Time, effort and commitment are all required and, for most of us, we’ll take all the help we can get.

So, to help give your job search a lift, follow our five essential tips and get ahead of the competition.

• 1. Receive a Free CV Review

Whether you need to breath new life into your existing CV or you’ve just created a fresh one, ensure it stands out and tells employers just why you’re the right candidate by having our team of experts give it the once over.

• 2.Get yourself Headhunted

Right now, over 8,000 food industry recruiters are browsing foodindustrycareers.co.uk for Britain’s brightest talent. Upload Your CV and update your jobseeker profile so headhunters from the UK food industry can target your skills with the latest opportunities.

• 3. Assess Your Worth

From first jobbers to high flyers, knowing your market value will help you narrow your search and land a job that matches your worth. Check the latest rates in your specialism and location with foodindustrycareers.co.uk’s easy-to-use Careers Advice Section

• 4. Stay Alert

Take the hassle out of hearing about your next role. Simply let us know the types of jobs you’re interested in and we’ll send the latest opportunities matching your criteria, either daily or weekly, straight to your inbox.

• 5. Get Ready to Impress

Once you’ve secured an interview, make a positive, lasting impression that leaves you brimming with confidence. Whether it’s how to make an entrance or what to wear, access foodindustrycareers.co.uk’s easy-to-digest Interview Advice.

• You currently are the MD of your own Recruitment consultancy that is part of Network Ventures a company on AIM  Tell me more about your role in the business.

As M/D I have to manage all aspects of the business from day to day matters to meeting the objectives and targets of the company. I still meet our clients and fully understanding their issues and problems is key to the success of the business.

• You have worked in the Sales/ Marketing sector for 25years.  Has it changed much in that time?

Yes a lot, times change and the methods also. We never had the web etc and people read papers, magazines and watched a few TV channels. Now we have a massive change in reaching our target audiences.  The advent of all the new methods, web, social networks etc. has totally changed the landscape for good!

Some not all of the changes are good, and we now have to be more aware of the tools, skills to find the customers to keep us ahead of the game.

• Are there any characteristics and skills you have that you believe are particularly suited to what you do?

I personally like to listen very carefully to people’s issues large and small. Only will you add value if you understand these issues and then deliver a solution, trying to be all things to all men is a death nail to the business. I need to find the ‘right’ person for the job.

• What is your favourite aspect of your work?

I enjoy my work as I meet very interesting and stimulating individuals who have been very successful and are high achievers. You learn a lot and can educate yourself from their mistakes and achievements.

• Are there any recommendations for job-seekers looking for fmcg sales jobs?

Yes, research the job, the company, the culture and do your home work. Assume nothing, and ask all the time. ill prepared, and sloppy people will never get the right jobs.

• What would you do, as a career, if you weren’t working in Recruitment?

A career involving sales and people, in the food sector.

• What are the biggest challenges you face on a regular basis?

The credit crunch has made us all look at what we do, how we do things, and keeping ahead of matters is creating a whole new era. The world of recruitment has overall a very poor reputation that has been created by quick buck agencies offering no value and poor service. So we then have to under promise and over deliver to our clients!

• 5 of the most exciting things currently on your desk.

Currently working on a few very Senior ‘Headhunts’ in the fmcg market, a new office location, and training/mentoring the staff.

We would like to thank Russell for his contribution and if you want to check out his company when looking for a new food industry career visit www.fmcgexecutive.co.uk

This expansive network requires the support of trained individuals who actually know what the requirements of a food production job are. If you are considering a career in the food production sector or perhaps have been involved in it previously, a good idea is to look at a job portal that specializes in food production jobs. For a fresh candidate this will give you an insight into the vast opportunities available in food production on a global and local level. For an experienced candidate you will actually be able to see a consolidated food of opportunities available in your area of specialization. This essentially means that you can look at a new opportunity that matches your credentials and concentrate on building a rewarding career in food production.

Career Options in Food Production Jobs

By looking at different career options in this sector you can find people who specialize in shift management to see how the inventory is being processed and managed by the production staff. Apart from this there is an opportunity to work as a production planner. This basically means that you will have to have an idea of the sales target of the company and manage resources that are utilized in planning the production of a particular FMCG product. You will have to concentrate on evaluating how much of inventory you will require to match distribution and sales targets.

Quality assurance is another spectrum that falls in the category of food production jobs. As a quality assurance manager you will be provided standards and guidelines on what the basic requirements are for the product that your company manufactures. Based on these guidelines you will be able to see that the production of the inventory matches the quality requirements in terms of product quality, packaging quality and condition it is delivered in to the market. Apart from this you will be required to manage quality complaints that may arise from the consumer or distributor end.

