Food Job Blog: The inside track on Food Recruitment and Careers

As the government continues to make savings across public sector employment, thousands of ex-public sector people become job seekers.

The government is hoping that a boom in the private sector that will employ many of the staff previously working in the public sector, but is that the only issue? Are people who have previously worked in the public sector ready for a jump to private sector?

Deborah Meaden, entrepreneur and Dragon's Den star, is one of the business people helping ex-public sector employees find employment in the private sector.

Tip #1: DON'T DELAY

Following redundancy, many people will tend to delay job hunting, wallowing on the past. This should be avoided - it is bad for you and is bad for your CV.

Be proactive, plan ahead, and get moving.

Tip #2: TAILOR YOUR EFFORTS

Invest time and effort into your CV. It might be a while since you last used it - you may not even have a CV, but it needs every ounce of your effort. If your CV isn't perfect, you're giving yourself a disadvantage from the off.

Realise that you are applying for jobs in the private sector now, and tailor your CV for that sector.

Don't dwell on the past, don't dwell on the public sector. Revamp your CV, apply your skills and illustrate how you can apply them to the private sector too, and you'll stand a much better chance of getting an interview.

Tip #3: BE FLEXIBLE

Your first job in the private sector might not be your dream job. It takes time to find the right job, and to move into a position, which is ideal for you. Your first role might not be perfect, but get used to this as if you manage to secure a private sector job, you'll be a lot better off than many who still won't have any employment or income.

Getting straight into a new job, even if it's not ideal, prevents you from getting stuck into a routine of not working - which can have disastrous affects for any future employment.

Any form of work looks better than no work - and employers will recognise this and will see your desire to work and your ability to be flexible.

Tip #4: GET TALKING

Talking, networking - call it what you will but you'll be surprised at how many people secure new roles and opportunities through networking with peers, friends, and colleagues.

Don't be afraid to recognise your strengths - if you're good at something, tell people that you are - be careful not to be arrogant about it though. Just be aware of your strengths and if you see an opportunity where you can add value through your skills, don't hesitate to put your name forward.

Tip #5: ATTITUDE MATTERS MORE THAN AGE

Ensure your attitude gives off the correct image - you're a passionate individual, who wants to continue their career into the future. You want an opportunity with career prospects that will allow you to progress. You don't want a job that will see you through the next year until you can retire - employers will not be attracted to job seekers who exhibit this attitude.

Tip #6: RISE TO THE CHALLENGE

So you've been made redundant. If ever there was cause to take a deep breath and throw everything you've got at getting a new job, it was that. You never know, it might be the lucky break you were looking for, and being made redundant could be the best thing that ever happened to you.

You've got nothing to loose, so give it your all.

Following the recent 'Attracting Talent & Increasing Productivity' conference set up by the Food & Drink Federation, a statement has been made informing attendees that the reason behind the lack of talent within the food industry is a poor image.

As the average age of employees within the food industry increases, a skills shortage is expected to hit, resulting in a lack of suitable candidates to work in food and drink.

Representatives at the meeting stated that the reasoning for this was that many young professionals recognised the industry as being outdated.

Despite the food and drink manufacturing industry's sheer size, candidates still do not want to work in this industry... but is this really the case? Perhaps it's more likely that people just don't consider the food industry when thinking about careers and their future - perhaps it's not a poor image, but just no image? Is the food industry really marketed that well towards graduates and professionals looking for their next step?

We all hear the "you don't have to have food experience to work in the food industry", but is this really the case?

You've been thinking about a job in the food industry for a while - read a few articles, taken advice from friends and colleagues, and now you think you're ready to take the leap into the food industry. If that sounds like you - I've got just the website. Focus Management has been the leading food industry recruiter since its creation in 1990 after being set up by Stephen Jones and Michael Staniland. Focus Management's experience, knowledge and industry contacts mean it is capable of connecting job seekers to the very best food jobs the industry has to offer.

Not only this, the website has a number of other features that are likely to be of interest to job seekers.

The site has a heavily integration with social media, and you'll find videos job adverts and audio job adverts across the whole site, giving you a better insight into what you can expect from each job.

The vacancies on the site are located widely across the UK and internationally (including Australia, Nigeria and Europe), and encompass various roles from NPD Chefs to Finance Controllers and Marketing Managers to Managing Directors.

Searching the website is completely free as is signing up to the Candidate Zone, where you can save searches, add jobs to a shortlist, amongst other features (some of which are under development and due to be released over the coming weeks).

So if you're looking for a new food job, don't hesitate to visit the Focus Management website for the very latest opportunities!

I'm going to be honest here. What? Delia Smith's Waitrose advert has been banned because it gave the impression that the 'all-in-one' Christmas cake package contained orange peel, when it didn't.

"This year my traditional Christmas cake recipe is going to be the easiest thing ever. I'm really excited by this, because all the preparation has been done for you."

I mean really, is that what the world has come to? Not only is the whole complain issue ridiculous - just buy an orange, or pop next door and ask for one… I'm sure someone somewhere has some orange peel you could borrow! But to make matters more ridiculous, a grand total of three people complained - apparently a just cause to ban the advert. But no, it gets worse than that. If I am correct, we're now in March. Christmas was nearly three months ago. Is there any sense whatsoever investing time, effort and resource in banning an advert that aired over two months ago?

