A snapshot of the current employment landscape

There’s been a lot of negativity about the job market lately, much of which is fuelled by uninformed speculation. I found that it’s not all bad news, as I researched what’s going on at ‘street level’, especially in the electrical industry.

Reading many of the media reports about employment at present, people could easily, but incorrectly, assume there are no jobs out there and that companies are more focused on firing than hiring. So I spoke with two recruitment companies that work with the electrical industry to find out what they’re seeing at the coalface.

“So far this year, we haven’t seen any drop-off in the number of positions we’re filling,” observed Caroline Taylor, Director of Logical Executive Solutions. “In fact, we had our busiest month ever in February. Companies are still looking for skilled employees, whether it’s to replace staff that have left or for new positions.

“The market’s demand for employees hasn’t shrunk, as some people might think. The number of positions to be filled has pretty much stayed the same - it’s just that there are now more applicants for the positions available. That flip in the supply/demand ratio is the big change we’ve seen in this economic climate. There are more people applying for positions than in previous years and we put that down mainly to the recent spate of redundancies.”

Taylor observed that demand for new employees is largely coming from SMEs, not larger companies: “In the electrical industry, particularly US-based multinationals, they’re reducing headcount, both in their home markets and locally here.”

Director of Baker Management Consulting Jon Baker adds: “It’s common for US companies to apply decisions across all of their operations, both locally and to their international subsidiaries. So when they scale back in their home markets, they scale back everywhere else as well.”

Taylor noted a trend in the banking sector that particularly impacts IT and data cabling markets: “The big banks initially adopted a ‘wait-and-see’ attitude to major spending on data centres at the first sniff of an economic downturn, but lately we’re hearing about projects coming off hold and being implemented. Obviously data centres perform critical functions that can’t be put off, so there seems to be plenty of activity in that sector, as a priority over non-critical activities.”

Benefits and challenges

Taylor points out that the current increase in the number of applicants presents a benefit to employers because they have a larger talent pool to draw from: “During boom times, many employers lamented the dilemma of finding sufficiently qualified or skilled personnel to fill positions, since there were often too few applicants. With a significant increase in applicants now, employers are finding they can generally get a better fit for positions they’re trying to fill.

“That, of course, makes the recruitment process much longer and more involved, since many more CVs have to be assessed and people’s skills evaluated. Last year, it was common for us to short-list just two or three candidates from 30-40 applicants, but now we’re able to present five or six talented candidates to employers from 100-150 applicants, giving employers far more depth to choose from.”

Baker has seen the same occurrence, noting the challenges it presents: “It is beneficial to have a large applicant-base to select from, but you have to thoroughly review all of the applications to find the right person. You can’t just gloss over them and hope to stumble across the ‘perfect’ employee.

“This situation presents a real challenge to companies contemplating recruiting in house, because significantly more time and effort is required to do the job properly. I know of some companies who’ve decided to use their own resources instead of recruitment firms, in an effort to cut expenditure. What they hadn’t anticipated was the enormous amount of time required to review all the applications. At times, it’s very difficult to differentiate each of the applications and isolate people with key attributes. There’s a lot at stake in employing the right person. Companies shouldn’t risk engaging the wrong person just because they couldn’t allocate sufficient time or attention during the recruitment phase.”

Employee characteristics

Taylor and Baker have both noticed a new type of applicant lately. Taylor observes: “Traditionally, there’s two types of applicants - those out of work, perhaps through redundancy, and those employed but looking for a change. But lately, people are expressing concerns over the stability of their current and even prospective employers.

“Job security has now become a big factor for candidates. Recently, I had a person successfully apply for a position, but turned it down because he saw better job security in his current position than in the company he applied for. I think we’ll see more of that trait in the coming year.”

Baker adds that job security now influences many candidates’ attitudes to changing jobs, citing a similar experience: “In one instance, the successful candidate for a particular position declined it upon noticing the 6-month probationary period in the contract. He decided to stay where he was rather than risking what he perceived as a potentially less secure position with a new employer.”

Advice for employers

It’s common for employers to look for people with experience that matches the position to be filled. But Taylor suggests taking a broader perspective: “Employers should realise that many candidates have great skills that are often transferable into different industry sectors. Employers shouldn’t just look for people from their industry. I’ve seen that happen countless times and the outcome hasn’t always been as satisfactory as expected. There’s the danger of just rehashing people in the same job but different company, where people end up doing a circuit - moving from company to company. Product knowledge doesn’t necessarily bring with it good skills. That’s especially true where leaders in a sales capacity are required. Sales skills are often transferable across industries.

“Because applicants can come from differing circumstances, employers may find it helpful to be flexible with remuneration packages. That might entail adjusting the salary, vehicle, superannuation, bonus mix. Not all people are incentivised the same way, so packages may need to be adjusted to attract the right person.”

Advice for applicants

With many more people applying for positions now, Taylor suggests candidates carefully review position descriptions and be able to ‘tick off’ the skills outlined in them before thinking of applying: “Applicants need to succinctly identify their fit for the position and highlight their value. Make a snappy covering letter specific to that job, stating how you meet the requirements and how you’ll be good for the job. Don’t use a generic covering letter.

“If you really believe you tick all the boxes, it’s important to follow up with a phone call a few days afterwards. In the conversation, it helps to show how well you meet the requirements. Recruiters are usually happy to speak with applicants, but the calls should be brief and to the point. Don’t leave a bad impression by waffling on. It’s essential to engage with the recruiter quickly and that means being a good communicator. Answer questions directly and then stop. Ask meaningful questions. Ask for questions to be re-phrased if you don’t understand them. More than ever, competition is huge. Applicants need to stand out from the crowd without being annoying.

“One last piece of advice for employers and candidates - get the salary window on the table early to avoid difficulties in later negotiations. It’s an important criterion for both parties, so it’s no sense wasting everyone’s time if the salary expectations are not consistent across both parties.”