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As the climate brightens and jobs start to flow back into the market, Fiona McLelland looks at how recruitment consultancies can help both candidates and employers
The food and drink industry employs one in seven workers in the British economy – that’s 3.6 million people. Despite the breadth of jobs on offer, the industry is rarely listed at the top of anyone’s career choice and most people enter food and grocery by default rather than design, according to the IGD. “We have found that peop
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GETTING IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME....
SmithCarey, the fmcg sales and marketing recruitment consultants, is building on a reputation for service that flies in the face of current trends. While the consultancy is quick to exploit new technology, its directors remain committed to face-to-face communication, candidate support and the SmithCarey ‘personal touch’.
“It goes without saying that recruitment is about people,” says Mark Smith, one of their founders. “But, when it works properly,
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IN THE PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE
Pursuit NHA seeks out and attracts the very best people in the marketplace, while saving valuable time for its clients throughout the recruitment process. “A rigorous interviewing and profiling process is central to our service,” explains Pursuit NHA chief executive Andy Ferguson. “This makes sure that only the right candidates are put forward for each role. Given the current market conditions good administration is essential – one position recently attracted 750
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MAKING THE MOST OF MAKRO
Makro UK is a wholesale operator serving the needs of independent businesses. It is a British company with a nationwide coverage backed by Metro Cash & Carry.
Makro’s field operations manager, Simon Cooper explains: “We are passionate about our business and the products we sell. We encourage confidence, competence, and the empowerment of our people; creating a performance culture where achievement is recognised and rewarded.”
The company offers a number of be
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It's not about cold-calling, rather negotiating at head office with buyers, understanding and interpreting the feedback and motivating your team about new product development.
National Account Managers need to be able to analyse consumer research data and realise how they can use it to their advantage, which means being comfortable around numbers. The job usually involves collating sales forecasting and availability and anaylsing which in-store promotion works.
Typical jobs are often account
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I'VE GOT THAT JOB:
WAITROSE GRADUATE MANAGEMENT SCHEMEAILEEN WILSON - WAITROSE
I am Aileen Wilson. I joined Waitrose in April 2007.
As is the case for many graduates, my initial attraction to the Waitrose Graduate Management scheme was my passion for good quality food, high standards of customer services and operating in a highly competitive environment. In addition, I wanted to work for a company that could offer a diverse range of career opportunities.
Having worked for 3 months o
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Underestimate the power of grocery retail at your own peril. Not only does Tesco take one in every three pounds spent on groceries, it takes one in every seven pounds spent in the UK. It's serious business.
Retail is also one of the most visable aspects of food and drink. It's where the business meets the consumer and where all the strategic planning, sourcing, production and design across the supply chain gets the thumbs up or down.
It is probably one of the easier sectors of the industry to
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I'VE GOT THAT JOB:
VICKY GRAY - NORTHERN FOODS
CATEGORY MANAGER FOR INDIRECT GOODS AND SERVICES
Vicky Gray has taken on the new challenge of buying indirect goods and services for Northern Foods following a stint in the ingredients buying team. No more trips to Turkey to buy sultanas for her – she’ll be spending time with agencies in London, the Goodfella’s pizza team in Manchester and the Fox’s Biscuits team in Slough.
She is hugely grateful to be given this new role which is the
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Buying is surely one of the most attractive roles in the food and drink industry - travelling to exotic locations, sampling delicious produce, discovering innovative new products and delivering that precious first listing for a fledgling producer.
But don't expect relationships with suppliers to be all vineyard tours and clotted cream festivals. Negotiation of product costs will form a large part of your work and this can require fortitude and a thick skin. You will need to negotiate with regar
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Tell someone you work in sales and chances are they will either have you down as a cold caller pestering housewives or someone who has an unhealthy relationship with their car, thanks to the long-distance driving.
In some cases they may be right, but in food and drink this is a misleading impression. You need more than a decent telephone manner and a driver's licence to be a good salesman in this industry and you'll be involved in many more interesting things.
