Expion is an award-winning Recruitment Company specialising in recruiting top talent for the Food & FMCG, Pharmaceutical & Medical Devices, Engineered Products and Automotive, Distribution & Logistics Sectors.
Experts in our markets
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COMBINED YEARS OF RECRUITMENT EXPERIENCE - EXPert opinION
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PLACEMENTS SINCE 2010 AND COUNTING
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RETAINED SEARCH HEADHUNT PLACEMENTS SINCE 2010
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INTERIM PLACEMENTS IN THE LAST 2 YEARS
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Sam was incredibly helpful throughout the whole recruitment process. He was approachable, attentive and offered brilliant communication. All questions I had were answered with urgency and a great...
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Zoe is one of the very few recruiters I've dealt with that actually communicates on a regular basis and responds to every phone call, even if there's no update! Even though Zoe was off work, she u...
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As an Interim Contractor in Food and FMCG, I have worked on several contracts with clients managed through Caroline and I can honestly say that her attitude and enthusiasm are second-to-none in the...
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I have known Andrew for a few years now and have worked together with him on multiple occasions. Andrew is honest and true to his word. He gets under the skin of role requirements and understands t...
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In my role as Sales Director at Roberts Bakery, I worked together with Andrew at Expion, to recruit new FMCG sales team members into the sales team. I recommend Andrew, he would seek to understand ...
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I have worked with Richard for many years as a client, he is a very experienced professional with a strong knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry. Richard provides an excellent service with regul...
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Love from our clients and candidates across the United Kingdom
We work with organisations from start-ups to global giants. We have a loyal community of talent. Making sure we operate to ensure clients and candidates have the best experience with us is at the heart of what we do.
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Candidate UK Report on Jobs - April 2021 Update
The UK Report on Jobs was released today, produced by the REC and KPMG.For jobseekers, it makes for encouraging reading - permanent and temporary job vacancies rose sharply in March and vacancies expanded at the quickest rate since August 2018.For employers, increased market confidnce should start to unlock those who have been reluctant to consider a move, and salaries rising should play a factor in this. But employers also report a skills gap - construction, IT and retail all have incompatible supply and demand.What's your experience? Have you seen these trends play out, or noticed something different?UK Report on Jobs
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Candidate Can you 'Beat the 'Bot?'
Can you Beat the ‘Bot?We’re hearing more and more of our candidates tell us they struggle with applications made direct to organisations. Despite ‘having everything they were looking for’, the candidate receives a message they’re not progressing through the process.It’s a lose-lose all round.And the chances are the CV just hasn’t got through the computer screening.We've put together some hints and tips on how to optimise your CV for a role you suspect may pass through a ‘bot.Our first tip. Keep it simple.Remove any fancy formatting and symbols, logos etc. The software just can’t cope with it. Write a Word document that’s text focused and clear. Some ATS systems can’t process pdf files, and nor do they like graphs, charts and tables. Plain text files work really well for ATS software, but they do limit your formatting options.If you get through to interview, send through your formatted CV prior to interview which may be appropriate if you’re in a creative role such as a design or marketing role.Our second tip. Make your contact details visible. One thing we see many candidates do is to include name, address and contact details in the header or footer of the CV. For some people, it's an obvious place to tuck them away neatly but...Some ATS systems can’t process data in the header or footer so make sure you pop your contact details in the main body of your CV. It’s suggested that up to 25% of candidates have contact details buried in the header or footer of their CV. Our third tip. Keywords. Oh don’t we love them?Not to be confused with buzzwords such as ‘proactive’ or ‘self-starter’, keywords highlight the soft and hard skills you have.Collect the keywords for the role you are applying for. Pick out the key terms and start to populate them into your CV. Now, there’s an optimal repetition of keywords and each algorithm will perform slightly differently. Some ATS systems will optimise the prevalence of the number of times a term appears, whereas others assign an estimated amount of experience for a particular skill based on its placement in the CV.In an ideal world, you optimise for both, but it’s a balancing act and after the ‘bot has done their bit, your CV will be read by a human so it still needs to read well.Our fourth tip. It’s a no to charts, graphs, images.‘The computer says NO’.You might be thinking about a certain David Walliams with that phrase, but the ‘bot will boot you away. As amazing as CVs look with fantastic formatting, it won’t get you through the door.Recruiters also prefer straightforward CVs. Part of our job is to gain the insight into our candidates and we add this into how we present you to our clients.And our clients say, 100% of the time, they just want the best person for the job.Our fifth tip. Simplify.Keep your bullet points simple. I think you’re getting the message by now. A solid circle, line or square works well, sadly emojis do not.Same with your design. Text where the ATS isn’t expecting it causes upset, as does irregular ordering of your experience. Always, always, most recent role first, and go back from there. Absolutely fine to ‘squeeze’ your earlier career (remember the 2 page rule) and back to keywords. You can overdo them which has the same effect – the computer says ‘no’.Good luck with your CV if you’re entering a process which involves a ‘bot. And take heart, these systems do work for many businesses and many, many candidates have successfully moved into roles when they’ve applied this way.There is tech available to help you…check out sites such as jobscan or zipjob that can be helpful.Remember, at the end of the day, humans make hiring decisions not computers. Need more advice on hiring, job searching or CV writing? Get in touch with us, we're happy to help.
