Recruitment Insights: Job seekers in 2017

We reviewed key trends taken from candidate activity for boycerecruitment in the first 6 months of 2017 in relation to UK Recruitment for Marketing, Market Research & Insight, Media & Broadcast industries.

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Pay

Candidates placed in permanent work have achieved, on average, an 8% pay increase when switching jobs in 2017. *

Counter offers are on the rise as employers try to retain key people as well as reduce the number of open roles they have, however for 73% of candidates registered with us, the decision to accept an offer is not about money and counter offers are generally considered as “too little too late”.  Of those counter offered, 8 out of 10 employees, did not accept the counter offer as they lacked belief that their personal grievances with the company, culture and work situation would actually change.

  

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Quantity vs Quality

When applying for jobs,  candidates unanimously agree that “it’s not about the number of jobs you apply to; it’s about the quality of those jobs”, the recruitment experience, the company online presence, their reputation, their technology, their innovation and their culture.

Candidates are happy to apply to fewer jobs in comparison to 18 months ago; on average applying to 2 to 3 maximum.  17% of candidates applied to just one job. In addition the experience throughout the recruitment process is hugely influential on whether a campaign to recruit new people is successful.

Lack of proper feedback from the company they apply to (and unfortunately for some of our candidates, lack of “any” feedback, is still common), lack of empathy with their work commitments in slotting interview times around a heavy schedule, and a laboriously slow recruitment process are the biggest gripes candidates have about companies they apply to.

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REPUTATION REPUTATION REPUTATION   

Over 78% of candidates registered have turned down the opportunity to apply directly to a company based on a former colleague or friends’ experience. “Too big”, “too small”, “poor management”, “lack of resources”, “overworked employees” and obvious “lack of work life balance ” are the most common problems that influence their decisions. Some jobseekers have changed their mind after meeting their recruitment consultant especially when they have the opportunity to hear what they know about these companies; however “word of mouth” from previous employees or people who have attended an interview, has a huge impact on the ability of an organisation to fill jobs quickly or broaden their choice of suitable applicants. This is where we believe the role of a recruitment consultant can add real value as they have access to a broader pool of candidates and are able to offer genuine insights and evidence into clients with whom they work closely. Needs from employers and employees are unique. As recruiters we’re in the business of dealing with people who want to leave their jobs on a daily basis, however we also understand why others might find the same company “a great place to work”.

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Permanent Recruitment increases vs Temp hires in Media/ Broadcast sector  in July.

For the first time in 18 months, the broadcast & media desk recorded an equal number of live permanent vacancies registered vs temporary assignments at the beginning of July 2017. This is extremely encouraging, as the industry has always been biased towards freelance/ temporary recruitment and this is reassuring to those candidates who want to settle down.

The demand for mid-level skills continues (2-5 years typically); there is still a major shortage of available candidates at this level, and the most savvy employers are speeding up their recruitment process in order to maximise their chances of hiring the best people at this level. Unfortunately, a large proportion of employers continue to have a lengthy recruitment process  which means that they end up losing out on some of the best people. Gone are the days when employers are able to insist on seeing 5 suitable candidates for every role available. At certain levels these candidates are just not available or holding out for the perfect opportunity however we always recommend to our clients that when a great applicant is presented to them they should ensure they have a fluid recruitment process.

 

 

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Upskilling:  Tech skills, Social Media and Complementary Training

Over 89% of applicants that we registered between Jan – June this year want the opportunity to learn new skills in their next job. In particular demand are skills in analytics, big data, new specialist technologies as well as web, social and digital tools. Companies investing in custom proprietary technology over open-use tools are generally viewed as more appealing.

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*data collected from candidates registered with boycerecruitment between Jan and June 2017.

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