Archives for January 2015

The dynamics between jobseekers and potential employers has changed drastically in recent years. Many factors can influence who holds the cards in this relationship; ranging from the current low unemployment level to companies having large vacancy requirements.

According to the MRI Network survey, 85% of recruiters have identified that the talent market is candidate-driven. Improvements in communication networks and social media has meant that job seekers are better equipped to seek out employment options and are not as reliant on third parties.

With regards to employers, a significant aspect of companies losing potential employees is when they use an out-dated, slow interview process. We live in an age of immediate gratification – information can be delivered, meetings organised, and products sold at a moment’s notice. So why do employers find it acceptable to drag out their hiring process to weeks, even months? Unfortunately, they do not seem to realise that there has been a power shift in favour of the jobseeker, and so will use a slow application process and spend far too long interviewing the candidate. A highly skilled worker who is high in demand will have the opportunity to apply elsewhere and they will take it – to avoid a long delay in acquiring a new position.

These experienced candidates will also be in a strong position to negotiate their ideal salary and benefits package. Employers that do not increase salaries in line with inflation rates are likely to lose out on a valuable hire. The MRI Network survey recently asked recruiters what the main reasons were for candidates declining job offers, and a lower salary than expected was the second highest reason. The most common reason for declining was that the candidate accepted a job elsewhere – due to the aforementioned slow hiring process of a client.

With reference to Linum Consult’s core of expertise within the Construction & Engineering sector, we find that employers have better control over their hiring processes, but only for mass recruitment drives or lower-level candidates. However, as the construction industry has recovered from the recession, it has encouraged more projects to be awarded and therefore created more staff requirements, and job seekers find themselves back in demand once again.

How can we adapt to this changing power shift?

Simply put, the old style of recruitment just doesn’t cut it anymore. Hoping that candidates will jump through hoops just to get an interview is a thing of the past. We need to encourage clients to sell their brand more, to speed up their hiring processes and to offer salaries that are in-keeping with current market rates.

Jobseekers can afford to shop around these days, and if your company isn’t up to scratch then they’re going to look elsewhere.