The only slight bit of normality I can draw is that perhaps the Watchdog want to set an example, which I suppose in normal circumstances, would make sense. But what example are they setting here? Don't make out that your product comes with orange peel when it doesn't?

Now I suppose Waitrose should have addressed this one better. They should have put the orange peel in, or stated more clearly that you need to buy orange peel separately, but it's not as if they left out the flour, or anything that could be considered a 'vital' ingredient?

Maybe it's just me, but seems the world is going mad (well, more mad than it was already!)

This has nothing to do with the largest selling 12 inch record of all time, it is a reference to the state of the food industry on a Monday when we receive proportionately the largest number of visits to our sites in a week.

What is really interesting is that visitors looking for food jobs drop over a weekend  - when you would think you could take your time and do the searching in the privacy of your own home.  The largest search day is a Monday - when we get back to work and feel like Bob Geldoff.

When do you find time to search for a new job?

It's easy to understand why the golden, sandy beach at Bondi or the cosmopolitan buzz of Melbourne appeals as holiday destinations.  But what about as a career option for people in the food industry? What about food jobs in Australia?

Is Australia really an attractive option?  Anyone able to provide first hand experience of either a posting or full-on emigration to Oz?

If so, what's it really like and how does it compare to food manufacturing or food retailing in the UK?

Would love to hear your thoughts.

I have just surveyed the last 100 cvs to come into our business as applications for an array of food jobs we are recruiting for - and over 10% have mistakes in them. From typos to the wrong telephone number through to mistakes as simple as 'deer' instead of 'dear'.

What is really disheartening is the largest majority of mistakes are on CV's from under graduates or recent degree holders. Is this a consequence of education, or a world now dominated by blogs, twitter and texts? All have their place and are key - but should a CV be grammatically correct?

We would probably reject a candidate who had typos and spelling mistakes on their CV - so why take the chance when a simple spell check would alleviate a significant number of the issues?

Talking to a friend of mine about moving house it seems increasingly difficult to rationalise the cost of relocating - with stamp duty, removal costs and legal fees - let alone the first step of getting a reasonable offer. So how does this effect the food recruitment sector?

The reality is we are seeing more and more candidates living away - a trend that is not ideal for family or social life but might just be a more regular outcome.  In the past - and we are probably talking two to 5 years ago - this lack of relocation would have been linked to a lack of commitment or faith - now it is just a fact of life that on the Sunday evening - the blouses or shirts are hung in the back of the car and the trip to the flat or B&B starts.

Will it change?  I guess when the economy improves and houses start selling more rapidly than the current situation you may well see a bit more movement - but I think the days of people living close to their employer may have gone for ever.

The latest innovation in the food packaging market is the reduced carbon footprint plastic bottle. This is yet another twist on the orginial plactic milk bottle, which I have to wonder if it actually solves the problem, or just delays a recurring one.

Nampak, leading packaging manufacturer, has introduced into new bottle that is made of around 15% less plastic than the previous plastic milk bottles.

This reduced plastic content means a reduced carbon footprint of around 12%. Now whilst a reduced carbon footprint is good in anyone's eyes, reducing by 12% surely will only mean that in a few years or so, it will need to be reduced again.

Sainsbury's have already made an attempt to promote eco-friendly milk packaging with their milk bags in partnership with the JUGIT system - this comes as part of their pledge to reduce their carbon footprint by 2015. One has to wonder, if this was as successful as Sainsbury's might have liked, why the other retailers haven't followed suit?

I don't know what I'm getting at, but at the end of the day, there is a tremendous amount of plastic that will still be wasted on milk bottles, as I'm sure not every household recycles.

Perhaps the only solution is to have milk on tap?!

I'm unemployed and nobody cares! I keep hearing this and at the weekend when we have friends round.  In one instance, the person in question was until recently a main board Director of a major plc and he is now active on the market - he is writing a list of all those recruiters who don't phone back, don't do what they say they will do and when he gets his next huge job - which he will - he is going to ban their involvement from his operation.

Now I do sympathise, but I also think comments like this can be a bit rich. I have another friend who is a Commercial Director who rants about time scales and how slow recruiters can be at coming back to him... I keep reminding him what he was like as a client - when we waited a month for feedback on a candidate. What comes around goes around!

I guess the answer is to try to treat everyone as you wish to be treated yourself.  A mantra we try to hold true to - but is frequently very difficult.

What are your views?

A recent independent survey we conducted suggested that food recruitment is changing - more candidates are using LinkedIn and social media techniques to engage with active recruiters.

Certainly we are seeing an uplift in our food recruitment social media sites and believe this will increase in importance.  The challenge though is what's next?  What is the new twitter or facebook?  I'm not sure that if you know you will be posting it on here... you are much more likely to be raising millions through Private Equity and launching it.

But if you use social media for recruitment, let us know your thoughts...

Focus Management are leaders in food industry recruitment, and with around 200 live vacancies, they are bound to have a role that will be of interest.

There are a number of companies operating in food recruitment, however Focus Managements 21 years in business gives them an outstanding knowledge and a level of professionalism that comes second to none.

There are an array of food recruiters who have developed appalling names for themselves in the market place due to bad recruitment practices and breach of data protection amongst other foul play. However Focus Management are proud to say that as we move positively through 2011, we have and always will be, an honest, hard-working and successful food recruitment business.