How to Stand Out in a Saturated Market

This is a DrinkAbility Blog Content developed for Inside the Cask by Nicola McRedmond.

You love this industry. Maybe you grew up fascinated by barrels, botanicals, fermentation curves or export spreadsheets. But here’s the truth – your passion doesn’t come across in a CV.

Passion is assumed in drink, it’s the baseline. What makes a CV sing is clarity about value.

I read hundreds of CVs every year from people across distillery operations, brand, commercial, logistics and leadership. The CVs that grab my attention aren’t those with the flashiest design. They’re the ones that tell a clear, sharp story about why this person matters and what they can deliver.

Think of your CV as a narrative, not a list of duties. Saying “responsible for tastings across three regions” tells me nothing beyond your title. But saying “led 40+ tasting events that contributed to an 18 % lift in regional sales” tells me exactly why you’re employable and commercially aware.

This shift, from task description to impact description, is where most people trip up.

In an industry where outcomes are often operational or technical, it’s easy to default to describing activities instead of results. But even in production, there is impact: yield improvement, error reduction, process efficiency, compliance strength. These are commercial outcomes that hiring managers care about.

Another common problem area is inconsistent titling. I once saw “Distillery Assistant”, yet the role included production planning, team coordination and external reporting. If your formal title undersells you, contextualise it subtly. You’re not inflating, you’re clarifying.

Whether you’re targeting a smaller craft business or a big global player, your CV is a positioning tool. It should help the reader imagine you already operating in the job you want, not just the job you’ve had. If you are moving towards leadership, let strategic thinking, influence and business outcomes be the subtext of your achievements.

In drinks, reputation travels faster than a new release on social media. Make sure your CV earns you the right second look.