With this unique spectrum of job opportunities, it is no wonder that food production jobs are highly sought after. It is therefore a wise idea to look at an online job portal that provides you specific information on food jobs. This means that your job search will be concentrated on your industry of choice and make this endeavour very efficient.

Moving forward, there are many more food jobsavailable than you may have thought. One area that we advocate (for obvious reasons) is looking for your next food career over the internet. Online food jobs can be found with relative ease and at times it may seem tempting to apply for as many as you can however we recommend that you narrow your job applications down to positions that specifically match your experience and knowledge.

Traditionally, when searching for food industry opprtunities, candidates have looked in three areas- specialist recruitment consultancies, local/industry press, and the internet. However, recent trends have indicated that candidates are becoming more online savvy and as a result are using the internet as the primary source when searching for their next food job.

Many food industry jobseekers are paying more attention to online food jobs boards instead of using the traditional methods of searching for their next position in the local newspaper classifieds.  The late 2000’s saw an explosion in the number of internet job boards popping up on all manner of industries and many offering general job opportunities, it is important however to narrow your search to boards which focus on your specific industry/specialisation as this is often your gateway to becoming connected with recruiters and companies who are focussed on your desired industry.

Tips for finding food jobs online

Here at Food Industry Careers.co.uk we have come up with some hints and tips to help you track down online food jobs that specifically match your knowledge and experience.

Firstly, take the time to think what kind of job you want and build a list of key words and phrases that will help you to find the board(s) which are currently advertising your preferred type of role as a general idea if you type in food manufacturing jobs or similar search terms and you will see the same boards appear at the top of the search time and time again, Food Industry Careers.co.uk will be one of these.

Finding food jobs online is not difficult as long as you know where to look. Similar to traditional job searching methods, it helps if you are aware of the most suitable sites when looking for a food job opening.

Finally, all job boards, generalist and food jobs sites will allow you to upload a current copy of your CV.  It is important hear that you present your CV in a clear, succinct manner to make the food recruiter’s job as easy as possible.  We have written specific articles on how to present your food industry CV so check out jobseekers section and follow some of the advice on there if you are stuck. Many candidates then just kick back and wait for recruiters to call, our advice is to regularly check the jobs board and update your CV with any new achievements as you never know when your perfect food job may be posted.

As well as our previous articles on how to compile the perfect CV we have compiled a list of essential areas to cover when updating your CV:

• You want to make it as easy as possible for food recruiters to contact you therefore it is imperative that you clearly display your name, phone number, email and home address on the first page of your CV.

• Most Food Industry Recruiters would the look for an overview of your academic history starting with your most recent qualification backwards.  It is important here to talk about specific food industry qualifications/modules that you have undertaken however although it may be important to you most food companies will not be that interested in your 10 metre swimming badge so make sure you keep it industry and role specific.

• Your Food Industry Experience is the next section and arguably the most important as this is your chance to stand out from the other food industry jobseekers and highlight the specific instances where you have used the skills that they are looking for.  Again, starting from the most recent first and working back list the company name, your job title and responsibilities and your specific responsibilities and achievements in the role.

• A short section on your interests outside work would be the next section, again keep it to the point and ideally role specific for example, if you are looking for a food marketing job don’t be scared of highlighting any involvement in marketing associations.

• Traditionally references are next.  Ideally the there should be one reference from your current employer and one from the position before.  Some food industry jobseekers may be wary of including this section when posting their CV on job boards especially if they are currently in employment however don’t be afraid of including them with specific instructions not to contact your current manager without consulting you first.

• With so many food industry jobseekers currently looking for a new food job it is worth mentioning that you should include your availability for interview/to start a new position.  This will keep communication with the food company/recruiter clear and may even give you the edge over the competition.

Well, we hope you find this useful and we see hundreds of food industry jobseeker’s CV’s every week so feel like we are ideally placed to pass on our little pears of wisdom to give you the best chance of securing your ideal food industry job.

Keep up to date with the latest food industry careers advice and food industry jobs by becoming a part of our social network of food professionals

- Visit our website

- Follow Food Industry Careers on Twitter

- Join the Food Industry Careers LinkedIn Group

- Become a fan of Food Industry Careers on Facebook

With many firms reigning in Activity there are other food manufacturers who have taken advantages of other’s missed custom and ramped up their sales activity.  The British Chamber of Commerce backed up this point by advising that food businesses should be focussing on customer service during the recession in order to boost profits and this can be done by employing skilled employees for food sales jobs.

