"Taking advantage of every moment and embracing change has had the biggest impact on my career so far."

Joining our Talent team over three years ago, Liv transitioned into our Early Careers function as Early Careers Manager earlier this year. Discover how she developed our industry-leading Early Careers programme and how her onboarding experience ignited her passion for creating a positive employee experience for everyone.

I joined the world of Early Careers in March 2024 after three years in the Nutrition Division as a Senior Talent and Engagement Partner. I have always had a passion for Early Careers and brought my experience working with our Divisional Graduates and Interns into this role. My knowledge of the recruitment process, experience with creating an onboarding experience, and enthusiasm for creating the best possible candidate journey have allowed me to take on my role as Early Careers Manager.

I initially joined THG in 2021 due to a friend and former recruitment colleague who worked in the Talent team. She knew I would enjoy the fast pace, the autonomy, and the opportunity to make an impact, and suggested I join. My first day was at our 4M building, and a week later we were working from home again due to the ongoing Covid situation. Although it was a disrupted beginning, THG supported my first steps into the business throughout. I didn’t realise it at the time, but my onboarding experience sparked my future interest in creating a consistent and positive experience for everyone.

When asked why I moved into Early Careers, I always say it’s because of the people. I wanted to support the first step in their journey and lead an experience that will help set them up for the rest of their career.

I was fortunate to inherit an innovative team that looked after the Graduates, Interns, and Apprentices for THG, as well as focusing on our outreach strategy. The first thing we did as a team was to start from scratch and focus on what we wanted the purpose of the new Graduate and Intern programme to be. After several brainstorming sessions, we agreed that we wanted to give our Early Career cohort a strategic 360-degree viewpoint of THG. We wanted to deliver an industry-leading programme that mirrored our THG values of collaboration, ambition, decisiveness, leadership, and innovation. Throughout the first year, there will be an opportunity to reflect on the skills acquired and developed and how their contributions have added value to THG and their teams.

Since implementing this new programme across the group, I have learnt the importance of sharing the process and bringing teams along the journey with you. Communication has always been a critical skill, and being able to shout about the work we’ve done has been one of our biggest projects. Luckily, we worked with our internal communication team and did an Early Career takeover across the group, making sure to highlight who we are, what we do, and how we’re impacting every area of THG.

As mentioned, the team doesn’t just look after our Graduates and Interns; we are also responsible for all our Apprenticeships and Upskilling, as well as leading on our Early Career outreach strategy. The months of September, October, and November are the busiest of the year, where we network with universities and extend our reach across the UK to talk about the opportunities available at THG. We’ve attended fairs, led workshops, invited partners on-site, and held several Divisional-specific projects, all to increase the knowledge of who THG is and the wide variety of opportunities we can offer. When speaking to future talent, whether they’ve just joined or are looking to apply, it’s easy to talk through the benefits of THG and the opportunities available.

But what is my main piece of advice?

It’s something that I was told in my first week by my Head of People at the time, Lisa Marshall: ‘There is no such thing as a stupid question’ and to ‘just say yes when opportunity knocks’. I’ve definitely tested the stupid question theory throughout my time (and still do), but it’s the ability to take advantage of every moment and embrace the changes that have had the biggest impact on my career so far.

Changing from Talent to Early Careers was a big step for me and the direction I was heading towards, but after seeing the impact and changes we have made in such a short amount of time, I know it was the right decision. No day is the same in a business like THG, and I can’t wait to support people through their first years with us.