Name: Ellen Lindvall
Age: 24
Job title: Production planning assistant
Company & location: Biscuiteers head office (The Ministry of Biscuits!), Wimbledon, London
Education: Business, Turku business school
Why did you decide to go for a career in food? I worked in the fashion industry for few years and after a while just realised that it wasn’t for me. After spending some time at a couple of different fashion companies, I decided to try something completely different. I never actually planned to work with biscuits, but here I am!
Explain your job to us in a sentence (or two): Planning the daily production flow and keeping the stock levels healthy.
What does a typical day look like for you? I spend a lot of my time at my desk working very closely with my manager (head of commercial planning). Luckily she is very lovely and has lots of patience! I always work one week ahead, which means I need to be communicating constantly with the wider team – checking in on any marketing promotions or making sure I am aware of any key seasonal occasions coming up – ultimately making sure we have enough stock. I meet up with our production team at least once a day to catch up and see how they are doing, checking in to see if they are on track or if there are any issues with fulfilling the production plan. We also have some lovely office dogs who always need some cuddles – that’s quite an important part of my role!
“Remember that your first job will probably not be the most glamorous – you have to find the right fit and work hard”
Tell us about how you went about applying for your job. I was contacted by a recruiter on LinkedIn. I then had a phone interview with HR and after that had a chat with our production director, and then finally a third interview with my now manager. A total of three stages, which were to go through my experience and skills, and see if I would be a good team fit. I had a very good feeling from the start.
What’s the best part about working for a food company? The atmosphere is completely different here than in any other company I have worked for. People are very motivated but it also a nice relaxed environment. Also, free biscuits – always a big plus!
And what’s the biggest misconception people have about working in food & drink? You would never really think about how complicated the journey of a biscuit is! You also need to be very careful as if the planning is not done well, then there can be unfortunate wastage! When I tell people I work for Biscuiteers they automatically think I’m a biscuit icer but my job is not creative in any way. I can hardly even hold an icing bag!
What advice would you give to other young people looking to get into the food & drink industry? Find a company and brand that you really like, and remember that your first job will probably not be the most glamorous – you have to find the right fit and work hard.
What’s your ultimate career dream? I want to grow and develop my skills at Biscuiteers, with a company that cares about their employees. I wouldn’t mind being the head of planning one day! But, if I had all the money in the world, I would probably head off to the countryside and open a care home for dogs, or my own bed & breakfast. But for now, I will be sticking with biscuits!
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