With the news that 82% of businesses are looking to recruit in 2021, our permanent recruitment specialists Julia and Rebecca sat down to talk about the recruitment landscape and how this will impact those businesses looking to expand their teams in 2021.

The key takeaways

Hesitancy is still strong in the candidate market

A misconception exists amongst some employers that due to redundancies and layoffs in 2020, the candidate market is booming with available talent, and though this may be true in some sectors it is not a reflection of the whole market.

Across the market we are seeing a hesitancy to move in a range of individuals from junior to managerial and director level, meaning the concerns job seekers held in 2020 are still relevant today.

Finding quality candidates is the challenge

Because of this hesitancy to move, in some sectors and specialisms there is a lack of quality talent available. Though an advertised role may receive 100+ applications, we have seen as few as 6-10% of these applicants being moved to interview stages; especially within the creative and specialist digital space.

Flexibility is key to movement

Though hesitant, it doesn’t mean candidates can’t be swayed by a more attractive offer or opportunity. Overall we have found employers who are more flexible with their benefits package; offering a competitive salary and working from home/flexible start and finish times, are more likely to be successful in attracting the best talent.

Timelines are more important than ever

Finding the right talent for your business can be hard right now, especially if you are recruiting for the more specialist skillsets such as SEO, PPC, paid social and digital marketing; which is why it is vital you get your timelines right.

We have seen multiple scenarios where attractive brands have lost out on good talent because they were too slow in the recruitment process and a competitor intervened faster. For reference the average recruitment process from advertisement to offer sits at around a month, so knowing who and what you want when searching is vital.

More episodes of Pitch talks recruitment are live on Spotify, where we combine our knowledge of the recruitment market with industry trends and insights to educate and help shape business behaviours.