Yesterday a friend let me tag along to the National Restaurant Association’s annual show because he had an extra pass. I spent the first half of the show chowing down on free samples, and the second half looking for cool companies to tell you about (while chowing down on free samples). While getting into conventions like this can be a bit pricey, they’re an amazing opportunity for job seekers to see trends, learn about companies, and connect with people in their target industries. While I didn’t find a ton of companies with jobs posted, I did see two major trends: frozen yogurt and web-based technologies. However, the coolest thing that I saw was a machine that allows you to design your own ice cream with a touchscreen. You pick a flavor, mix-ins, and more, and have a delicious cup of ice cream in 45 seconds. It took me a while to find the company behind the technology, but I’m almost certain that it’s MooBella, which is based in Taunton, MA.

Make a Smart MOOve

Despite my thinking MooBella is the coolest thing in the world, the technology doesn’t seem to have taken off yet. There are only a handful of their machines out in the wild (mostly in the Northeast). MooBella got $18 million in financing back in late 2009, so you’d think there might have been some more growth since then. While MooBella doesn’t have a jobs page, they do have a Contact page. If you’d like to consider working for them, reach out and see what’s possible. The lesson here isn’t just about MooBella–put yourself in situations like conventions where you can find interesting stuff. Then follow up and see what kind of jobs are possible. You may be surprised at how well it works.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

• MooBella.com
• Contact MooBella
• About MooBella
• Leadership at MooBella
• MooBella News

Have you tried going to any conventions for your job search?

We've identified MooBella as having career opportunities in the following categories:

• all employers
• food
• Massachusetts

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