Category: Blog

Common Interview Questions for Buyers

Posted on | by Aisling Rafferty

Buying is a highly competitive industry, meaning it’s crucial to ace the interview for the position you are going for. Excel’s Sarah Hurley takes the most common interview questions and how to tackle them.

Due to the size of the retail market in Ireland, there are limited Buying opportunities. Therefore, if you secure an interview, it is important that you build a strong case in order to land the job. Buyers hold a unique skill set so you will need to demonstrate this and relevant experience by giving your personal professional examples when answering their questions.

Tell me about your current area of buying responsibility?

To answer this question successfully, you will start off by giving the interviewer an overview of your department, what you buy and what that involves. Be prepared with your facts and figures and use this question as an opportunity to highlight any successes you and your team have had such as increased sales, increased sell-through rates or improved margins etc. You don’t have to talk actual sales figures but do give percentages if possible, ‘We traded up 5% on plan and reduced mark down by 8% year on year’.

What are your thoughts on the current range? Would do you anything differently?

The interviewer is looking for you to think commercially and critically, and to see that you’ve done your homework. Use your insights into the brand and their competitors to spot any gaps or missed opportunities within the range and explain your reasoning. Make informed suggestions by visiting stores beforehand and/or critiquing the range online and make reference to current trends, what competitors are doing, and what is happening in the wider market.

Who are our main competitors?

This question is to test your understanding of the retail market and where the business sits within this. Consider their customer, and what makes them shop with them over elsewhere. What does the business do better and worse than their competitors? Please keep criticism to a minimum and also be able to explain your thought process with actual examples. For any retail buying job, prepare by researching the market, who the big players are, any recent news (like an acquisition or merger), whose market share is increasing, whose is decreasing, etc. Ensure you discuss competitors operating within the same space and with the same customer base and aesthetic as the company you’re interviewing with. For example, if you are interviewing with Dunnes Stores, you will always talk about a business like Tesco as their direct competitor.

Tell me about some of your biggest negotiating successes?

A major part of any buying job is daily negotiation. Use real-life examples and demonstrate your ability to get the best commercial results for the business, while still maintaining a positive relationship with stakeholders inside and out of the business.

Other Common Questions for Buyer Interviews include:

Common Interview Questions for Buyers

 

IHF Conference- The Key Take Home Points

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Not even the looming threat of the Beast from the East could put a damper on the success of the Irish Hotel Federation’s annual conference last week. Held in the Slieve Russell Hotel, the conference included a fantastic line-up of speakers, interesting insights and informative discussions. General Manager of Excel Recruitment Shane Mclave talks through the main talking points from the event.

2017 success for the industry

There was plenty of positivity new stories from the event. According to IHF chief executive Tim Fenn, 2017 was another strong year for Irish hotels and guesthouses and the seventh year in a row that overseas visitor numbers have grown. The average national room occupancy rate was 73% during the year, a figure driven by a substantial increase in visitor numbers from the US and continental Europe, as well as from the domestic market. This was welcome news for hoteliers and helped to offset the drop in visitors from the UK, where numbers continue to fall. Fenn asserted that the outlook for the sector remains positive with hoteliers confident about the future growth of the tourism and hospitality industry.

Craic alone not enough for tourism

Niall Gibbons of Tourism Ireland also discussed the dramatic drop in British visitors and said “the craic” won’t be enough to recover plummeting visitor numbers. Mr Gibbions said Ireland must hone in on outdoor activities to entice visitors from Great Britain, which is the country’s biggest tourism market. Visitor numbers from Britain have fallen steadily since the Brexit referendum vote in June 2016 and dropped 6% last year to 4.7 million visits. As a result, tourism officials have focused more on opening up ‘emerging’ markets like India and China and winning more business from North America and mainland Europe. Tourism chiefs are hoping to look beyond traditional boozy holidays and hope to win more business in the activities market. Daragh Feighery who will be opening the much anticipated Center Parcs in Longford gave us a sneak peek at what is in store for what will be a huge jewel in the crown for the Midlands with over 1000 staff in employment once the doors are open to the public mid-2019

End to the Chef Crisis in sight?

One of the most exciting talking points from the conference came from TD Brendan Griffin, Minister for State and Tourism. The TD casually mentioned that changes to work regulations for work permits are on the cards for 2018, potentially easing the country’s chef shortage. The statement was met with huge support and enthusiasm from all, particularly hoteliers and business owners all too familiar with the struggle of recruiting and retaining chefs.

