Why is the market so short of candidates?

People are still in a cautious mode is the obvious answer

It’s been a rollercoastery couple of years and so many people are hunkering down & taking a better the devil you know approach. If they are in an Ok-ish role in a decent-ish business many are just sitting tight. (I think this will change dramatically in 2022 provided the dust settles).

– Pandemic fatigue / lethargy

I am hearing this a lot. People just don’t feel they have the energy currently to go through what can be a large life event of moving jobs. They have their other plates to spin (house moves, families to juggle) and the backdrop of covid has made these factors trickier – plus they haven’t had a holiday in many cases. Lots of passive jobseekers are just taking time out to concentrate on their day-to-day challenges.

– A couple of the main ‘triggers’ for people moving have dissipated – their commutes & their flexibility aren’t driving as many people mad any more
Even those back in the office have a clearer motorway to sing along! (WFH has been an instant Sudocrem, soothing the itches in the passive candidate market.. for the time being)

– IR35

The change made interim work less lucrative so there is a shortage of contractor availability (at a rate business are used to). Many of the interims I work with now want longer contracts & are less interested in a ‘12-week cover’ project. This is something clients previously used to buy time in their permanent process & this luxury is less readily available which compounds the issue of the tricky perm hire.

– Brexit

Like it or not it seems we have lost skilled employees because we have encouraged some people to leave the UK (ask Tim Martin from Wetherspoons if you don’t believe me…)

– There’s been lots of steady demand so lots of movement

There has been consistent mid-market demand for months. We have been exceptionally busy since September 2020 and Q1 was unprecedented in my 15 years in our industry. A high % of the ‘active jobseeker’ population found themselves in new positions – many may come back to market but right now lots are finding their feet in new roles and not likely to take a call.

– It was busy anyway!!!

It’s hard to remember ‘pre-covid’! Cast back to the halcyon days of Jan 2020. Lots of recruiters were revising forecasts & expecting a bumper year. Client demand / vacancy numbers were very solid & moving upwards.

The A&F job market has been robust for some time. It’s returned with feverish vengeance & the economy headlines are reasonably bullish. Skill gaps were already there, hiring was tough anyway irrespective of the changes. It hasn’t got tough it’s got tougher.

Recruiting great finance people isn’t impossible – it’s just competitive. You maximise chance of success with well thought through attraction & hiring strategies. Make a good plan and then be decisive when you meet someone you rate.

Thanks as always for reading!

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