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Candidate Your CV - How to Create Impact
Your CV – HOW TO CREATE IMPACT Your CV is a sales document. Its purpose is to spark enough interest in you that the reader calls you for an interview. Your CV needs to stand out – you’re competing with other applicants and the pressures the reader has on his/her time. If you’re lucky, a 15 second scan is the most your CV will command (if it’s not read by computer…), and the majority of these precious seconds will be spent on the first page. Start with adding your contact details: list your mobile number, email address, LinkedIn profile and your home location. Consider layout – make it smart and easy to read. We advise a line under your name including the information above. Saves space and looks professional. Generate a Personal Statement/Career Profile. This takes thought. Think about who you are, what you offer and what you are looking for. Don’t fall into the trap of being very ‘high level’ with lots of descriptive words but no substance. Tailor your CV to the role you are applying for. Don’t think the reader will be searching for hints as to why you applied. Qualifications – where to put them? Our rule of thumb – if your qualifications are directly relevant to the role or field you are in, make sure they are visible. You can also include them in your personal statement/profile e.g. CIPS qualified Procurement Manager with 15+ years experience in the FMCG industry…. A relevant degree or advanced qualifications can also be included e.g. Degree qualified Senior Technical Manager with in excess of 10 years’ experience working with the UK retailers including M&S, Tesco and Asda. Include other relevant qualifications if they add value and list courses attended/other qualifications towards the end of the CV. Don’t list every piece of training you’ve ever attended, it’s not necessary. And if you’re not qualified in your field, state what you DO HAVE…e.g. 8 years’ experience turning underperforming brands into market leaders within 18 months. Responsible for successful new product launches gaining 15% market share in 12 weeks. Experience. Important part of a CV. And it’s EASY to waffle. Please don’t. We strongly advocate a brief description of the business you work for/worked for – what they do/did, key customers and products. Let your CV tell the full story, and allow the recruiter to visualize the context of where you work. It’s likely the reader won’t have time to Google your employers and if your CV is read by a recruiter or HR Manager new to the sector, they won’t yet have detailed knowledge. And if you are the Hiring Manager and there’s little or no description, some candidates ‘hide’ these nuggets of information in the description of the role. Look for key words and phrases to gather the information you need to decide to meet. Brevity prevails when we get to experience. List 3-4 key responsibilities and 3-4 key achievements for each role. Avoid a ‘copy and paste’ of your job description, it’s not IMPACTFUL, we want to know HOW GOOD you were at your job. Previous/Early career – how to position this on a CV? Many people struggle with this, and simply add, and add and ADD to their CV. Candidates worry that leaving something out may jeopardise their chances of an interview. I get it. It’s part of what made you what you are today but listing responsibilities from your first job in 2000 (or before) isn’t going to add value. It will DETRACT. ‘Squeeze’ down the CV. Listing early roles with employer and job title will still show progression but without dragging the CV onto page 3. And here’s the elephant in the room. Age. Candidates who are later in their career worry about this a great deal. CVs no longer include DOB (and recruiters remove them anyway) but it’s not necessary to list dates for all of your early career roles. Simply pop ‘Early career includes’ and list. And move on. Having spent the week talking about what to include on your CV we thought we’d include some things to leave out. Date of birth – please. It’s not required and we remove it anyway if we represent you. But if your CV is on a job board with DOB, address and a few other details, identity theft is very easy for those who know how. So please protect yourself. Marital status, number of children, where you were born (yes really) aren’t things an employer needs to know. Reasons for leaving. Yes, we see them and they’re never good. Don’t apologise if you were made redundant. It’s life. Explain briefly at interview and focus on the reasons you want to join a business. Playing golf ‘badly’. This is our number 1 hate. We are yet to be convinced it’s funny. Think about your personal interests if you decide to include them. What do they say about YOU? Have you raised money for charity, are you a member of a club or society? Do you train regularly? Much, much better than stating you’re not good at something or making a joke. References. Bit of a GDPR nightmare and not required. Once you’re offered a job, send discretely with permission to your future employer. And please, please ask someone to proofread. We've just opened a CV of a chef. He’s in charge a full kitchen BRIDGE would you believe?A CV critique is just part of the service we offer to our candidates. If you need support with your CV and you work in the sectors we cover, then please get in touch for more information - we're just a phone call away.
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