Written by Mairead Simons

What do we mean by a ‘candidate driven market’?

Due to the sheer volume of hiring that is happening across the UK currently, we have returned to a candidate-led market. There are several positions suitable for each candidate at the moment, giving them plenty of options. As well as this, candidates are also looking for certainty in the times of the pandemic, meaning many people have stayed in positions until it has been safe to think about a change, leading to a sudden influx now that life is slowly returning to normal. Candidates are often being put in the driving seat, getting multiple job offers at a time, each with a differing selection of benefits, bonuses and holiday entitlements. This puts them in the position of power – to put things plainly, they don’t necessarily need your job offer, as they have a number of others who are willing to offer them as well.

As recruiters we can only work with what we are given in terms of job specifications, however its absolutely key that every time we are given a job that we advertise it in the best possible light to attract our target audience, thinking about what features may make it more interesting than the other jobs on the market. A section in an advert detailing what the company can potentially offer to a candidate might just be the difference between them pursuing your job or looking elsewhere.

Employers and recruiters should work together in order to attract top-quality talent in the current market. Ensuring the employer’s brand is strong and has plenty of USPs will always go a long way towards this, and then it is the recruiter's job to relay these good values to candidates. If a position has come about due to growth or promotion, giving this information freely to candidates will be key in securing the most talented individuals with the greatest commitment. As well as this, it is also important to put on display what the company has to offer candidates.

The key points to highlight will often be:

• An extra day of holiday entitlement
• Yearly bonuses
• A shares scheme
• Early finishes
• Training schemes

How else can we attract talent?

A smooth and swift hiring process is another element that needs to be taken into consideration when taking on new talent. Often, companies might get the go-ahead to start the recruitment process without even thinking about who has upcoming annual leave or how heavy their workload is. Issues like this which can get in the way of the recruitment process can be off-putting to candidates, as we have to bear in mind that this process is their first insight into a company they are hoping to become employed with. If they start to go through this process and are not taken care of in the way they would’ve hoped, they will likely start to look at the many other jobs which are awaiting their application.

This swift hiring process also needs to be efficient enough so as to keep candidates ‘attracted’ throughout. In a candidate-driven market, clients need to be prepared to move quickly to secure the best talent, as long delays and lengthy interview processes could see them lose their front running candidate to a company that is willing to put in a job offer after a singular interview.