Meet the Expert: Five tips on navigating the current job market

Meet the Expert: Five tips on navigating the current job market

We’re dedicated to the practice of bringing in inexperienced or junior recruiters and nurturing them through their careers in the long term. Nowhere is this more present than in our Team Leader, Leona Kane, who has just hit her five year milestone with TwoScots!

With three promotions under her belt and her own team of recruiters to train and manage, Leona has certainly come a long way at TwoScots. She knows the business inside and out and is known for cheering the mood with her Irish humour and easy going demeanour.

That’s why she’s the perfect person to give some advice on hiring at the moment. You don’t need me to tell you that the job and economic markets are in an unstable state. The hiring market is flooded with talented candidates and as the economy picks back up, there is a wealth of expertise at your fingertips.

However, this abundance does come with some challenges, primarily unprecedented volumes of applications for all roles as well as candidates who have become used to the benefits of flexible working practices. So, how can you differentiate and find the best talent right now? Here are Leona’s top tips for hirers in the market at present.

1. Flexible working arrangements

As businesses start to think about the transition from working at home full time, many employees are questioning what benefits of the flexibility which they have become accustomed will remain.

During this uncertainty having a clear plan which is communicated whilst allowing discussion and feedback is tantamount. Individuals have proven themselves to management as being effective and productive at home and this needs to be rewarded in a continuous way with trust being a new measure of management style.

2. Ambition at the forefront

In the current business climate, there are ample opportunities to upskill yourself whilst demonstrating worth to your senior managers. Due to COVID-19 many systems and technologies are being implemented wide scale through organisations, especially around Job Keeper cash coming into businesses. Ambitious employees are eager to get involved and reap the personal career benefits of these projects and it’s a serious consideration for them when looking at new roles.

When advertising, try to think of the opportunities you can offer professionals within your department. What systems could be improved? What operational practices are out of date? How can real value be added? This craving for something big to achieve can only benefit your business whilst empowering current and new staff.

3. Don’t dismiss four-day weeks

The concept of a four day week is not a new concept and has been widely discussed and implemented in Finland and other Scandinavian countries even pre-COVID. The argument being that the working week has not changed since the industrial revolution in the early 19th century and therefore is no longer suited for modern life.

Since working remotely during COVID-19 many people and organisations have seen benefits of productivity due to increased focus and more time due to reduced commutes. Therefore although a four-day working week may not suit your business, it’s not something to be completely written off if employees can still complete the work in a more flexible manner. As mentioned earlier, that open conversation with employees looking for arrangements such as this should be there.

4. Keeping clarity

Over the last few months, we’ve noticed that our job adverts are flooded with up to four times as many applications as we would usually see. This is completely overwhelming and can take days for our consultants, who are experts in recruiting, to thoroughly sort through and review.

A major issue of this is that as people have been made redundant during uncertain times, they are applying for roles they would not usually consider as their need for a job exceeds the need for it to be a perfect fit. This can mean that less qualified or differently experienced candidates will be applying for roles which they are not a perfect fit.

The aforementioned overwhelm of applications and hours spent analysing them can easily lead to a loss of clarity and specificity as you read the applications of people who have fantastic but not completely relevant skills. This point is where we can add a razor sharp focus and enable you to find your perfect candidate.

5. Being system specific could limit your search

As a Payroll specialist, our clients often ask for system specific candidates. However this lack of flexibility can close off the job market and exclude fantastic candidates from their search.

Realistically, knowledgeable professionals can pick up a new system within days of training as many of them function similarly or work on the same principals. Although this time can seem valuable, it does not warrant losing candidates from the recruitment process who would be a real asset to your business.

If you’re looking to recruit and need some expert assistance in this revolutionising market, please get in touch with our fantastic experts today. Click here to see who can best help your search.