Should you require support or any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process we are more than happy to accommodate. Please contact carerers@macfarlanepackaging.com with the support/adjustment required and we will respond back to you with 48 hours.
The moment a new role becomes live our website is updated immediately, so please keep checking for new vacancies on a regular basis. We do also try to take down any closed vacancies as and when they’re hired for (although this is only done once weekly).
We only accept online applications for all roles within Macfarlane. If you are experiencing any difficulties in applying directly via our website however, you can email our recruitment team directly at: careers@macfarlanepackaging.com, enclosing your details. Similarly, if we have no advertised vacancies that suit but you are still keen to be placed on file for future opportunities, we can add you to our talent pool if you email your CV and salary expectations to us at this address.
Yes, in the event that this page of FAQs doesn’t answer your query, you can email the recruitment team directly at careers@macfarlanepackaging.com. We are generally able to respond within 1-2 working days.
If you are attending an interview, we always endeavour to send you the relevant website links to review and undertake some research/background reading prior to attending. But for future reference, you can access any of the following links:
http://www.macfarlanegroup.com (Group Website)
https://www.macfarlanepackaging.com (Macfarlane Packaging Website)
https://www.macfarlanemanufacturing.com (Macfarlane Design & Manufacturing Website)
https://www.macfarlanelabels.com (Macfarlane Labels Website)
Yes, but please bear in mind that although the application process may be similar, most positions are very different because of the location of our sites/centres and the different divisions and core functions within our business. Please do therefore give some thought to the type of role that will suit you best given your skills/experience and goals, then only apply for appropriate vacancies that you genuinely feel to be the best fit.
UK legislation prevents us from employing anyone who does not have the legal right to work in the UK and therefore, unfortunately, we cannot accept applications from people without the correct work permit or visa status.
If you have been invited for an interview, the good news is that on paper at least, you appear to have what we are looking for. Most of our roles require a two-stage interview process, this so that you can meet more than one or two people in our team, not only to help make our hiring decision, but to allow you to form an opinion of whether we’re the right employer for you (after all, it’s a two way street). Most of our first interviews are held in a fairly relaxed, conversational style, with the use of some competency based questions to help draw out your experience and provide examples of where your strengths and qualities lie.
In almost all cases, we would expect candidates to wear formal business wear, but if you ever have any doubts or issues, please email careers@macfarlanepackaging.com
Upon confirming your attendance with one of our Recruitment team, as you’d expect, you’ll be sent interview confirmation details including the location, who you’ll be meeting and any other specific instructions/background information that will help to prepare you. We always make a point of providing you with a contact number so you can call ahead on the day if you experience any problems. We always advise it’s best to check your route and firm up travel plans well in advance of the day.
The majority of our roles only require a one or two stage interview process. That said, for more senior appointments, this can sometimes involve at least one or two additional stages. If you wish to know more at the start of your journey in applying to us, please feel free to ask the recruitment team and they can clarify. We will use competency-based interviews as part of the recruitment process for all of our roles. Wherever possible, we will hold the interview at the location where you are going to be based so you can get a feel for the environment, although on occasions there may be the need to ask you to attend other sites/venues as part of the process. Depending on the specific vacancy, level and what part of our business it sits within, interview processes can differ slightly and may potentially incorporate one of the below…
It’s not uncommon for the preliminary stage to any of our interview processes kicking off with a telephone or Skype Interview. This is a shorter stage (typically 15-20 minutes) that allow us to gain a little more key information in order to help with shortlisting decisions before making any decisions on who to meet. Even if we don’t meet you off the back of this being done, it can often help us to keep you in mind for other upcoming opportunities. It can often help to save you an unwanted wasted journey in the event that we establish the vacancy for which you have applied isn’t quite the right match. We try to be as flexible as possible in working around you to allow these to happen.
We do occasionally request candidates to prepare and deliver presentations as part of our process (usually at a second or final stage interview for certain roles). When doing so, clear instructions in terms of topics to cover are always provided and more often than not we request these to be presented using PowerPoint whereby full facilities (projector/screen etc.) are provided at the venue.
For some roles we request candidates to complete certain aptitude assessments (these can include modules such as psychometric/personality questionnaires, verbal/numerical reasoning, critical thinking, situational judgement or things such as Excel spreadsheets capability). All of these are administered online, allowing candidates to complete in their own comfort and privacy – we would always ask for written consent before sharing candidate name and email address with our third party assessment company to administer any assessments.
Sometimes it is deemed helpful towards the latter stages of our process to offer candidates the opportunity to come into our working environment and spend a couple of hours observing our working practices, getting to know the team a little better and understanding a bit more about our practices and processes. Again, this is designed to give the candidate a more rounded ‘feel’ for the job role and expectations before making a commitment to any potential job offer we may be thinking of making.
Similarly to the above, but specifically for sales positions, we sometimes find it useful to offer sales professionals the opportunity to join an existing sales person in accompanying them to a few customer visits, just to observe how we conduct ourselves and to give an insight to how we interact and seek to support customers in our meetings. We appreciate this isn’t always possible for those in full time employment, but try to be flexible in providing dates/times that allow this to happen (usually a half-day session).
Yes. We require details of at least two professional referees which cover at least the last three years of your employment, one of whom must be your present or last employer. Please note that open references or references from relatives or people writing solely in the capacity of friends will not be accepted. If this is your first job since leaving full time education, your head-teacher or further education tutor should be given as a referee.
New career opportunities are published as soon as they arise, so it’s always advisable to revisit our vacancies listing on a regular basis. That said, if you do wish to register your details within our talent database, we can happily do so, simply email your CV to careers@macfarlanepackaging.com. You will soon receive an email asking you to confirm your consent for us to retain, process and share your details internally for any suitable openings (in line with data protection legislation). Provided you confirm your consent in the right way, we will keep you on file for a period of time.
Be yourself; act naturally. We want to get to know the real person. The interviewer is there to help you give a full picture of what you have achieved in the past and won’t be trying to trick you or catch you out in any way.
Do your research: We always provide plenty of reference links/information via email ahead of your interview, please be sure to put the time in and read up. Our interviewers will invariably ask you ‘what do you know about our business and/or the role you have applied for’, so it’s important to show you have spent some time doing your research.
Always listen carefully to the question being asked. Don’t be afraid to take time to collect your thoughts and think of your best example to fit the question before speaking.
It’s okay to ask questions. Remember it’s a two-way conversation and we would like you to be able to find out more about us too and if you would like to work for us. It’s also okay to ask the interviewer to repeat a question, or check your understanding of what’s being asked.
Your interviewer will be busy taking notes during the interview and may not be able to maintain eye contact with you. Don’t let this distract you or put you off. It’s their job to get everything down so they have an accurate record of what you have said in the interview.
If the interview is to be conducted by telephone, it’s just as important as a face-to-face interview so follow the same preparation guidelines.
