How has the market been for your division over the past year?
The last year has been divided in the market, the first half was very candidate driven with lots of people looking for work but not enough roles to offer to potential candidates, the second half of the year I felt changed the other way, lots of roles coming in from all different clients, but finding it difficult to find candidates who wanted to move roles. Now it’s a bit of both.
What trends do you see developing in your marketplace? What future roles do you think will be more in demand?
Lots of HR roles came in at the beginning of the year, I felt companies were trying to cover their own recruitment in house to see if this was cost effective, we are now seeing many customer service/call centre roles, Marketing was busy for a while but now we are noticing a few more back-office roles coming through. There is also a noticeable difference between temporary and permanent roles coming in with many more permanent opportunities.
What are the biggest issues for candidates in your marketplace?
Candidates have been extremely indecisive with what they are looking for in a workplace, many have chosen work life balance and are requesting either hybrid or remote working. Along with higher salaries and closer to home. Some candidates are finding new opportunities only to be counter offered by their current company which is proving a challenge.
What are the biggest issues for clients in your marketplace?
Some clients are still requesting fully office-based staff, when candidates are not willing to do this, some are but majority want the hybrid split. We are also finding clients are not able to match candidates requested salaries and there is a real lack of flexibility in some companies which is difficult even for the companies own staff in recruiting and retaining talent. Clients requiring temporary workers are also struggling to find people immediately available and if they are available then we are placing them very quickly.
What advice would you give to candidates?
Look into hybrid working, be more open to this instead of fully remote working some companies are just unable to offer it for a variety of reasons and you could be missing out on some great opportunities. Apply for roles where you feel your skills could be transferable, and call to speak to someone about the role, more information could be available that could entice you to apply for the role that might not have otherwise stood out. Have options and a pipeline. Be enthusiastic about your job search when talking to recruiters and clients.
What advice would you give to clients?
Move quickly on CV sifting and passing them on to the next stage of the process, advise hiring managers that candidates are being snapped up and/or counter offered.
How long have you been in recruitment and why have you stayed in it for so long?
I have worked in recruitment for 16 years and moved up through different roles to where I am now, I enjoy the variety of people we speak to and building great relationships with our clients. There is always the thrill of placing a candidate and celebrating great successes!
What do you like about working for Bond Williams?
I have worked at Bond Williams for 8 years and still love it as much as I did at the beginning, the family run business, friendly staff and continuous support! To be frank, I would say we are extremely spoilt!!
What do you do to relax?
Spending time at home, near the sea with my husband!
What would people be surprised to know about you?
I am a bit of a geek love Lego! …………………………
