Hello there – happy Thursdays!
So … obviously we talent folks understand the market right now. I’ve been recruiting for 12 years, and I don’t ever remember the market being this gross – counter offers, nil appoints, and I’ve had 3 candidates in the last 3 months withdraw from a recruitment process I was running to focus on their personal lives (aka wanting to enjoy the end of the year, spend time with their families and wait until next year to find a new role). It’s predicted to stay this way all through 2022 as well – with ‘The Great Resignation’ (aka The Big Bye Bye) predicted to peak in March next year, and companies scrambling to replace those staffing gaps.
Gone are the days of fielding endless calls from candidates, and having to wrangle hundreds of applications for a job. Instead, now… we’re lucky to receive ANY applications, let alone replies to our emails/messages/phone calls. I’ve had recruitment agencies turn me away, unable to help as they’re already trying to assist 5 other companies with the same type of roles. I’ve offered candidates who have 4 other job offers on the table, and they sound overwhelmed rather than excited. It’s bananas!
One of the hardest parts of this whole thing though… is breaking the news to a hiring manager who desperately needs to fill a vacancy (or multiple vacancies, in some cases). Some things I’ve found that really help when having these discussions:
- Have the data and insights there to back up what you’re saying. We use LinkedIn Talent Insights and SEEK data (I’d love to chat to anyone who can recommend a better/different source of information that we should investigate! I LOVE DATA!)
- Get them involved in your plan. Book a brainstorming session with your hiring manager, and create a sourcing and attraction strategy that is outside your traditional methods. Get creative with them!
- Look at your Buy/Borrow/Build strategies. Have a plan A, B and C that involves a mix of a bunch of different things – reworking your advertising content and strategy, reimagining what your ideal candidate looks like, or maybe reimaging what the role looks like!
In my recruitment agency days when I was struggling to find someone for a role, or fit in with a client’s requirements… a manager of mine would always say “there’s more than 1 way to skin a cat” – and it’s so true. Barbaric, but true. There’s always a way to skin dem catto’s, we just have to get a bit creative sometimes (and maybe bend the rules a little bit from time to time too).
Have a great week!
The best talent looks like everyone, not just Mark Zuckerberg
Audrey Blanche is a thought leader in the DEI space (and previous ATC guest speaker) that you should be following. If you haven’t heard her speak, or listened to this poddie .. then get amongst it ASAP. In this article, Audrey preaches the multitude of benefits having a diverse workforce offers – not to mention making our Talent Acq lives easier. People want to work at organisations that are diverse, equitable, and do some good for the world.
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Oh no but… we’re only just beginning the gender equity discussions. You ain’t seen the worst of it yet. Strap in, men … the women are coming for ya!
