​The results of a recent annual survey show that, despite 2020 being dominated by Covid and fears of a recession, employers are continuing to attract, select and hire graduates, highlighting the importance of the next generation of talent to the workplace. The student recruitment survey carried out by the Institute of Student Employers (ISE), an employer association for student and early years recruiters, showed only a 12% decline in graduate recruitment in 2020. The survey revealed two main findings: 1. Student recruitment is down, but it has certainly not collapsed. 2. Recruiting in a pandemic is difficult, but employers have risen to the challenge. Candidate attraction For many employers, the process of attracting graduates to work for them in 2020 would have started pre-pandemic, so they are now faced with the challenge of recruiting for 2021 with the majority of this engagement taking place either online or in a socially-distanced manner. The pandemic has put a stop to some of the most effective methods of attracting graduates – careers fairs, open days, visits to universities and handing out printed materials. The most proactive employers have, however, adapted their methods and focused on improving the graduate experience on their company website, utilised external job boards and invested in social media marketing. Many universities have taken their careers activities online. The MorePeople team have been involved in several university virtual careers sessions this autumn, receiving great feedback about the more interactive question and answer format. Morten Andresen, from our Commercial team, has been on the panel of some of these. He explains further: “The main message I get from graduates is that they are all looking for their own way to stand out from the sea of people around them. With competition for roles getting fiercer, this is more important now than ever. We’ve had a brilliant response to the student presentations we have made this year and look forward to handing out more advice in the coming months.” Whilst virtual careers fairs have also been hosted by some universities, employers have noticed less benefits than traditional face-to-face careers fairs, mainly the lack of opportunity for catching any passing trade. Graduate salaries Despite the pandemic, 97% of graduate positions were filled this year. The typical graduate salary was £29,667 with the average graduate salary in the Retail and FMCG sector not far below this at £28,800. The majority (90%) of employers in this sector said that they ‘almost always’ found the quality of graduate hires that they needed, which was higher than most other sectors. Andrew Fitzmaurice, Managing Director of MorePeople, feels positive about these findings: “For a long time it feels like our clients have complained of a dearth of talent, so it’s no surprise that there’s still demand for good people to come into the industry at graduate level. The pragmatism and resilience of our sector in 2020 is great to see – yet another reason why it’s a fantastic industry to be a part of.” Future skills The survey asked for predictions of the skills that will be the most important for graduates over the next five years. The top 5 were: 1. Resilience 2. Emotional intelligence 3. The ability to work effectively in a remote environment 4. IT/digital skills 5. Data handling/analysis skills Conclusions Compared to last year’s survey, around 10% more employers said they are worried about the prospect and impact of an economic recession. The ISE remains optimistic, however, that bringing large numbers of young people into the labour market each year will continue to be a priority. The annual survey continues to demonstrate that employers recognise the benefits that this injection of new talent brings. To find out more visit: https://ise.org.uk/

​MorePeople has been in business for 20 years! As part of our celebrations for hitting this milestone, we’re asking some of our valued clients and candidates from over the years to look back at some of their highlights and challenges and make predictions for the next 20. We spoke to Peter Durose, Managing Director of Coregeo, a specialist in taking fresh produce brands to market. 1. What do you see as your biggest accomplishment of the last 20 years? I have been very fortunate to work in some amazing businesses with fantastic teams, so choosing a biggest accomplishment is quite hard for all sorts of different reasons, but would have to say the set up of the Tesco Stores business in Malaysia which is now the leading No.1 retailer in the country and a great legacy business. 2. What has been your most memorable career moment of the last 20 years? Starting my own Produce business with my business partner in 2008 with a clear vision of what we were going to do and how we would work together to build a new business. Running your own business, I think, is one of the most amazing feelings you can have for both the good and difficult times which all companies get at some point. But having worked in some brilliant large corporate giants to go off and set up your own business is a fabulous memory and experience. 