Andrew Davies, Director of Sales Select said:  “The challenging economic conditions mean it has suddenly got harder for food manufacturers to win new business.  But if you think about it there have suddenly become more opportunity to capitalise on the missed custom of the food company that has shut up shop.”  “A food manufacturer that ceases trading would have had clients and those clients are ripe for new suppliers to contact and to win a proportion of their business.  Food sales jobs have not only become more important but it has also become more interesting.”

The advice from Sales Select is that food companies need to sell smarter and more intelligently to win more with less and in turn increase their market share so that when the economic tide turns and growth begins again, it will be these food producers that will end up with a greater slice of the action.  Mr Davies said, “combining hard work with intelligent and organised sales techniques, while having a measured approach to sales and targeting specific industry and sectors, food businesses will be able to maintain sales and cut costs at the same time.  The current economic environment will allow food sales teams to stand out, to show themselves as recognised consistent achievers and to continue to attract new custom.”

“In a boom economy, sales skills remain essential for survival, yet are not always recognised for their worth.  In a recession however, sales skills become sought after and crucial.  Sales skills re not easily recognised when selling is about taking orders but if the sale requires skill, diligence, negotiation, good relationship building and resilience, the salesperson becomes a business’s most valuable asset.”

Food Sales Jobs

Sales Jobs in Wales

Another key indicator of the UK recruitment industry Monster’s Employment Index rose by seven points during October.  This shows that the food job market online is beginning to recover as demand for new employment reaching its highest level since February 2009.  Head of Economic Research at Monster Worldwide Hugo Sellert quotes “Despite economic indicators showing that the UK remains mired in recession, the solid expansion in online recruitment activity in October suggests the fourth quarter is off to a better start. The rise in online job openings to an eight-month high points to an early recovery in hiring demand. Companies across the UK may now be considering expanding payrolls again as economic conditions have stabilised.”

Here at Food Industry Careers.co.uk we have also noticed an increase in companies once again looking online to fill food vacancies.  I guess that if 2009 has taught us anything it is how to effectively increase the visibility of the food vacancies that our clients post on the board.  We have developed new ways of reaching both passive and active food industry jobseekers by developing the site and embracing different type of online social media such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

This increased level of candidate interaction and online networking has led to a community feel to the site which has been reflected in thousands of food industrycandidates registering and apply for food jobs leading to a higher percentage of our food industry recruiter’s active food vacancies being filled.

- Join the Food Industry Careers.co.uk LinkedIn Group

- Follow Food Industry Careers.co.uk on Twitter

- Become a fan of Food Industry Careers.co.uk on Facebook

Due to the economic climate of the last year there are a number of food industry jobseekers who may have never needed to register with a food industry recruiter therefore they are often unsure about the dialogue and frequency of contact that they should expect.

Having worked with both food industry candidates and Food industry recruitment agencies we have compiled some advice on how both parties can use these relationships most effectively when searching for a new Food Industry Job:

- Keep an open mind as to what positions you will consider and constantly keep your food industry recruiter up to date with which food positions you are most interested in.

- Keep in touch with you food industry recruitment consultant on a regular basis.  You should have access to them for discussions at regular intervals as they are often keen to know when you are available and what your current career expectations are.

- Maintain your CV.   Recent interim experiences may prove pivotal when trying to secure a new food industry job.

- Visit food industry recruitment companies’ websites on a regular basis and familiarise yourself with the consultants who regularly advertise relevant positions.

- Give the food industry consultants clear instructions of how to handle your CV, companies you do not want to approach and information on how your food job search has been going.

- Understand that food industry recruitment consultants are often very busy handling the applications of a large number of candidates so constantly ringing them for updates may not go down well.

To make new contacts in the food industry why not follow the latest updates from Food Industry Careers here:

- Follow Food Industry Careers.co.uk Twitter
- Join the Food Industry Careers.co.uk LinkedIn Group
- Become a fan of Food Industry Careers.co.uk on Facebook

Here, Food Industry Careers.co.uk has a look at the most popular ways to build your reputation online:

LinkedIn

LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/) is a networking site for business people across the world. Launched in May 2003 with 300 users, Linkedin has grown to a network of over 50,000,000 professionals across a multitude of industry sectors by October 2009. Linkedin attracts a large amount of food industry recruitment companies as it allows them to access food industry candidates with no financial outlay.

By November 2009 Food Industry Careers.co.uk have built a group for food professionals which has attracted over 1750 members to network and talk about issues concerning the UK food industry, here are some tips if you want to promote yourself using Linkedin:

- Food Industry professionals should initially complete a full profile detailing their specific experience.  This profile is like an online CV so to make it stand out to potential recruiters by loading it with industry specific keyword, for example, a Food Technical Manager may include terms such as BRC audit experience, Chilled Foods, Food Quality Management.

