How long have you been with Bond Williams?
I joined Bond Williams in 2014 following 9 years of recruitment experience both as a successful hands on consultant and manager. Once I started Bond Williams, I felt I had reached my ultimate recruitment career goal of managing a successful reputable IT Division, which after 8 years we have taken to the next level, we have grown and developed into a leading and ‘’go to’’ IT recruitment specialist division of which I am very proud of what the IT team have achieved.
You have been in Recruitment now for 17 years, why have you stayed in it for so long?
I was fortunate to start my career in recruitment following a successful sales path. I started in a corporate recruitment agency that gave me the training and foundations of my career. Having worked my way up to a Managerial position in a generalist agency business, I then felt the passion to push my knowledge into a more specialist sector and went into IT Recruitment making a name for myself in a leading independent agency here at Bond Williams Professional Recruitment. I would not leave recruitment now following building both my IT Recruitment expertise to a high level, coupled with the satisfaction of supporting both clients and candidates on their recruitment projects. I thrive on the fast pace of contract recruitment as well as having the dedication and patience for more executive head hunting roles at a slower pace. Either way, I enjoy finding those needles in haystacks and IT Unicorns!
What do you do to relax after a busy day in recruitment?
I am always on the go, from a busy day in recruitment to a busy home life with my two boys. You will often find me on the pitch side-line cheering their teams on!
What do you recruit for in your area?
IT Specialist Recruitment – From IT Support through to Network Engineers, IT Managers, Project Managers, BAs, Developers to Head of IT, CIO, CTO roles. We also offer an executive (Head Hunt) search service for those niche and specialist roles on both contract and permanent positions.
How has the market been for your division over the past year?
In the past 12 months IT Recruitment has seen a 360 in its lifecycle, from 6-12 months ago when we saw many candidates becoming available in the market as they felt secure from potential lockdowns and redundancy and seeking more flexible working conditions after many businesses returned to the office in 2021. In the last 6 months it has turned around again as we saw a record high in job vacancies and sales / projects increase for businesses with many company acquisitions and high demand in skill sets, coupled with a shortage of available candidates available in the market.
What trends do you see developing in your marketplace?
There has been a shift in IT recruitment trends this year into more Data space – Data Science / Data Analysts, as well as Cyber Security, Information Security and Cloud – Engineers and Developers. The most significant change in IT recruitment is the shift to a candidate-driven market, with more jobs available than there are candidates. Applicants hold more power; they can now negotiate better salaries and benefits from the companies that are desperate to secure the talent.
What roles are you finding are in demand at the moment?
Cloud Engineers, Security Engineers, Cloud Developers, Java Developers, Technical Support Engineers and IT Project Managers.
What are the biggest issues for candidates in your marketplace?
Many candidates having had the option of remote working and flexibility in their current roles are now seeking a more Remote / Hybrid approach with their new employers. Brand names are in demand more now than the last 5 years or so as well as company benefits, which include buying / selling of holidays and private medical Insurance. Many issues for candidates seeking new employment can be the waiting time in between application, to interview to offer, with many highly sought after candidates being offered before some employers have had the time to book in interviews. Due to the shift in the market and a decrease in applications, candidates are becoming more selective about the jobs they apply for. To attract the best talent, employers need to make their workplace desirable and prioritise the elements that will appeal to their target candidates. Of course, streamlining the application process is important too – in 2022, no one should be made to fill out questions such as education and work experience, after uploading a CV.
What are the biggest issues for clients in your marketplace?
As this is now a candidate driven market, finding the right talent in itself is a major issue, however it does not stop there. As many employers are fighting to keep their own talent, we have seen an increase in salary reviews, benefits reviews, counter offers, and then there is also the focus on retention. As we see a slight shift in some businesses returning to the office, this in itself is another issue for employers as the IT market pushes its way to more of a hybrid and even in many scenarios now, fully remote operations. For many businesses to overcome the retention again there has been an increase on notice periods from the average of 4 weeks, to more 8-12 weeks, making candidates less attractive to new employers with urgent recruitment requirements.
What advice would you give to candidates?
Know what your motivation is for leaving from the start. Most important factors are location, flexible working, benefits, money, career progression, company brand or size. It is easy to be distracted by other factors along the way and you may end up accepting an offer for more money and still be in a similar situation in 6 months’ time where there are no career progression opportunities or working from home flexibility that was at the top of your list originally.
What advice would you give to clients?
Act fast! If you see the right skill set on a cv or from an interview in this fast moving candidate driven market there is less option to wait to compare CV’s with multiple others, as the best candidates in the market are being offered new positions within 10 days of sending their CV’s out.
What do you like most about working at Bond Williams?
Working at Bond Williams allows you to manage your department as if it was your own business with the brand and management support in place. It offers a friendly yet professional approach and we class ourselves a small 2nd family!
What do you most like about working in recruitment?
I personally thrive working in IT recruitment, the more specialist the better – we are always looking for the next challenge! I have always enjoyed changing people’s lives, offering in some cases their first step into IT or that dream IT role that working for Bond Williams allows us to offer with such a variety of roles throughout the UK. No two days are ever the same!
