RecruitmentBuzz delivered survey results from Totaljobs about businesses doubting they will achieve full employment in the coming years: we add our thoughts on why this may be, and what employers can do about it.
A Candidate Driven Market
There’s little denying it’s a candidate driven market at the moment. And this brings with it a set of challenges we as an online recruitment agency are noticing for our clients. Below, we will list a number of findings both from our own experience and the Totaljobs survey, along with some suggested solutions applicable to today’s market. Additionally, we will address how to overcome candidates’ top irks in a post next week – so watch this space.
Problem 1: Candidates are dropping off the radar and not showing up for interviews.
Whilst it seems that this shows a lack of candidate decency, clients need to do their best to attract candidates and retain their interest. Companies need to consider:
• Their Interview, Communication and Interaction Etiquette; the Efficiency of their interview processes – how swiftly and effectively are they conducting the whole process?
• Engagement; Good candidates don’t hang around. By both actively engaging with the candidate, and being an engaging enough company / brand to attract the candidate, he or she is less likely to drop off and not turn up for an interview. Professionalism across the board is recommended.
Problem 2: Restricted growth due to a mismatch between the skills recruiters want, and the candidate skills available to them.
At RecruitmentRevolution.com, we educate our clients in the need to work quickly and present themselves in the best possible light given that ‘almost a quarter of British businesses (23%) say they’ve experienced restricted growth due to a shrinking talent pool’. Talent is scarce – and you need to be quick to secure it.
Problem 3: We’re in a candidate led market, so more candidates are being picky about the roles they go after.
The solution to this lies in making your company as desirable as possible a prospect to work for. Companies need to consider their branding, brand perception and how they communicate with candidates in the interview process.
Problem 4: 65% of jobseekers think it has been more difficult to get a job compared to the last time they were looking for a new role.
As mentioned above, there is a mismatch or “entry level dilemma” occuring in today’s market as reported by the IPPR and Totaljobs report. Engaging candidates early on is key once you find one with the right skills. Top of candidate’s irks is repetition and filling out a lot of information over again as they apply to different positions. Rather than trying to ascertain candidate skills prior to interview therefore, if you want to test their skills, do it once the candidate is already engaged, don’t put them off at the application stage with lengthy application forms and questions, assessment centres or filtering tasks. Save these for a point later in the process once the candidate knows you are interested.
What We Think
The job market is being led by candidates and experiencing a mismatch of skills. However there are steps forward-thinking employers can take to ensure they hire the best talent for their role such as those mentioned in this post.
Castle Hill House