Welcome back to the wonderful world of recruitment
It’s been really interesting to re enter the WONDERFUL world of rec2rec again after a prolonged absence due to maternity leave. As usual (this is the 3rd time I have done this) I return to, what feels like, a completely changed landscape of agency recruitment in Australia. In less than 9 months, businesses that I have worked with for a decade have quite significantly changed their look and feel. Whether they have doubled in size, scaled back, changed structure, diversified, targeted their branding, changed their approach and offering to the market…. no one company seems the same. Some people I speak to are scared by this, but in my onion, this is a good thing. It means that my client base is an adaptive beast which is responding to the market as it changes. But one thing remains the same. Everyone is still looking for top talent. What businesses now deem top talent might have changed, but everyone is still looking.
Key changes I can see in companies hiring strategies:
The return of the Trainee. This is fantastic news for our industry, it means that we are building talent for our future and ensuring the sustainability of agency recruitment moving forward. We are working with a number of companies who are changing their model and growing their own consultants ,who are hungry for success and know no other market than the one in front of us. At BMR, We have adapted our selection process for this trainee market ensuring that we can now effectively and confidently bench mark top potential and future talent for our clients.
Hiring on attitude. Experience is just not enough. Hiring managers have to be convinced that a Consultant has the drive to succeed in this market. Burnt out recruiters still thinking about the good old days are simply not gaining access to the best opportunities.
More stringent hiring processes. It’s now not enough to demonstrate past wins and a desire to succeed. Consultants have to back this up with a clear plan on how they are going to proceed. Detailed business plans, outlining key steps in a 30/60/90 day plan, in the past expected for more senior candidates, are now essentially part of the interview framework for all.
Leading from the front. I have not had “a sniff” of a non billing management role since I have been back. Speaking with some of my competitors, I know I am not alone. Leading from the front in terms of billing, and “rain making” for a team is a prerequisite now for every business out there. It is a competitive market and companies need their most experienced employees leading from the front – demonstrating, rather than talking about how, it’s done.
“Those of us who anticipate the changes and who constructively act upon them will indeed succeed and those who attempt to ignore the changes unfolding all around us and conduct our activities as before will stagnate and wither” (HHMC News)
