbag on your lap will make you seem as though you’re trying to create a barrier around yourself, cautions Craig.
Avoid leaning forward, which makes you appear closed off, Bowden says. Instead, he advises sitting up straight and displaying your neck, chest, and stomach area–to signal that you’re open.
When gesturing with your hands, Craig says, you should always keep them above the desk and below the collarbone: “Any higher and you’re going to appear frantic.”
Bowden advises that you keep your hands even lower, in what he calls the “truth plane”–an area that fans out 180 degrees from your navel. “Gesturing from here communicates that you’re centered, controlled, and calm–and that you want to help.”
It’s fine to sit about a foot away from the table so that your gestures are visible, he says.
The art of departing
At the end of the interview, gather your belongings calmly, rise smoothly, smile, and nod your head. If shaking hands with everyone in the room isn’t convenient, at least shake hands with the hiring manager and the person who brought you to the interview space.
You may be tempted to try to read your interviewers’ body language for signals about how the interview went, but don’t, cautions Bowden–because they’re likely trained not to give away too much. He sums up, “Don’t allow any thoughts into your mind that may [cause you to] leave the interview in a negative way.”

What To Reveal During Your Job Search

Susan Adams, 02.03.10, 12:43 PM EST

If you’re a single parent with five kids, or caring for a gravely ill relative, or dealing with a serious medical condition–what do you say and when?

You’re interviewing for a job and you know you may need time away from the office to care for your children, or for your terminally ill mother, or for your own serious medical condition. What and when do you tell your potential boss? Vicki Brackett, who runs Make It Happen for Women, a firm in Denver that professes to do “job search makeovers,” takes a hard-line stance. “You never tell an employer,” she says emphatically. “Never. Not until you’ve been there a while.”

Especially in this job market, she adds. The competition for jobs is so fierce that employers will always go for the candidate they believe can work the longest and hardest. “What employer wants to hire someone who’s not going to be there?” she asks.

What To Reveal During Your Job Search

Many job seekers, especially women, want to find a job that fits their life, rather than the other way around, Brackett says: “What women want most is a culture that works for them. They make the mistake of thinking that other women are going to understand, or that employers will care. It could be that the woman who’s interviewing you barely got to work in the morning because of problems at home. She doesn’t want to hire someone who has problems at home too.”

Brackett advises that as a job candidate you focus on proving your value to an employer, not only throughout the job search but even in the first months on the job. Some companies don’t firm up their hires until an initial trial period of 90 days has come to a close. Only then should the employee consider asking for flextime. Frame the request by describing how it will benefit the company. “You should say, ‘It’s something that can help me be more effective,’” Brackett advises. “Every discussion should be about the company.”

Stay away from chatter about your personal life, including seemingly harmless topics, she also advises. Even if you just returned from a fabulous two-week honeymoon in Italy, keep that to yourself. “The boss may think, here’s someone who takes long, expensive vacations. She’s going to want a lot of time off.”

Though it may seem a smart move to form a personal bond with an interviewer, avoid the temptation, Brackett says. A harried employer can view even do-gooding work outside the office as a liability these days, she adds. “If you say you’ve been out banging nails for Habitat for Humanity, the employer might think, she’s going to want time off to do that.” Only bring up non-work subjects if you’ve done your homework and you know, for instance, that the company encourages employees to do volunteer jobs.

Keep in mind that employers are forbidden by law to ask most personal questions. Kathleen McKenna, a partner in the labor practice at the law firm Proskauer Rose, says that both federal and local statutes forbid interviewers from asking about marital or family status, or about medical conditions. The only exception comes when a medical condition may directly affect the candidate’s ability to do the job. “If someone comes in in a wheelchair and you’re hiring for a pole-vaulting position, then you can ask, ‘Exactly how do you see this working for you?’” McKenna says.

Not all career coaches agree with Brackett’s zero-disclosure policy. Win Sheffield, a coach in New York City, says, “The way I look at the job interview process, it’s about three things: Can you do the job, is it a job you want, and will you fit at the company.” If you realize during the search process that a special medical condition or family circumstance will make for a bad fit, then speak up, Sheffield says, or at least be honest with yourself. If you don’t, you may wind up feeling you betrayed yourself–or your employer may feel you betrayed her.

