Channel recruitment now 'completely candidate driven'

Recruiter claims job hunters on the market for just 10 days, instead of up to eight weeks

The jobs market in the channel is so skewed in favour of jobseekers that they won't even wait for a week for a second interview because they can get a better offer elsewhere. That's according to a channel recruiter who claims the market has become "completely candidate driven" over the last quarter.

Recruiter Robertson Sumner's managing director Marc Sumner told CRN that in the past, a channel jobseeker could expect to be on the market for between six and eight weeks, but demand is now so strong that they will likely be available for only 10 days.

The jobs market was swinging in the favour of candidates throughout 2015, he said, with the move accelerating significantly in Q4.

He added that traditionally, moving jobs could see employees' pay packages boosted by up to 20 per cent, but that figure is now between 30 and 40 per cent.

"All these candidates are suddenly being bombarded with opportunities," he said. "They'll get a phone call and within a week they will have six or seven interviews. A company can't wait a week between the first and second interviews now, because they will be gone."

Employers in the channel need to do more to grab candidates when they can, Sumner said.

"Companies are suddenly getting frustrated thinking 'why can't we get these candidates?' and really there are two reasons: one, they are moving too slow; and two, they don't realise there are 100 different companies after the same candidate. Before, it might be four or five companies they are competing with, but now it's everyone. The market is absolutely saturated with vacancies and the candidates know now they've got so much power."

Even the traditional processes of job hunting, such as searching for vacancies, is redundant in the channel, he said.

"Because social media is so prevalent now, they are so used to seeing similar jobs, but they're seeing what someone's paying them - say £5,000, £10,000 extra basic - and they are just going. There aren't many people on the job boards because they are being approached direct, headhunted or seduced on LinkedIn. They don't even have to do anything; they are just waiting for people to approach them with opportunities and tout money at them."

With that in mind, channel companies hunting for staff need to pull their socks up, Sumner said.

"They need to look at their culture, what flexibility they can give to their workforce, and also look at their packages and ask 'are we competitive'?"