Recruiting – It’s a tough audience at the moment!

… and comedians think that they have a tough audience! Lately, the market has been flooded with some great candidates. A lot of them are vying for that one opportunity that’s being advertised and are becoming increasingly frustrated when not getting to the next stage, which to some extent, is understandable. Just the other week, I was on the receiving end of some rather abusive language from a frustrated candidate that I was actually trying to help.

It’s also tough being a job seeker

It’s not easy being a job seeker and sending out a large number of applications for roles that you never hear from – I have never forgotten the struggle that I had to break into a new industry (and that was over 10 years ago). I still recall sending out 83 applications, receiving 2 phone calls and only 1 interview, which actually got me the job. By the end of that process and 8 months of looking for the right role that would launch my career in this industry, I had lost quite a bit of confidence in my actual ability – I knew I could do it but being constantly rejected can take a big toll. What I learned during the process was to really focus on a range of roles that you have the skills in, work hard on your resume and application letters and network hard to get known by people in the industry that you’re targeting. The good news is that we do work with job seekers to update their resume (there are some great people out there that just don’t know how to sell their skills and experience on paper), create engaging cover letters and have better interview skills, so that they can stand above their competitors in a tough job market.

The good news

Whilst everyone is hearing mixed news about the economy, the lack of jobs, redundancies and businesses closing, there are also some really good stories coming through that just aren’t getting reported. We currently work with some great clients that have been growing in this market – that’s right, growing. They’ve broken with tradition, been innovative in their approach and are taking on new staff to build their businesses. Some have been start-ups that had the right business model and others have revisited what they and their competitors do, and have decided to do it differently. The great news in all of this is that they are recruiting additional staff and this means new job opportunities for candidates. By no means are we saying that the economy is fixed and that we are in boom times (I think we all know that it’s a while off yet), what we are saying though is that it’s good to know that amongst all the negative reports out there, we actually have some positivity in our local economy.

Innovation – how can we help?

Just like our clients, we have added additional services for our clients and job seekers so that we can differentiate from our market. With the latest software to track and match candidates like never before, as well as live updates, job boards (within the fortnight) and job matching for candidates registered with us, we are hoping to assist candidates even further in their job search. We are also in the process of implementing some new services to add further value to our clients when selecting staff.

How can you help?

We are always networking, meeting with employers, and speaking with our clients to find out how they are tracking, what projects they have in the pipeline and also what forecasts they have for staffing. We believe that by having this information, we can educate our local community and also give candidates some hope and guidance in their job searching efforts. If you would like to provide any information to us regarding what you know about the current market, we will always welcome your feedback. Working together can make a difference.

Thanks and have a great day.

Best regards,

David Ford.