Nikki Murran, Excel Recruitment's Director of Grocery Retail Recruitment

Grocery Retail Salary Survey 2018- The Bullet Points

Posted on | by Aisling Rafferty

Excel Recruitment are delighted to present our 2018 Grocery Retail Salary Survey with full salary scales for the grocery sector. 2017 was most definitely an interesting year for retail and recruitment. In this blog, Head of Grocery Nikki Murran discusses the main findings and their impact on the industry.

 

Candidate’s Market and Counter Offers

The economy is growing, wages are rising and the unemployment rate is currently sitting at 6.1%. This is obviously great news but in recruitment terms, it means we are definitely seeing a shift towards a candidate’s market. The competition for top talent is fierce and counter-offers are becoming more and more frequent, with employers working hard to keep talented staff.

Minimum Wage

The increase in minimum wage in January has had a significant impact on the entire grocery retail industry. We have witnessed incremental increases across the industry as the minimum wage hike has caused a knock-on effect across all levels of junior staff in the trade.

Young Talent

Another noticeable side-effect of the recent economic growth is the distinct pattern of young talent leaving retail in favour of other industries. These workers, mainly at trainee level, are often college-educated and eager to pursue a career in their field of study. Others are leaving as they are turned off pursuing a retail career by the idea of long-hours and unsociable shifts or simply don’t see enough progression in their current role.

Fresh Food

In the industry in the area of fresh foods, particularly for Deli Managers, Deli Supervisors, Fresh Food Managers, Bakers and Butchers. It’s an interesting time for fresh foods, with a renewed excitement and passion for the category visible across the industry. Savvy retailers are focused on energising, innovating and expanding their offering and we are seeing a substantial investment in fresh food talent as a result.

To view the Salary Survey and its findings in full, click here.

 

 

Salary Series 2018- Chef Salaries

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Excel Recruitment are delighted to release our 2018 Salary Survey. Our Salary Survey covers all aspects of the Hospitality Industry including Hotel, Chef and Industrial and corporate Catering salaries. In a series of blog posts, Excel’s expert team give their take on the year ahead and the factors affecting salaries in each industry. In To view our Hotel and Catering Salary Survey in full click here. To get General Manager Shane’ McLave’s take on hotel salaries and the effects of Brexit, click here.

The Irish hospitality sector’s chef crisis continued to dominate industry news and discussion last year, a nowhere near new phenomenon that looks to set to continue right through 2018. Businesses of all levels, shapes and sizes are continuing to struggle to attract, recruit and retain a quality of chefs at all levels. While there is much back on forth on about the issue and many solutions suggested, such as re-instating Cert qualifications or promoting apprenticeships, it needs to be stressed that much of the issue is centred around the industry standard pay rates for chefs.

The Average

Chef pay rates are again going up but they are still well short of the average industrial wage which is €36,000 per annum. In most establishments, chefs have to manoeuvre themselves into a management position in order to achieve that salary. The increase in minimum wage which came into effect in January will further highlight the issue as hourly rates above this will be expected to increase in line with the 30c increase to the minimum wage.

The Solution?

There are exceptions, as we are seeing savvy operators within the Hotel and Restaurant sector offering very attractive packages to attract and keep talented chefs. They can see by increasing the salaries they are seeing the benefits of a higher calibre of staff, greater retention and a lower turnover in talent. Retaining staff will be a major objective of businesses in 2018 as recruitment looks set to remain a highly competitive, candidate’s market. We’re already seeing business work hard at this through a mixture of reward and progression.

 

Salary Series 2018- Hotel Salaries

Posted on | by admin

 

Excel Recruitment are delighted to release our 2018 Salary Survey. Our Salary Survey covers all aspects of the Hospitality Industry including Hotel, Chef and Industrial and Corporate Catering salaries. In a series of blog posts, Excel’s expert team give their take on the year ahead and the factors affecting salaries in each industry.First up, General Manager of Excel Shane Mclave discusses hotel salaries and the effects of Brexit. To view our Hotel and Catering Salary Survey in full click here. To get consultant Laurence Roger’s take on the much-discussed issue of Chefs salaries, click here.