Anita Attridge, a New Jersey coach, says she has counseled candidates with special circumstances about grappling with whether they may in fact need a part-time, rather than full-time, position. Nowadays full-time really means full-time, she points out. “The expectation is that you come in and you’re immediately ready to go,” she says. “Everyone has really tightened down their head counts. They don’t have the option to accommodate people’s special needs.”

You may have heard the horror stories—job hunters who take phone calls or text during an interview, or bring out a sandwich and start chomping, or brush their hair, or worse. You wouldn’t do any of those things, would you? Of course not.

But there are tons of other job interview
no-no’s you may not have thought of. Or that you’ve forgotten. The job hunting trail is long and arduous, and a little refresher course can’t hurt. So for your edification and enjoyment, here are 50 (yes, 50!) of the worst and most common job interview mistakes:

1. Arriving late.
2. Arriving too early.
3. Lighting up a cigarette, or smelling like a cigarette.
4. Bad-mouthing your last boss.
5. Lying about your skills/experience/knowledge.
6. Wearing the wrong (for this workplace!) clothes.
7. Forgetting the name of the person you’re interviewing with.
8. Wearing a ton of perfume or aftershave.
9. Wearing sunglasses.
10. Wearing a Bluetooth earpiece.
11. Failing to research the employer in advance.
12. Failing to demonstrate enthusiasm.
13. Inquiring about benefits too soon.
14. Talking about salary requirements too soon.
15. Being unable to explain how your strengths and abilities apply to the job in question.
16. Failing to make a strong case for why you are the best person for this job.
17. Forgetting to bring a copy of your résumé and/or portfolio.
18. Failing to remember what you wrote on your own résumé.
19. Asking too many questions.
20. Asking no questions at all.
21. Being unprepared to answer the standard questions.
22. Failing to listen carefully to what the interviewer is saying.
23. Talking more than half the time.
24. Interrupting your interviewer.
25. Neglecting to match the communication style of your interviewer.
26. Yawning.
27. Slouching.
28. Bringing along a friend, or your mother.
29. Chewing gum, tobacco, your pen, your hair.
30. Laughing, giggling, whistling, humming, lip-smacking.
31. Saying “you know,” “like,” “I guess,” and “um.”
32. Name-dropping or bragging or sounding like a know-it-all.
33. Asking to use the bathroom.
34. Being falsely or exaggeratedly modest.
35. Shaking hands too weakly, or too firmly.
36. Failing to make eye contact (or making continuous eye contact).
37. Taking a seat before your interviewer does.
38. Becoming angry or defensive.
39. Complaining that you were kept waiting.
40. Complaining about anything!
41. Speaking rudely to the receptionist.
42. Letting your nervousness show.
43. Overexplaining why you lost your last job.
44. Being too familiar and jokey.
45. Sounding desperate.
46. Checking the time.
47. Oversharing.
48. Sounding rehearsed.
49. Leaving your cell phone on.
50. Failing to ask for the job.

Karen Burns is the author of the illustrated career advice book The Amazing Adventures of Working Girl: Real-Life Career Advice You Can Actually Use, recently released by Running Press.

Here are the keys to successful phone interviewing. Follow these simple rules and you should achieve success in this important phase of job-hunting.

