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Legal Recruitment Trends in the Consumer Goods Industry

Posted on June 2021

Legal Recruitment Trends in the Consumer Goods Industry

Throughout 2020, labelled as the historic and unprecedented year compounded by the world health crisis, we noted movements in all industries when it comes to the radically changing Legal recruitment market, especially within the Consumer Goods space. The expert team at Larson Maddox has a division dedicated exclusively to supporting firms in this industry to identify business-critical Legal talent, whilst ensuring we continue to support the Legal advancements that are effective in the ever-evolving market. Efficient and fast delivery into essential open positions and the continued growth of our candidate and client network has been, and remains, our priority.

We would like to take this opportunity to share a thorough update on the buoyant trends emerging in the Consumer Goods space due to the impacts of COVID-19 from a candidate and client perspective, but also what we forecast to see in the latter quarter of 2021. 

COVID-19 in the Workforce

Within the workforce, the most notable adjustment is virtual interviewing and hiring, which has seamlessly become the ‘new norm’ in 2021. As companies are changing and adapting to the remote work setting, hiring managers are realizing that they require the same headcount attained before the world pandemic, but additionally, that they can’t press pause on hiring now. Because of this, we have also seen an upward spike movement with companies not only hiring remotely, but also allowing current employees to work remotely indefinitely. The impacts of COVID-19 will certainly have companies questioning whether they have the ability to profit in a remote setting, and if they are able to cut real estate costs on paying for multiple offices.

Consumer Goods | Retail | Manufacturing 

General trends we expect to see in the industry moving into 2021
  • E-Commerce is steadily on the rise as more companies are expanding/emerging in the space. Department and brick & mortar stores have suffered a downward trajectory due to COVID-19 impacts

  • Packaging/Shipment/Manufacturing space has seen growth in 2020, and is expected to continue 

  • While restaurants suffered a bit this year, the food and beverage industry did not take a huge hit due to the increase of consumers ordering products from different channels online, and still being able to go to grocery stores to purchase their items. The alcohol and tobacco industry also did not decline, and we anticipate growth there as well in the new year

  • Significant upward movement with remote hires and indefinite remote options for employees at the corporate level 

Top skill sets and noteworthy practice areas in demand 
  • Corporate/M&A/Commercial

  • Regulatory & Compliance

  • Technology Transactions & IP

  • Data Privacy

What can candidates do to differentiate themselves in this competitive market?
  • Choose to take on mentoring responsibilities before having direct reports

  • Cultivate quality relationships with people in your network  

  • Take extra courses and obtain certificates to enhance their knowledge about the space

  • Have general knowledge of multiple areas to be able to take on other responsibilities when necessary

  • Highlight and sell “soft” skills 

What can clients do to make their teams or businesses stand out vs their competitors?
  • Improving and making a conscious effort to improve diversity and inclusion in the workplace

  • Creating more of an online presence on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media outlets

  • Offering remote options if possible, as well as flexible working hours

  • Explaining and showing a clear growth trajectory for current and future hires

  • Establishing a memorable culture and creating a more collaborative and positive work environment 

In-House Compensation Trends

Optimism is emerging on the horizon; something positive we observed this year, from a hiring perspective, is that salary ranges were not largely affected by the global pandemic. There is still a steady increase in compensation for Legal opportunities as most companies continue to compete for industry-leading talent in a candidate-driven market. We continue to see top-quality attorneys we work with juggle multiple offers and negotiate competitive salaries.

We put together a comprehensive chart that breaks down the average base salary ranges for attorneys based on location and years of experience so you are aware of the latest compensation trends we are seeing in the market:

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We continue to have specialized senior recruitment consultants that persist to adapt and succeed in their concentrated niches, delivering the most efficient and effective Consumer Goods Legal talent on the market to our clients. If you would like to discuss the Legal market further or have any hiring plans for the second quarter of 2021 that we can assist with, please [get in touch]  with the Larson Maddox team today.

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