It’s been an interesting year for the hospitality sector in general, and the hotel industry in particular. Brexit and all its consequences, both real and potential, were on everybody’s mind. Its first effects were definitely felt with a 54% decrease in the national average of UK visitors in the last year, according to Failte Ireland. Despite this, it was still a great year for the industry with 69% of hotels and 63% of national attractions welcomed more visitors than in 2016

The minimum wage

We can see that from a salary perspective, there is not a huge difference on 2016 except for salaries at the lower end of the scale, up to €30,000. The general consensus within the industry is that the biggest challenge in 2018 will be to manage the increase in the minimum wage. The jump to €9.55 at the beginning of January has had a knock-on effect. In previous years, employers could allow for an extra 10c or 15c above the minimum wage to create more attractive packages. However this year, with a jump of .30c, this is not possible. We are seeing employers make the decision to raise the hourly pay rate to €10 per hour for entry-level positions. This is pushing up all the lower pay scales to a higher level making it very difficult for businesses in a candidate driven market.

Retention and reward

The next big obstacle for hospitality is to retain the staff that they already have in place through progression and reward. We can see that there are more and more internal promotions, allowing Owners and Managers to keep their core staff in key positions. While this may be a way of retaining staff without any immediate financial cost for the business, if not managed properly, it could lead to inexperienced staff holding senior positions, for which they are not yet ready. They also run the risk of staff getting frustrated at increased workloads and responsibility without feeling a financial benefit. Reward is a different approach that some key players within the hospitality industry are taking and it seems to be working quite well, rewarding staff financially for achieving milestones within the company, usually loyalty and length of service.

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Barry Whelan, CEO Excel Recruitment

8 WAYS TO GET A GREAT JOB IN 2018!

Posted on | by Aisling Rafferty

New Year, New Career? If you’ve decided 2018 is the year you find your dream job, CEO of Excel Recruitment Barry Whelan shares his top tips on starting your search…

2017 was a great year for jobseekers and with unemployment currently standing at 6.1%, 2018 is shaping up to be even better with a strong job market, salaries on the increase and companies looking to employ. We are already out the door here in Excel Recruitment and if landing a great new job tops your wish list this year, there’s a good chance your wish will come true. Job hunting is always tough, but with a little effort you can really increase your chances of landing a great job,

Upgrade your LinkedIn Profile.

LinkedIn is simply your CV on social media. Potential employers are going to look you up on this platform. Build your profile professionally. Use Keywords that recruiters will search for and make sure your job title is not too bespoke or obscure and for the love of god, DON’T use a Selfie as your profile picture. Selfies are generally unflattering and unprofessional. All retailers know we buy with our eyes when it comes to product, well it’s the same with people. Get a professional headshot done.

Engage with a great recruiter.

Ask your friends and colleagues who they used, who they would recommend and get on that recruiter’s radar (Or save yourself some time and just click here to find the best recruiters in the biz.) Pop them a speculative CV and ask for a quick chat. Whilst they may not have your dream job now, they may in the future.

Upgrade your profile

Promote yourself as a knowledge leader in your industry. Join Trade associations, Volunteer to speak on Panels, Blog something of interest, and create a record of expertise for yourself.

Streamline your CV

Your CV a tool you use to get an interview. Make it a sledgehammer! Streamline your CV to really highlight your best achievements and the career success you have enjoyed, don’t overkill with lengthy cover notes or crazy detail. It is just the tool to raise interest in someone meeting you. The detail will come in the interview.

Erase your soft skills…and irrelevant experience

To streamline your CV just delete your soft skills and early career. If you are 10 years or more into your career, work in the corner shop or winning the all-Ireland ping pong championship when you were 12 is just taking up valuable space. Delete hobbies unless they are relevant to your job. Nobody cares!

Highlight your tech ability

We live in the world of technology, regardless of our job or industry. Make sure both on your CV and on LinkedIn you highlight every tech system, package and product you have ever had the pleasure of using. Microsoft this and that all the way to SAP, name check them all

Don’t follow the money

Nobody really likes greed, no matter how healthy the economy might be. Besides, a great job, short commute, route to progression and good Work/Life balance can go a long way to happiness in a job that money alone can’t offer. Don’t chase the Euro or at least, don’t come across as obsessed by money.

Know your Value

Research the market value of the position you are going for and pitch yourself accordingly, don’t frighten a new employer off by pitching yourself too high or indeed, undervalue yourself.

Good luck in your job hunt and be sure to check out our current live jobs to kick-start your search!

Barry Whelan Excel Recruitment

The Counter Offer Conundrum

Posted on | by Aisling Rafferty

Here at Excel Recruitment, we’re seeing counter offers becoming more and more common as companies have to try harder to attract and retain top talent. CEO Barry Whelan tells us why the counter-offer can often create more problems than it can solve….

