Posted November 12 2021
By Diane Smedley
The pendulum has truly swung in the recruitment market. Prior to the pandemic, clients had their pick of the best talent and often had the opportunity to bring on more than one candidate at a time. However, things have changed. There are now tens of thousands of vacancies unfilled, and businesses are scrambling to make hires. (Not necessarily the “right” hires, just hires that will plug a gap in order to help them meet a deadline or fulfil a project.)
The power balance – as it were – is now very much in favour of the candidate. And, as such, candidates know that they have their pick of employers.
Many of my candidates that I speak to on a weekly basis are aware of this, and they are taking their time in making their decisions. Largely, no one is looking for a move. Nobody wants to be “last in, first out” in a new company. Many have seen friends and family face redundancy and don’t want to make the leap when their current role is so secure. As a result, it’s taking much longer for recruiters to even get candidates interested in a new role.
So, when a recruiter like myself has managed to convince a candidate that your business might be a good fit for them, they are taking the time to deliberate at every stage of the process. They have questions – lots of them – and no one is fully willing to commit to a move unless every last detail is firmly ironed out to their satisfaction.
Many candidates are scared of another financial crash – the perfect storm of Covid and Brexit being the reasons behind this – and so are craving job security. So they are asking questions about everything from culture fit to career progression; benefits to training.
From a client perspective, this just means that things are taking more time. It’s taking much longer to source and headhunt candidates who are willing to commit. And, once they’ve reached interview stage, they are in no rush to reach that final offer. They want to go through every step, meet as many people as they can, and observe and ask as much as they can.
So if you are looking to make that crucial hire, don’t expect things to happen in a rush. Factor in this extra headhunting and candidate exploration time into your process. Work out when you need a particular candidate to start and work backwards from there in order to avoid gaps in your team.
The jobs market looks set to remain a challenging one for the next year or so. We’ve – hopefully – weathered the pandemic storm but who knows where the fall out of that might lead.
Right now, there are simply too many jobs and not enough candidates but it’s unlikely to remain that way forever.
If you would like to speak to me about hiring with the drinks industry, I’d be keen to understand your plans for growth and help you achieve those. Click here to get in touch with me directly.