Post-lockdown it’s interesting to look at the drastic effects on businesses and how that is reflecting in the current recruitment market. Currently, more than ever, the candidate pool of job seekers has never been bigger. But does this equate to more talent?
Certainly, from the perspective of our recruiters’ working in the professional sectors, the short answer is no.
Yes there are plenty of new candidates available on the market, but a majority of these are a result of the hospitality and tourism downturn and the suffering retail sector.
And while these candidates bring with them a certain set of skills, unfortunately they are not meeting the required skills that the market desperately requires, in this current professional job market.
There are plenty of international applicants, many already residing in New Zealand or possibly stuck here in limbo thanks to Covid-19, and now on extended work visas.
However, once again, many are lacking the required skillset that employers are seeking and they are not ideal for permanent job opportunities due to nature of their residency status.
We are seeing a slow stream of skilled and qualified candidates coming through, due to the onset of redundancies and wage subsidies coming to an end.
However, frustratingly, the trend has seen these candidates being extremely passive in their job search with many taking their time to have a breather or perhaps exhausting the wage subsidies and benefit options prior to seeking other opportunities at this time.
“The old adage of “quality over quantity” or to paraphrase “lacking quality over quantity” certainly rings true in today’s current candidate market.
We’ve also lost a large portion of the candidate pool that we call “passive” candidates.
These are candidates that are in secure jobs at present and may have previously considered looking for another role or a change of environment.
The old adage of “quality over quantity” or to paraphrase “lacking quality over quantity” certainly rings true in today’s current candidate market.
However, the risk in changing jobs in this current climate is proving to be a big hurdle.
For this reason, as recruiters, it’s become harder to “head hunt” and leaves us little room to engage with candidates outside of the current available candidate market.
Our job as recruiters is always challenging.
Today’s challenges are extremely frustrating. But it is also pleasing to know that most businesses and organisations have remained resilient during these times, and are still on the hunt for exceptional talent.