3. What’s the biggest challenge you have faced in the last 20 years? My initial thought was of difficult market conditions like 19p per kilo bananas, but I probably go back to Malaysia when I first arrived and was given the layout for a hypermarket in Thailand and asked in my first week what we needed to change for the Malaysian market! It was daunting, but great fun, as was the recruitment of a brilliant local team to work with me in developing the design, layout and ranging for our first store. The day it opened was an astonishing experience with incredible sales, such as the special offer on DVD players which sold 2000 units in the first two hours!! A huge challenge but great fun with a lovely set of people. 4. If you could go back to the year 2000, what one piece of advice would you give yourself? Our first child was born in the year 2000, which was a great start to a new millennium that has been a good one for me and my family. Twenty years on, and with our two daughters already at University, I would tell myself not to sweat the small stuff and make as much time for your family as you can! 5. What do you predict will be the big trends in the food/fresh produce industry in 20 years’ time? - The switch to plant-based foods is still only at the beginning and will become much, much bigger and successful, driven not just by younger age groups - Online has had an incredible surge due to Covid and I think this will make a real change to shopping behaviour that will be for the long term and could result in a massive shift in the proportion of Food and Fresh Produce purchased online - Brands will lead the way online by establishing a direct dialogue and relationship with their customers 6. What do the next 20 years look like for your business? Coregeo is now twenty years on and has come a long way but I believe the growth rates we are achieving now are sustainable. This is because we have great brands that are not near maturity and can continue to grow in the market, and I hope that the really exciting thing will be the discovery of new innovative varieties that will become the brands of the future. 7. What is the best piece of advice you could give to a 20-year-old candidate just starting their career in the industry? Remember the most important people for your business are your growers and your customers. The other key thing is that it is not just what you do that is important but the way you deliver it. 8. How long have you been a client/candidate of MorePeople? Too long!! By which I mean years dates me badly!! 9. Where/how did you meet MorePeople? I met Guy first when he was Commercial Director of Zwetsloots and I had joined Tesco in 1996. I'm pretty sure we spoke very soon after he first set up MorePeople. 10. In 20 words or less, how would you describe MorePeople? Passionate, professional and great people. Read more Q&A's:- Christine Tacon- Steve Maxwell- Steve Murrells- Nigel Trood- Tony Reynolds- Guy Moreton

​Do you feel anxious about speaking in front of a group of people? Ever been overcome with symptoms like sweaty palms, a dry mouth, shaky hands or redness on your neck before, or during, a presentation? Sounds like you’re one of the 4 in 10 of us who suffer from Glossophobia!At the second virtual ‘Women in Food & Farming’ networking event, Sharon Kennett, a branding, marketing and communications professional, delivered a masterclass in how to speak publicly with confidence, beginning with a powerful story about how she spent 15 years being terrified of public speaking before making a speech at her sister’s wedding that literally changed her life. Since this occasion, she has invested a lot of time in mastering the art and, in essence, it all comes down to preparation. Sharon splits this preparation into three elements: Content, Delivery and Mindset. CONTENTAsk yourself, who is in your audience? Why do they want to listen to you? What do you want them to think, feel and do? Being clear on these points will help you to craft a good speech. Think about creative ways to engage the audience, such as storytelling techniques and relatable examples. You don’t have to script your speech, but many people find it helpful to do so. DELIVERYEveryone has their own individual style on stage, whether it’s standing completely still, almost miming with their hands or walking up and down. Find a way to make your quirks work for you – e.g. if you want to walk around, try to make sure you’re walking with purpose! Think about your body language, look just above somebody’s eyes if direct eye contact makes you more nervous and insert deliberate pauses into your script to slow yourself down. And, more importantly, practise! MINDSETYou have the power to talk yourself into feeling positive or negative about anything, so use it! Remind yourself that you’ve been asked to speak so you already have credibility on the subject. This is your chance to own the stage and nobody is going to heckle! If you miss a bit out or get the order slightly wrong, will anybody notice? Unlikely. And finally, always remember that nobody in the audience wants you to fail. As with most things, the more you do the better you will get, so the concluding advice from Sharon was to take any opportunities you are offered to speak in front of a group or even volunteer yourself at work. There are also hundreds of Toastmasters clubs across the UK, which are designed to give you access to regular opportunities to practise and gain tips for improving. The virtual events are being kindly hosted on the Beanstalk.Global platform and the full recording will be available to watch shortly. Click here to find out more about the ‘Women in Food & Farming’ network and how you can get involved in future events.