Sales jobs take many forms and it
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I'VE GOT THAT JOB:
HR ADVISORKATY PHILLIPS - COORS BREWERS
Job description:I provide internal customers with operational HR services in the areas of recruitment, employee relations and learning and development.
What do you actually do? The majority of my role is recruitment and working with/coaching line managers through employee relations issues.
How did you get into it? I worked as a training officer in banking and was successful in getting on to the (then) Bass Brewers Graduate HR sc
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If you want a job that is at the sharp end of food and drink, then you need look no further than the supply chain. It is competitive, at the forefront of the green agenda and has opportunities for the right candidate to excel.
OK, it may not be the most glamourous of jobs, but it is an intrinsic part of the industry. For retailers needing assurance that their shelves will always be stocked, it is one of the most important functions. So much so that the top jobs come with some of the biggest wag
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If you're looking for a career spent blue-sky thinking around a pool table, you should look elsewhere. Marketing may be perceived as creative and glamorous, but successful employees are required to balance these talents with a knack for hard data analysis, business acumen and technological knowhow.
Marketing is the serious business of identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably. If it isn't done effectively then business won't survive. The blurb all over the Innoce
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Find out what they do and how to get in touch.
Datamonitor Business analysis company www.datamonitor.com 0207 675 7000 euroinfo@datamonitor.com
IGD The industry's think tank; produces research reports and food chain statistics www.igd.com 01923 857141 igd@igd.com
Leatherhead Food International Food research association; provides technical support and information www.leatherheadfood.com 01372 376761 help@leatherheadfood.com
Mintel Researches trends, new products, consumer attitudes and behavi
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GrocerJobs is owned by William Reed Business Media, Britain's leading business publisher serving the UK Food & Drink industry, and publishers of The Grocer magazine. Other magazine titles in the group include Food Manufacture, Morning Advertiser, Off Licence News, Forecourt Trader, and Convenience Store. It's wonderful to have such a tradition in print, and to complement this we now have the kind of technology that allows us to use all our experience and connections in powerful and previously un
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The advice that follows will help you to:
· understand your career drivers
· increase your confidence levels
· write more informed CVs and cover letters
· plan and complete application forms more effectively
· prepare more effectively for interviews.
1. What does your ideal job look like?
Take a piece of paper and make a list of all the things that your ideal job would have; these might be ‘conditional’ (e.g. ‘good salary’), ‘cultural’ (e.g. ‘progressive
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Whether you are writing a CV or some supporting information, completing an application form or preparing for an interview, at some point in the application process you will need to demonstrate to your potential employer that you have got the right skills, personal attributes and experience for the job that you are interested in doing. The advice that follows will help you do this.
skills that employers typically value
Employers look for all sorts of skills and personal qualities wh
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Self-awareness is a key element of finding and securing employment; put simply, the more you know about yourself, the better prepared you’ll be when it comes to writing your CV and attending interviews. The advice that follows will help you to increase your levels of self-awareness by getting you to think about:
· what you can do now
· what you need to do, and/or address, before applying for your next job
what you can do now
assess your preferred style of working
Sta
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The team at 1st Steps to Success originally wrote the advice and guidance provided below. Their approach to finding, securing and then getting the most out of a job consists of three steps:
Step 1 - STOP
Reflecting on where you are now and on what you want to do in the future - looks at what you need to know and do before you start the application process and focuses on:
· knowing yourself
· providing evidence of your skills, experiences and achievements
· finding a
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Few industries are bomb proof but some are more resilient than others. Take the fmcg sector, for example. While some sectors have been hit badly by consumers reining in expenditure, people still need to buy the staples regardless of the economic climate.
The grocery industry has weathered the financial storm well and the downturn seems to have had little impact on the hunger of graduates looking to find employment with fmcgs. “Fmcg is an enduring industry that is central to everyone’s lives,
