Burger King: The Whiz Kid Behind a Whopper of a Turnaround

Want to feel like you haven’t accomplished enough in your career? Read this example:

Daniel Schwartz, a one-time Wall Street employee, became the CEO of Burger King last year. Schwartz, despite having had no restaurant industry experience before taking on the gig, managed to turn Burger King’s fortunes around quickly, restructuring the company and converting nearly all of its corporate-owned locations to franchises.

It’s a great turnaround story, and it’s all the more impressive when you find out that Schwartz is 33 years old, according to Bloomberg Businessweek  (opens in a new tab). That’s right—it was only a couple of decades ago that he was wearing the paper crown. Now he’s wearing the actual one, and showing results in the process.

So what can you take away from Schwartz’s story? According to Inc.com contributor Laura Garnett  (opens in a new tab), his quick rise reminds us that experience and talent don’t necessarily correlate.

“The decision to hire someone young and inexperienced could have been seen as a risk,” she writes. “However, as technology advances and rapid change becomes the norm, experience is becoming less and less imperative, in my opinion. The types of solutions that are required to succeed are all about innovating on what has been done before, not using processes that have worked in the past.”

So, would your board give the 33-year-old kid a shot as executive director?

From the Horse’s Mouth

LinkedIn user tips from an insider @cbsnews  (opens in a new tab) http://t.co/dXq08WV1ki  (opens in a new tab) h/t @scottoser  (opens in a new tab) #assnchat  (opens in a new tab) #mpi  (opens in a new tab)

— Jay S Daughtry M.Ed. (@ChatterBachs) August 4, 2014  (opens in a new tab)

Your LinkedIn profile is way more than a resume that you update when you’re looking for a career change.

That’s according to company spokeswoman Krista Canfield in a recent interview with CBS News’ Moneywatch. She calls that line of thinking the biggest misconception people have about profiles on the site.

“They’re really evolving into full-fledged portfolios,” she told Moneywatch. “When you add not just descriptions but examples of your work to your profile, it will help you gain exposure to opportunities that are most relevant to you.”

Check out the full interview  (opens in a new tab) if you want more insights on how to help boost your job search without letting your boss know, as well as details on the company’s new LinkedIn Profile app  (opens in a new tab), launched last week for iOS and Android. (ht @ChatterBachs  (opens in a new tab))

Other good Reads

If you’re finding your standard sources of stock photos lacking, Maggie McGary has a few suggestions  (opens in a new tab) for repositories you probably aren’t using yet.

Is your association living “hand-to-mouth”? Plexus Consulting’s Virgil Carter says the solution is to diversify your funding sources  (opens in a new tab).

Flying to Europe anytime soon? Check out Business Insider, which breaks down the cheapest airlines  (opens in a new tab) to get you across the Atlantic.

(photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)