• Do give accurate and detailed contact information in your cover letter so your interviewers can easily connect with you.
• When in job-hunting mode, don’t have a disproportionately silly or long greeting on your answering machine or voicemail.
• Do ensure that household members understand the importance of phone messages in your job search.
• Do know what job you are interviewing for.
• Do practice, if possible. Have a friend call you to do a mock phone interview so you get the feel of being interviewed over the phone.
• When being interviewed by phone, do make sure you are in a place where you can read notes, take notes, and concentrate.
• If you cannot devote enough time to a phone interview, do suggest a specific alternate time to the recruiter. It’s often best to be the one who calls back so you can be mentally prepared.
• Do consider using a phone interview log.
• Do consider keeping some note cards or an outline in front of you to remind yourself of key points you want to cover with the interviewer. You don’t want your responses to sound scripted, but you don’t want to fumble for important points either. Do also have your resume in front of you so you can remember highlights of your experience and accomplishments.
• Do ensure that you can hear and are being clearly heard.
• Do consider standing when being interviewed on the phone. Some experts say you’ll sound more professional than if you’re slouching in an easy chair.
• Do consider dressing nicely for the phone interview. It may sound silly since the interviewer can’t see you, but you really will project a more professional image if you’re dressed for the part instead of wearing, for example, a ratty bathrobe.
• Don’t feel you have to fill in the silences. If you’ve completed a response, but the interviewer hasn’t asked his or her next question, don’t start babbling just to fill in airtime. Instead, ask a question of your own related to your last response.
• Do create a strong finish to your phone interview with thoughtful questions.
• Don’t panic if you have special needs. If you are hearing-impaired, for example, phone interviews are still possible.
• Don’t snuffle, sneeze or cough. If you can’t avoid these behaviors, say “excuse me.”
• Don’t chew gum or food, or drink anything noisy.

Last week I sent one of my clients the perfect candidate for a Kitchen Manager position that she had available.  This guy had the exact experience that she was looking for, the candidate was excited about the idea of working for my candidate and I sent her the resume.  One hour later I received the response that every recruiter dreads hearing, “I already have that candidate from another recruiter”.   I called the candidate and asked him why he hadn’t told me that he had another recruiter submit his resume to the client.  My candidate swore up and down that he hadn’t.  He said that he spoke to someone about a different position but nothing had come of it.  To his knowledge his other recruiter had not sent the client his resume.   I called my client to ask her who the recruiter was and tell her the story my candidate had told me.  My client said that the recruiter who sent her the resume had a reputation for sending her candidates without the candidates being aware of it and she also said that she would not interview or hire this candidate because then she would have to pay the other recruiter a fee and she doesn’t like the other recruiter.  When I asked her why she works with him then, she said that she feared that he would take her people if she cut him off completely.   My candidate was devastated. 

The recruiting world is ever changing.  People have 100’s of options on how to find a job and some candidates try to use all of them at once.  They post their resume on Monster, CareerBuilder and Hot Jobs.  They apply to every job on Craig’s List that they see.  They use Linked in and Face Book to tell the world that they are unemployed. 

STOP!!!!!!           BREATH!!!!!!!   RELAX!!!!!!

As soon as you put your resume on the internet for the world to see, you become a commodity similar to coffee, not Starbucks or Dunkin, just coffee.  If you choose to apply to jobs where no company name is listed then you are applying to a database somewhere in the world that will hold, reuse and possibly sell your information.  If you choose to engage with a recruiter who doesn’t tell you the name of the company that they are sending your resume to, RUN.   

The good news is there are people out there who can help you.  Look for a CPC certified recruiter who has the knowledge and ethics to get you the results that you are looking for.  These recruiters have sworn an oath the keep your information confidential, to follow the laws of the United States of America and to serve your best interests.  To find one in your area, visit www.geckohospitality.com .

Not getting calls on your resume quicker than you expected?

Are you finding that recruiters tell you they’ll  call you right back only to never receive a call?

Don’t think there’s a blacklist floating around within the restaurant industry? Think Again!

Getting your name blacklisted is easier than tying your shoes however getting removed is just the opposite. You have a better chance of having 8-track tapes coming back and becoming “cool” before getting back the respect you rightfully deserve. Will anyone divulge the names contained within this “so-called” blacklist and why? Of course not!  But remember that recruiters within the hospitality industry have feelings accompanied with big egos.

