Talent is short, but what does that actually mean for candidates?
Anna Roussos
Founder & Director at ROUSSOS Recruitment | Board Member at Jodi Lee Foundation
If you read any of our industry blogs a few weeks ago, you would have noticed a trend across all industries that we are operating in a talent short market currently. In my 18 years of working in recruitment, I have never seen it like this before! To put it simply, it is a classic case of supply and demand. We are working on some amazing job opportunities that we have never had on previously; we just can’t seem to find the right candidates.
SEEK recently released some statistics which helped my team, and our clients understand how tight talents pools are. The report outlined the number of job ads posted versus the number of candidates who actually applied. The platform experienced the highest volume of active jobs posted in SEEK’s 23+ year history. The report was released in March and was then updated in April where ad volume increased by a further 12%. On the other hand, the number of applicants for each ad are actually at their lowest since 2012!
In the current market, it is proving to take longer to find the right people for businesses. There are statistics that show it is taking an average of 45 days to place a candidate from the beginning of a process, through to the end. So, as a potential candidate, your decision to move today may actually see you not actually starting a new role for another two months’ time… crazy!
Now that the world is slowly starting to adjust to our new ‘normal’, candidates really are in the driving seat! If you are starting to daydream about a new job, we suggest that you start to think more seriously about what the next opportunity might look like and what sort of time frames you are willing to work towards. What does that role need to entail, what does the culture look like, what style of management would you thrive off, what is your ideal business size? If you are in need of any assistance with mapping out your next steps – this is what we do!! We can work with you to understand what you want and where you might culturally fit. We can help you identify what is motivating your move, where you may need support resolving issues with your manager or alternatively look at what the market is doing – what opportunities are on the horizon.
We as recruiters are relying on our networks and connections to make placements currently. So, if you are finding yourself considering a career move – come and have a chat! Even if it is something that is on the cards for 6-12 months’ time, we are open to early conversations to get the ball rolling.