​Lawrence Rayner, a Senior Recruitment Consultant in the MorePeople Operations team, recently became the mental wellbeing ambassador for his rugby club. Lawrence made the transition from professional rugby to semi-pro back in 2017 and struggled with unexpected anxiety around the move and working out what he wanted to do with his life. His new club, Cambridge Rugby Club, offered mental health first aid training to all players and Lawrence embraced the opportunity. Since completing the course, he has realised the potential benefits for his own mental health, his team mates and, equally, his working life. Here, Lawrence explains why talking about mental health is just as important in the workplace as it is in sport. What motivated you to take part in the mental health training course?Having experienced my own issues when stepping down from professional sport, I was keen to support others in similar situations. Competitive sport can be a great relief from stress, but equally it can create stress when you’re maybe not playing as well as you know you can or you’re not being picked for the team. Add this to other life stresses outside of the game and it’s easy to see how you can end up in a difficult place mentally. What were your main takeaways from the training?For me the three key learnings were being able to spot the tell-tale signs that somebody is struggling, knowing how to handle the situation when you witness it and then, most importantly, how to open up a conversation about it. It sounds simple, but there were some real lightbulb moments for me. What does it mean for your rugby club to have you as a mental wellbeing ambassador?Breaking the stigma of men talking about mental health is becoming much more of a priority in society, and we’re lucky that the club is switched on to the need to support players both on and off the pitch. I see my role as essentially keeping an eye on my teammates, being aware of any signs that they may be having a difficult time, whether because of the sport or otherwise, and encouraging them to talk to me about it. How do you see these skills also benefitting your working life?We wrote a blog post back in May 2019 which asked ‘Is enough being done to support mental health in the workplace?’, and this highlighted that as little as 14% of people were not comfortable discussing their mental health worries at work. With the Covid-19 pandemic forcing office workers to work from home for the majority of 2020, this is causing new mental health challenges for many and the figure could in fact now be even lower. Recruitment is all about people, so being separated from your team and not having face-to-face meetings is difficult. It’s typically a fast-paced environment, a rollercoaster of ups and downs, with individual targets and KPI’s that can make life feel very stressful when you’re on your own. We try to use technology to keep connected, but it’s not quite the same. Having the increased awareness and skills that the course has given me can only help. Has playing rugby helped you cope with life during the pandemic?Sport and exercise help support your mental health naturally anyway, especially team sports or exercising with others. Unfortunately the two lockdowns took away this pleasure and it was sometimes hard to find the motivation to exercise on my own. I love the routine of team training two nights a week with a match at the weekend, so am very much looking forward to getting this back asap. How has the rugby club tried to keep the team engaged during lockdowns?The club has been really proactive at keeping everyone together and engaged. A massive social aspect of rugby has been taken away, so trying to keep this going has been the focus. Getting together on Zoom or Microsoft Teams has allowed everyone to chat about how they are feeling with developments and share thoughts on how, when we are out of this lockdown situation, we can kick start the season/efforts where we left off. It’s a real collective effort to keep everyone close and socially engaged with everyone. The social side is a huge part of sport and it’s why we play.Photo courtesy of Chris Fell

​Video meetings have become firmly entrenched in daily life as government guidelines continue to ask people to work from home where possible. Typically we’re having at least two video calls a day, either with colleagues, line managers or clients. Even when people do start to return to the office, it’s likely that some face-to-face meetings will be replaced by Zoom or Teams calls as we can all recognise the travel time and cost saving benefits. So, how much effort are you making to the way you appear on camera? There’s more to it than just brushing your hair and putting on a shirt!Recent research carried out by signs.com has some interesting insights on video call backgrounds:Blank wall – over 40% of us deliberately choose to have a blank wall behind us to prevent any distractions for the viewer(s), but research reveals that this makes us appear less intelligent, trustworthy or professional than any other background!Plants – A/B testing of different backgrounds with the same models revealed that people with indoor plants in their background were perceived as the most intelligent, approachable and trustworthy. Bookshelf – Having a bookshelf in your background creates the most professional image, but you need to be aware of the types of books on display as people will look (and judge!)Candles – Whilst better than a blank wall in terms of making you appear trustworthy and approachable, having too many candles in the background doesn’t create the most professional image. Windows and natural light – The majority of respondents agreed that being close to a window to create some natural light on camera really improves your appearance on a video call. It also helps to increase perceptions of trust, intelligence and approachability. So, making a few small changes could make a huge difference to the impression you are making. Look at what’s behind you – can you move to be in front of a bookcase? Is there somewhere you could display a house plant or two? What can you do about lighting? Is there somewhere else in your house that is more aesthetically pleasing for you to take video calls?None of this takes much effort, but it can have a real impact on the people you’re talking to. Go ahead and stage it!

