Food industry recruiter, The Sterling Choice, is warning those searching for a new role within the food manufacturing industry this year, to prepare for a challenging time thanks to an increasingly competitive labour market.
After seeing a recent surge in the number of its own job seeking candidates, the company is urging jobhunters to fine tune their search process, the presentation of their personal brand, as well as honing their CV preparation, to ensure coveted roles are secured. As a result of a particularly saturated pool of candidates, the company also stresses how important mental wellbeing and resilience will be for job hunters in 2023.
Recent figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) show that across the UK from October to December 2022, the number of vacancies deceased by 75,000 compared to the previous quarter (July-September 2022), and by a total of 85,000 when compared to the same period in 2021. The fall in the number of vacancies reflects uncertainty across industries, including the food manufacturing industry, as ONS survey respondents cited economic pressures as a factor in holding back on recruitment, resulting in an ever-tightening labour market.
“It is a particularly tricky time for job hunters at the moment, and we don’t see that improving much throughout the year,” comments managing director Lukas Vanterpool. “Lay-offs and those leaving roles over the past couple of years due to Covid, mean that the pool of job seekers is saturated with talent at the moment.
“This means that job seekers need to make sure they stand out from the crowd, now more than ever,” he continues. “They need their CVs and applications to get to the top of a hiring team’s pile, and make sure they make the best impression in their interviews, none of which is easy at the best of times.”
In order to help candidates, The Sterling Choice suggests that they take time to consider what they are really looking for in a role, and their key skill sets, in order to ensure they are the very best match for advertised positions.
Lukas adds: “Those working within the food manufacturing industries have a longer average tenure than many other industries, so entering the job market again can be a daunting time. Hiring processes will have evolved and may well seem different and therefore a good level of resilience is required if a job search doesn’t immediately result in a secured position.”
“Although on the face of it, this wealth of talent might seem like a positive for employers – and it is – they too need to be incredibly prescriptive and transparent in what they are looking for in a new hire and perhaps be prepared to tailor their recruitment methods to accommodate the increasing number of applications for each new role.”
The agency has an online portal available to any potential candidates, where job seekers can gain information and resources on personal goal setting, CV preparation, interview and preparation skills as well as the search process. Importantly, the portal also offers comprehensive resources on candidates’ wellbeing, as well as advice and tips on building confidence and resilience for those entering the job market for the first time in a long while, or when an application isn’t successful.
Lukas added that the provision of wellbeing and resilience tips have proved particularly important tools for job seekers his team has worked with.
He said, “The mental resilience required when embarking on a new job search is often underestimated. There is a certain amount of confidence and mental strength required to put yourself out there and embark on a new job search, not to mention the rigor of the application and interview processes. If, for whatever reason one of our candidate’s applications is not successful, we want to ensure they are equipped with the tools that give them the strength and understanding to pick themselves up and try again.”