I first wrote about counter offers for Shelflife magazine in 2012, but the current economic climate means it is well and truly a candidate’s market and counter-offers are becoming increasingly common. It takes a lot of time and money for a company to find and replace valuable staff and employers are becoming even more reluctant to let quality employees go. While most think of ‘counter-offers’ as matching or improving on an offered package, savvy employers will do their homework on the why behind an employee making a move and will try to ‘counter’ this reason for leaving.

As recruiters, we make it our mission to understand why a person wants a change. It takes time and effort for a person to do up their CV, research the market and come into meet us and in my experience it’s rarely just the number on their payslip that’s motivating them. Getting to the root of their reason for leaving is vital information when searching for a new job for them.

So, is accepting a counter-offer ever a good idea? My team and I have found that over the years, the answer is overwhelmingly No. Here are a few reasons why you should think twice before accepting a counter-offer from the employer you were determined to leave in the first place.

1.You had a good reason to leave, that probably hasn’t changed

Like I said earlier, it takes a lot of effort to start looking for jobs and you likely had a very good reason for wanting to leave. Unless it was solely pay, it’s highly unlikely this reason has changed. There’s a high probability that you’ll be looking for a new role again in no time at all, and this time you may not be in as good a position to find a new job.

 

2.They’ll question your loyalty

By telling your employer you’ve either been offered or accepted another position, you’re essentially saying you’ve been unhappy. So even if your company does counter, how can they trust that you won’t eventually stray again?

The bond of trust has been broken, you will leave the company at some stage, but perhaps now you have shown your cards it will be on their terms, not yours. When you are no longer perceived as part of the long-term future, you may find yourself passed up for promotion

3.You’ll burn bridges

Another company has invested their time, money and faith in you through the selection process and decided that you’re the right person for their role so losing you to a counter-offer isn’t something they will take lightly. By accepting a counter offer you will have burnt a bridge with the company looking to employ you. Some companies view this very dimly and if you find your circumstances changing they will not entertain your application again

4.You could hurt your future progression

There’s a chance your employer has given you a counter offer made up of a promotion or the pay rise that was coming your way anyway. By accepting their offer, you’re sending the message that your now satisfied with x amount and could be inadvertently moving any chance of progressing through the business even further down the line.

 

 

Tackling the Chef Crisis: Eimhear O’Dalaigh

Posted on | by Aisling Rafferty

In Part 2 of our Tackling the Chef Crisis series, consultant Eimhear O’Dalaigh discusses how she has seen the problem progress throughout her career as both a Chef and in recruitment…

The Chef crisis is not new, but have you seen the problem change and/or worsen in recent years?

Throughout my career as a Chef the shortage of chefs was always omnipresent but yes, the problem is definitely getting worse. We see it on a day-to-day basis in recruitment, there are definitely fewer chefs answering ads, responding to emails or willing to continue pursuing a career in the industry.

What, in your opinion, is the main cause of the chef shortage?

The job itself is quite hard and requires a lot of dedication and drive to remain in the industry long-term. The fall-out rate is very high in the industry. When I trained there were 30 in my class and out of this, only one is still working as a chef. Personally, I feel the hours are the predominant problem.

Is the problem industry-wide or worse depending on location, restaurant vs hotel or star rating?

I feel the problem is affecting restaurants, hotels and catering facilities of all levels across the board but it does seem that both the lower and higher end [Michelin and Five Star] of the spectrum seem to be having an easier time of it in terms of attracting and retaining quality Chefs.

What in your opinion is the solution(s) to the problem?

From the government’s side of things, I think a comprehensive training programme needs to be reinstated [like Cert] with proper work placements and from the industry side, the weekly hours need to be capped at 45. Often businesses are just shooting themselves in the foot by overworking their staff so they leave the industry and then don’t learn from their mistakes.All sides need to sit down and look at the problem and the potential solutions. They should get ideas from chefs, restaurants, educators, hoteliers, students and the people who have left the industry. The Government should also look at a program, similar to the one they use for nurses as there is a large pool of highly trained and experienced chefs in the states and the middle east that could be enticed over here if a visa programme were available
Do you think that there is a lack of incentives to work in the industry? What can be done to attract people to careers in the industry?

That is a difficult one to answer. Comprehensive training programs, treating it as a profession and not as a trade, trying to be a little better with work/life balance.