- Keep in touch with your existing contacts by importing your Outlook/Yahoo etc mailbox contacts, this will enable you to follow what they are up to and may re-introduce you to former hiring managers.

- Join food industry groups.  This will enable you to grow your network quickly and will enable you to show your knowledge in your industry sector by joining in group discussions.

- Use your network effectively by getting contacts to recommend you, this is an ideal way of demonstrating your suitability to perform in your food career.

- Search Linkedin for people you want to speak to by looking for job titles of personnel you would like to know for example the Recruitment Managers of large food companies.

- Regularly update your status to keep yourself in front of your network.

- Some food jobseekers upgrade their account to a premium level which will enable you to contact people in your network directly.

- Develop relationships with recruiters on Linkedin.  This will ensure you maintain contact and are kept up to date with the latest roles. For access to hundreds of current jobs and Food Industry Recruiters join the Food Industry Careers.co.uk group on LinkedIn at: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1845452

Facebook

Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/) is a worldwide social networking site launched in 2004. Facebook attracts over 250,000,000 users per month and has shown unprecedented growth.

As well as being a tool for keeping in touch with your friends, Facebook is also a great way of contecting with food industry recruiters.

- Many food industry recruiters create groups which showcase the latest jobs in the food industry, keep up to date with the latest openings by becoming a fan of as many food industry groups you can. Food Industry Careers.co.uk has a facebook page, become a fan of ours by following this link: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Food-Industry-Careerscouk/85427730355

- As with linkedin, your profile can act as an online CV so why not put your work experience/aspirations on there, you never know who is looking.

- Search for food industry groups.  There are loads on there covering careers from Food Sales and Food Marketing through to New Product Development and Food Science.

- Search Facebook to see if you can find food companies or food industry recruitment agencies and stick in a friends request.

- If you are going to use Facebook for business think about the pictures you have on their, maybe last summer’s Magaluf holiday photos should be kept for friends eyes only!

Twitter

As you may have heard in the news the latest social networking site that has rise4n to prominence in 2009 is micro-blogging site Twitter (http://twitter.com/) which currently attracts over 55,000,000 hits a month. Like updating your facebook status, Twitter enables users to write messages of up to 140 characters to all the contacts that are currently following you.  You can also search for other food industry professionals and follow their updates.

Again, food recruitment companies have embraced Twitter and regularly update their Twitter feeds with the latest food jobs which they are working on. You should also Tweet when you are on the look out for a new food job, or else how would anyone know you are available?

- Twitter has also cottoned on to its value as a job search tool and has launched (http://www.twitterjobsearch.com/).

- Food Industry Careers.co.uk also has a Twitter page, follow us for the latest food jobs: http://twitter.com/FoodCareers

YouTube

Most recently food industry candidates have taken their use of social media to the next step by creating online videos of themselves in the form of a video CV.  These videos are often uploaded to YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/) the worldwide Video sharing community that will ensure they are highly visible on the internet.

Although this is a relatively new form of jobseekers showcasing there skills it has become apparent that the most popular Video CV’s follow the following rules:

- A length of 45-60 seconds is ideal

- Make sure that you use clear, confident dictation

- Make sure that the lighting level is suitable

- Position yourself in the middle of the screen

- Look directly into the camera

- Give prospective employers a view of who the video CV is about by standing close to the camera.

This is still a new way of promoting yourself online and may give you the edge over fellow food industry job seekers.

Increasingly Food Manufacturers and Food Recruitment companies are using Youtube channels to promote themselves so keep your eyes peeled for Food Industry Careers.co.uk in the near future to give yourself the best possible chance of finding your next food industry job.

- Follow Food Industry Careers on Twitter: http://twitter.com/FoodCareers

- Join the Food Industry Careers Linkedin group: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1845452

- Become a fan of Food Industry Careers on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Food-Industry-Careerscouk/85427730355

This year over 3,700 jobseekers applied for a graduate career with Mars, compared to 1,800 in 2008, with just 24 job opportunities available across six different divisions in the business.

Mars recently quoted in HR magazine that the sucessful graduates would work in sales, marketing, new product development, finance or engineering, with each role offering a structured training and skills improvement program.

HR vice-president of Mars, Aileen Richards came through the same graduate training scheme and told the news provider: “Since joining as a graduate, I have had careers in three completely different areas of Mars – human resources, purchasing and supply chain- you can’t ask for better personal development than that.”

Moving forward, the Graduate Recruitment Bureau’s Chris Cater was quoted recently as stating that the UK currently does not have enough food science engineers currently and as a result employers may be willing to increase financial packages to secure the most talented food graduates in the market place.