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Is your approach to recruitment stuck in 2016? It’s time to take some expert advice from Sharon Davies - Founding Director.

No matter how skilled, educated and well networked you are, it’s hard to be across every changing nuance that affects your organisation. If you are summoned to Court, you would hire a Lawyer and follow their advice. You engage a real estate agent to present your home in the best possible light and most of us don’t do our own plumbing.  The saying ‘why keep a dog and bark yourself’ is equally applicable in business That’s where there’s value in professional partners – but only if you listen to them!

Working day in, day out to help businesses of all shapes and sizes to attract candidates with a whole gamut of different skills puts me at the pointy end of what’s happening out there.  I like to think I learn a thing or two every day that makes me an expert.  For example, did you know it takes on average, less than 4 weeks to find a new job in NZ right now?  Or that there were over 3300 job adverts for BDMs in Melbourne last week?

As your Recruitment Guru, staying up to date with market trends, the competitive landscape and having insights into what’s working means that I can help you avoid pitfalls, wasted money and weeks of wasted time.  Which is of course what you would expect from an expert!

Unless recruitment is your day job and you do it weekly, there’s no reason to hesitate to ask for advice.  HR itself is a complex area that’s changing all the time and yes, a lot has changed since 2016.  Whether you are a busy HR Manager covering everything, or a Business Owner who takes charge of your own hiring, here’s a snapshot of 4 key things you need to know:

1. You have to move fast to secure good candidates. Putting an ad online and waiting 30 days to start looking at CVs is not going to get you the best result. Start talking to good applicants fast. People are moving faster than they ever have, often in matter of days. If they apply on Monday, they may get another job offer by Wednesday. So be ready to start contacting candidates who fit your brief immediately.
2. It’s a skill short market in many industries.  You need to start thinking about your Employer Brand and how you will attract talent before you actually need to hire. Your competitors aren’t just competing for market share, they are also competing for your talent, meaning you need to give candidates a reason to choose you.
3. Good candidates can afford to be picky. If you need digital marketing skills, trade qualifications, Nurses or anyone with an impressive sales background, don’t expect applicants to jump through hoops. You are going to have to make the application process easy and be prepared to chat. This means short application forms that focus on the candidate experience, not fitting candidates into your tick boxes.
4. Demographics in capital cities have changed dramatically since 2016. That is having a massive impact on talent pools across the board. Keeping an open mind on the profile of your ‘ideal’ candidate is important unless you want to spend months in the recruitment process.

If you don’t have a recruitment guru on your side, feel free to reach out and let’s chat. sharon@talentpropeller.com