Meet the Newest Members of our Expert Team

Posted on | by Aisling Rafferty

It’s been a busy couple of months for Excel Recruitment as we’ve continued working closely with great clients and candidates in both retail and hospitality. We’ve remained the ‘Number 1 Retail Recruitment Company’ working with some of the biggest names in retail, both Irish and International brands. Our hospitality wing has had a busy summer not only filling permanent roles with top hospitality groups nationwide but also providing a wide range of staff for some of the most high-profile events in the Irish hospitality calendar.

Due to our continued success, our team has grown over the past few months and we’ve added a number of talented recruiters to our ranks. Each brings a wealth of industry experience and knowledge and have fit right in with Excel’s expert team. To celebrate, we thought we would take a moment to introduce them and say a big welcome to the team!

Adrian Purcell

AdrianProfilePicFinal

Adrian joined the Excel Temporary Hospitality earlier this year, adding his extensive experience and comprehensive industry-wide knowledge to our expert team. Adrian is passionate about people, and has the natural ability to engage with people and develops solid and long standing relationships with clients and candidates alike.

Adrian has a large database of loyal temporary staff, many of whom he has worked with for years, making him ideally placed to delivering exceptional staffing solutions. Equally, his attentiveness and diligence when dealing with his clients’ make him one of the most successful recruitment consultants in the business.

Madeline Hanniffy

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Madeline looks after some of the top entertainment venues and hotels in Ireland. Madeline has more than 15 years working in the hospitality industry. Beginning her career in New York, Madeline has gained a huge amount of experience in many aspects of the sector.

Madeline returned to Ireland in 2006 and since then she has been supplying hospitality staff to the top venues and hotels around the country, running multiple entertainment venues with large volume staff at very high profile entertainment events. Madeline understands her clients and stakes her reputation on offering outstanding customer service and as a result has built up great relationships with both clients and contractors.

Luca Zelli

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Luca joins our Grocery team, one of our busiest and most successful desks. Luca has extensive retail experience, in both grocery and non-food, working in some of the biggest names in retail including Smyths Toys and Lidl. Under the guidance of our Head of Grocery Nikki Murran, Luca’s passion for the industry, dedication to our client’s and drive to achieve results have made him a great addition to the team.

Follow us on our LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook to keep up with all our latest news!

Aislinn Lea, Head of Fashion & Non-Food, Excel Recruitment

Excel’s Aislinn Lea- Retail is a career, not just a job

Posted on | by Aisling Rafferty

As the CAO and college places hit headlines again, head of Fashion & Non- Food Recruitment Aislinn Lea reflects on how retail can be overlooked as a career choice and why this is a mistake…

This past week has been a stressful time for many young people since learning their Leaving Cert results last Wednesday, followed by the anxious wait to see if they received a college place in Monday’s CAO offers. These 17/18/19-year-old will have many huge decisions to make in the next few days about the path they choose. Often in all the talk of opportunities in STEM subjects and the rise and fall of points, many people, regardless of age, overlook retail as an exciting and rewarding career path.

When I began my career in retail, I had no idea it would provide me with the opportunities and experiences that it has, eventually leading me to recruitment, working every day with fantastic clients and candidates, meeting new people and filling new and different roles every week. I couldn’t recommend retail more highly as an industry or a career path.

Progressive Careers

Retail Management is one of the most progressive careers in the market, an industry where the opportunities and careers available are ever-changing and as a result exciting, challenging and rewarding. The doors that are open to an enthusiastic candidate pursuing a career in retail are endless and include Management, Head Office, Buying, HR, Marketing, E-Tailing, Visual Management, the list goes on.

Not only that, but the vastness, variety and pace of the industry can provide anybody willing to work hard and learn with countless opportunities to meet new people, try new things, and see new places. Retail is an extremely fast-paced industry and is constantly innovating and evolving which provides anybody who wants to embrace new ideas and technologies, the opportunity to really make their mark and add real value to their employer, and their CV.

Those who see retail as a career and not just a job can open themselves up to a whole world of learning. There are many engaging, challenging and ever developing facets of the industry, both technically and commercially, so not only are there valuable life-skills to be gained there is also a huge depth of knowledge to be learned and countless career paths to potentially follow.

Inclusive Industry

Retail as an industry has become more savvy in terms of developing talent and employers are willing to invest more and more into their people through training, learning and development. There is a wealth of fantastic degrees, courses and Graduate Programmes available in retail, including any of the specialisms mentioned above.

Retail is a huge industry and is Ireland’s largest private-sector employer, employing over 282,000 workers across the country.An industry of this scale offers a wide range of opportunities and possibilities for all types of individuals and personalities from those with a natural gift for sales and customer engagement to others with a keen interest in data, tech, marketing or visuals