The candidate market is tough to navigate right now.
New candidate trends continue to develop and employers are finding it hard to keep up.
January (or “Canuary”) is upon us, the month where candidates are most likely to Can their current job, manager, career or contract.
January is the most active for candidate movement and the most inactive for hiring.
The talent that everyone is fighting over (skilled, experienced, can navigate complexity, are within particular age brackets) have all figured out that;
New candidate trends continue to develop and employers are finding it hard to keep up.
January (or “Canuary”) is upon us, the month where candidates are most likely to Can their current job, manager, career or contract.
January is the most active for candidate movement and the most inactive for hiring.
The talent that everyone is fighting over (skilled, experienced, can navigate complexity, are within particular age brackets) have all figured out that;
- they can progress their career faster by job hopping.
- a higher salary doesn’t equal a better career or life.
- they’ll sacrifice for a great leader, not a logo.
- loyalty doesn’t pay (unless there’s a 4-year ESOP plan, in which it’s year 3 so they have begun to work-to-rule and have started planning their farewell party).
Many companies have not figured this out.
Many managers have not figured this out.
(And they are the ones helping fuel this ‘war on talent.’)
It’s not the fault of trying for many. It’s tough out there.
The problem is, Hiring managers are struggling to hear and accommodate what their candidate market really wants.
The teams who will hire well before the year is out, and in perpetuity are those who;
Many managers have not figured this out.
(And they are the ones helping fuel this ‘war on talent.’)
It’s not the fault of trying for many. It’s tough out there.
The problem is, Hiring managers are struggling to hear and accommodate what their candidate market really wants.
The teams who will hire well before the year is out, and in perpetuity are those who;
- Use their ears.
- Are creative.
- Are flexible.
- Are truthful.
- Widen their ‘pond’
How do we do that?
Use your ears.
External sensing (the ability to acquire, analyse and apply information about trends and shifts in your marketplace) is the most effective way to gain competitive advantage; your company’s eyes & ears.
Talent reports depend on people completing surveys.
Do you really want to make decisions based on the information that “people who fill in surveys” provide?
Internal hiring teams have two channels of information. Direct Applicants and Candidates they’ve reached out to on LinkedIn.
Both channels are biassed. They are people in a position to tell a hirer what they want to hear.
So the Talent Data you have access to is limited.
To get ahead I’d recommend;
1. Organising deep dive interviews with new starters or recent exits within your team
2. Attend virtual meetups, webinars… anywhere your candidates have a voice.
3. Speak to a trusted, specialist recruiter who speaks to more of the candidates that you want
Be flexible.
Once you’ve found the data you need, you can effectively manage-up.
A Cloud Engineer’s wants are very different to a Marketing execs.. So company-wide perks only speak to particular candidates.
Let whoever you report to know the difference between the quality of candidates who want {fully remote work} versus those who are happy with {hybrid}, for example. Or how an L&D program will reduce the Salary requirements of the candidates you want.
…Consider the return on investment those candidates can have for your team. This is how the powers that be think and make decisions.
Be creative.
Most companies try to solve these problems themselves. Brainstorming ideas within the walls of where the problem lies.
Does your COO know how Cloud Engineers want to be interviewed? What assessments BA’s are comfortable in completing? How Sales Execs want to structure their day?
Use your ears.
External sensing (the ability to acquire, analyse and apply information about trends and shifts in your marketplace) is the most effective way to gain competitive advantage; your company’s eyes & ears.
Talent reports depend on people completing surveys.
Do you really want to make decisions based on the information that “people who fill in surveys” provide?
Internal hiring teams have two channels of information. Direct Applicants and Candidates they’ve reached out to on LinkedIn.
Both channels are biassed. They are people in a position to tell a hirer what they want to hear.
So the Talent Data you have access to is limited.
To get ahead I’d recommend;
1. Organising deep dive interviews with new starters or recent exits within your team
2. Attend virtual meetups, webinars… anywhere your candidates have a voice.
3. Speak to a trusted, specialist recruiter who speaks to more of the candidates that you want
Be flexible.
Once you’ve found the data you need, you can effectively manage-up.
A Cloud Engineer’s wants are very different to a Marketing execs.. So company-wide perks only speak to particular candidates.
Let whoever you report to know the difference between the quality of candidates who want {fully remote work} versus those who are happy with {hybrid}, for example. Or how an L&D program will reduce the Salary requirements of the candidates you want.
…Consider the return on investment those candidates can have for your team. This is how the powers that be think and make decisions.
Be creative.
Most companies try to solve these problems themselves. Brainstorming ideas within the walls of where the problem lies.
Does your COO know how Cloud Engineers want to be interviewed? What assessments BA’s are comfortable in completing? How Sales Execs want to structure their day?
- Get outside and see what your competitors are doing, and improve upon this.
- Subscribe to market leading newsletters, podcasts etc. to find new attraction ideas.
- Challenge the way you and your company have hired. (No doubt your strategies have changed in the past 2 years. They need to change again now).
Be real.
‘Awesome perks’, promises of learning and development, grandiose job descriptions and ESG & DEIB commitments are great, if true.
Good candidates will test you on these aspects, because they strongly care about them. If they aren’t true, take them away from your attraction strategy and double down on the things you do better than any other employer.
When a candidate connects with what that is, they are going to do better and stay longer.
Widen your Pond
If you keep using the same bait in the same fishing spot the fish will stop biting.
‘Awesome perks’, promises of learning and development, grandiose job descriptions and ESG & DEIB commitments are great, if true.
Good candidates will test you on these aspects, because they strongly care about them. If they aren’t true, take them away from your attraction strategy and double down on the things you do better than any other employer.
When a candidate connects with what that is, they are going to do better and stay longer.
Widen your Pond
If you keep using the same bait in the same fishing spot the fish will stop biting.
- Challenge your internal team to assess what channels you are in.
- Ask how your recruiters actually work (and how much time they spend {waste} on LinkedIn)
- Reduce the exhausting list of requirements your role has. Just focus on what you absolutely need.
If this makes you feel uncomfortable, good! You’re on the right track to realising that the great candidates you need are in control & you can do something about it.
The inability for companies to hire skilled, experienced resources will continue for years & will worsen in particular Australian industries – especially within tech.
So I implore you to find more, unbiased ways to listen to your candidate market. They can help you solve your talent problem.
The inability for companies to hire skilled, experienced resources will continue for years & will worsen in particular Australian industries – especially within tech.
So I implore you to find more, unbiased ways to listen to your candidate market. They can help you solve your talent problem.