​MorePeople has been in business for 20 years! As part of our celebrations for hitting this milestone, we’re asking some of our valued clients and candidates from over the years to look back at some of their highlights and challenges and make predictions for the next 20. Christine Tacon has just completed 8 successful years as Groceries Code Adjudicator. She is also founder of the 'Women in Food & Farming' networking group, which now has over 500 members.1. What do you see as your biggest accomplishment of the last 20 years?Success in my role as Groceries Code Adjudicator. Although this was only the last 8 of the 20 years, it was my experience in all parts of the supply chain that informed how I went about the role.2. What has been your most memorable career moment of the last 20 years?Opening the letter in 2004 awarding me a CBE. I didn’t actually know what it was and my initial reaction was tinged with disappointment it wasn’t an OBE, but that changed when I looked it up.3. What’s the biggest challenge you have faced in the last 20 years?Getting NED roles! I decided to go portfolio when I left the Co-op at the end of 2011 and was very clear on the sorts of things I could do and how they fitted together. In the past I was used to either being headhunted or getting the jobs I went for. Rejection was a new experience, and I couldn’t predict which ones I might get and which I would not. In the end I decided it was a numbers game and just applied to lots of things and justified to myself afterwards how neatly they all fitted together. It is hard to be strategic putting together an NED portfolio but I do try, as there are real benefits to me and the businesses of the connections and learnings.4. If you could go back to the year 2000, what one piece of advice would you give yourself?To have left the Co-op role earlier! 11 years it too long in the same job, even if you are really enjoying it. 5. What do you predict will be the big trends in the food/fresh produce industry in 20 years’ time? Large fresh produce businesses getting larger, increasingly international and working ever closer with their customers, once they have understood Brexit implications. And there being a lot more niche businesses with innovative products and new routes to market.6. What do the next 20 years look like for you? Doing things I really enjoy and where I can make a difference. I expect I will be in the food industry for a while yet! And I want to spend more time on Women in Food and Farming, a network of about 500 so far: we have just started monthly virtual events which I hope to continue alongside the three times we have met per year for the last 10 years. MorePeople support me with the admin in doing this, for which I am most grateful.7. What is the best piece of advice you could give to a 20-year-old candidate just starting their career in the industry?If you want to get into the industry, with or without experience, MDS, which I chair, is a brilliant place to start. We look for leadership potential, irrespective of degree subject, and then give you 4 different roles in 4 different member businesses whilst training you. At the end of 2 years, you are not only very clear what you want to do but are highly marketable within the industry. 8. How long have you been a client/candidate of MorePeople?I have found a meeting with MorePeople in my diary in 2008. I don’t know if that was the first time I came across you, but suspect it was around then.9. Where/how did you meet MorePeople? I first met MorePeople when I ran the Co-op Farms when Peter Hunt contacted me about some training he had got a grant for. 10. In 20 words or less, how would you describe MorePeople?Professional and fun !!!!!! (Punctuation included, specially for Guy).The next Women in Food & Farming virtual event is on Tuesday 1st December at 5:30pm. [Find out more]Read more Q&A's:- Steve Maxwell- Steve Murrells- Nigel Trood- Tony Reynolds- Guy Moreton