Recruiting in a candidate driven market

Recruiting in a candidate driven job market

Recently I wrote an article about the Great Resignation, a phenomenon currently being experienced by businesses in the US

The Great Resignation is in reference to the fact that record numbers of employees are voluntarily choosing to leave their employment.

What’s driving this?  Basically, because of Covid lockdowns, many employees are feeling burn out, micro-managed and just fed up.

The implications of this are simple – a tight candidate market.

In other words, businesses are scrambling to fill many vacant positions and good talent now has the luxury of choice.

While here in Australia we’re yet to experience the same intensity of the Great Resignation as in the US, the reality though is that we’re definitely in a candidate driven job market – which again means employers are struggling to fill vacant positions and good talent can pick and choose who they want to work for.

What is a Candidate Driven job market?

A candidate-driven job market is one in which there is an abundance of job openings and a scarcity of qualified candidates to fill those openings.

In other words, qualified candidates are in high demand, but there is a low supply of them.

As a result, top talent (candidates) are very valuable for hiring companies.

So, if there are more job vacancies than available quality candidates, this means those high calibre candidates now have much more employment opportunities and options – and those hiring companies that fall short of the candidate’s expectations will have a hard time filling their open job positions.

Rather than what can the candidate do for the company, equally important is, what can the company do for the candidate.

Hiring companies and managers need to re-orient their hiring strategies such that it’s not all about them, rather, a mix of what the company is looking for and what the company can do for the candidate.

Here are 3 tactics that are clear and easily implemented to at least get top talent to apply for your vacancy.

Clear & Broad Job Vacancy Postings

By this I mean job postings need to go beyond a simple job description, candidate expectations and skill requirements.

Top talent will now also be on the lookout for:

• Culture
• Company history
• Pay scale
• Career advancement opportunities

The first point, culture, is becoming an important decision criterion for top talent.

A clear and concise picture of the business’ core values, mission and objectives help to provide an insight into the workings of your company.

And it’s not all about over the top perks like free meals, gym memberships or Zen chill out areas.

Remember, high calibre candidates are high calibre for a reason, then believe in themselves, hence, they are more likely value:

• Inclusive decision making
• Autonomy
• Career development and ongoing learning
• Mentoring to help fine tune their skills

What’s in it for Me

Job postings have typically been about what skills the candidate needs to have and their expected outcomes – i.e. it’s all about the business’ objectives and needs.

The time is now where a business needs to demonstrate how an employee can benefit from being part of your team.

One way as a business owner/manager is to ask yourself: “why would someone want to work for us”.

Don’t be surprised if a top candidate asks you, as the hiring manger, ‘why should I work here?’

It’s a totally legitimate and acceptable questions (especially when you’ve asked them, ‘do you have any questions’).

This is where you need to promote What’s In It For Them!

On your ready list should be:

• Career, training & development opportunities
• Job rotation programs (for multiple experience)
• Mentorship (as mentioned above)
• Flexibility

Flexibility

Following on from the last point above, if there’s one thing Covid and lockdowns have shown us, it’s that working from home is not only possible, rather, it’s legitimate and in most cases more productive.

The ending of lockdowns and with many companies now requiring their people to start coming back to the office is causing concern and anxiety in many employees.

While most employees are ready and willing to head back to their workplace, they may not want to do so on a 5 day/week basis.

Working from home has resulted in a better work-life balance, yet also many employees report working longer hours as a result.

Nonetheless, having the flexibility of a 2–4-day work week in the office is very appealing and we know it works.

Being able to offer this level of working flexibility is now not a perk, rather, an expectation – so if your business can afford to offer this work structure, then you must consider it.

In a candidate driven job market, finding the right talent, or even having candidates apply for your job vacancy will be challenging.

Taking the recruitment role on your own without knowing if your business will be attractive enough for potential high-calibre employees to even apply can and will be a gamble.

For your next hire requirement let us help you secure the best possible talent for your needs.

Recruitment Australia : +61 29634 5912 or info@recruitmentaustralia.net.au