Believe it or not, recruiters stay connected in one way shape or form and talk more openly than Howard Stern at a wet t-shirt contest. I’ve been recruiting  for fifteen years and if you want to keep your name off of any blacklist, let me give you some advice on how to keep your name and reputation safely tucked away:

1. Never interview with a company to gain leverage on your current employer for a raise or counter offer. Accepting a counter offer from your current employer is the ultimate sin!
2. Never blow off an interview. If you’re not interested in the company, politely decline via voice or email 24 hours before your scheduled time.
3. Never accept a position with a new employer, determine a start date and fail to show up on your first day of work. Bottom line… you’ve wasted everyone’s time!
4. If you’ve left your current employer, never tell the recruiter that you’re still employed. Tell one lie you might as well tell ten more!
5. 95% of all employers do a background check. If your credit stinks- Be Honest! If you have a DUI- Be Honest! If your driver’s license is suspended- Be Honest! In many circumstances being forthcoming pays dividends.

Remember that interviewing is a two way street.  Simply put you receive a “Dear John” letter that you’re not a fit for the company  or you withdraw your name and accept a position that offers better opportunities. Bottom line if you’re “pretty” happy where you’re presently at, stay there and find a way to make it work! Interviewing is a serious business and should not be taken for granted. Take my word that recruiters NEVER forget a name and certainly never forgive….Period!

One of the most common mistakes that I come across is also one of the most missed opportunities in an interview. EVERY interviewer undoubtedly wraps up their questioning with this final question “Do you have any questions for me?”.

I ask this same question to every candidate that I speak to and the most replied response is “No, you’ve already answered all of my questions” or “I can’t think of any at this time”. 

In my debriefing of candidates after interviews, I always ask how they answered this question when asked. If they give me one of the above responses, I know the interview did not go as well as they may think. So now I always make sure to prepare candidates for this moment. It is EXTREMELY important that when asked, you have some well thought out questions to ask the interviewer. If not, it shows a lack of preparation for the interview, an apathy for the company or the position, and a general disinterest for the interviewer and the information they have to offer at this stage of the process.

A job interview is a two way street. It gives the company representative a chance to get to know you, but it also gives you a chance to get to know the company to see if it is going to meet your needs both culturally and monetarily. There is no way a person can impart all of the necessary information for making an intelligent decision without being asked questions. Some of the better examples of good responses to this question that I have heard are “What drew you to this company in the first place?” or “What is it about this company that has kept you here so long and/or makes you happy?”. These questions turn the table onto the interviewer and forces them to open up to you about themselves, plus you gain valuable insight into the culture of the company. You should also ask questions about unit growth and advancement opportunities. These show your desire to be there for the long haul. Any questions that are probing and open ended and reflect your desire to gather important information are worth asking.

At a minimum, you should have at least three to four questions prepared in advance. And you should also be thinking of questions as you go through your interview to ask at the end also. Again make sure your questions are open-ended and well thought out. Remember this is an opportunity for you to gain valuable insight for making a decision further on in the process AND a chance for you to show your desire and enthusiasim towards the company and the position. I’ve seen bad interviews be turned around at this point just by asking the right questions.

So good luck and “Be Prepared”.

Gecko Hospitality is pleased to welcome Billy Gilson as its new Franchise Partner for the states of Oklahoma and New Mexico. 

 Billy joined Gecko Hospitality in April of 2010.  Billy started his career at the age of 14 bussing tables at a family owned establishment.  Throughout Billy’s professional career, he has worked up the ranks at well know restaurant organizations  such as Pappasitos, Texas Roadhouse, la Madeleine’s and most recently held the title of Senior Manager at The Grand Lux Café.  Billy has spent many years developing skills that have allowed him the ability to identify and develop candidates within his restaurant organizations.   Billy is excited about utilizing those human resources and recruiting skills to match the right candidate with the right client.

Gecko Hospitality is excited with the skills Billy Gilson brings to the table and the amount of enthusiasm and passion he has for the hospitality industry.

Billy is married to his wife Melanie who is a first grade teacher.   Billy has two daughters, Taylor and Kami and a son Zachary. Billy’s passions include spending time with his family, wood working, playing golf with his son and brother but most of all loves watching his beloved Dallas Mavericks and Cowboys.

Great information for all Restaurant Managers and really anyone in a supervisory position in any business: http://bit.ly/Leadership11

Have you looked at the job openings on Gecko Hospitality recently?  You should!