It’s definitely a funny old market. On one hand I’ve got a friend with a sizeable retail business telling me his last ad for casual workers attracted over 900 responses and then I’ve seen people come to us after having chronically unfilled job vacancies in their business costing them an absolute fortune in lost customers and reputation.  Granted the casual workers aren’t the skilled labour market we work in but I’m not sure anyone could have guessed this shifting job market 6 months ago.

Seek are quoting job ad numbers are highest since the Covid-19 pandemic and we’re definitely feeling it at Norwest Recruitment.  Not all companies are thriving of course and my heart goes out to those but many are and recruitment plans for our clients in Western Sydney are pedal to the metal.  So that means that skilled job seekers have choice.  Not only are they a little gun shy at leaving the company that kept them through the tough times of Covid but they now have plenty of options. Their counterparts who were let go when Covid hit will also be wanting to make it into your shortlist.  It’s going to take some due diligence to work out which one you want in your business.  We all know the cost of a bad recruitment hire.   

One hiring mistake I’ve seen a few times in the last month may be because some hiring managers aren’t aware of the changed market conditions and are feeling over confident.  Maybe they think there’s 900 skilled professionals applying for every job.  Four times this month I’ve heard of offers to candidates being less than the salary they were represented at. What???  One thing I’ve learned in life – don’t mess with people’s salaries. It’s very personal and it’s often attached to their status and ego. We all live to our salary capacity.  There usually isn’t any wriggle room to drop.  Don’t mess with it.

This is what happens next.  You will not get another bite at that cherry.  Don’t think for a minute you’ll be able to come up to meet their salary expectation once they’ve rejected your low-ball offer. It’s over.  Very rarely have I seen job seekers accept the reduced salary offer. It’s a risky move. If they’re talking to another company you’ve lost them. Sometimes I’ve seen them decline and then accept the second higher offer.  Sometimes. But here’s how that scenario plays out.

It’s can be even worse than the jobseeker declining.  They accept it.  They accept it with a bad taste in their mouth and then keep their eye on the market and feelers out with recruitment agencies.  As soon as a Recruiter represents another role to them they’re gone – two months into starting in the new job.  It’s disruptive, costly and time consuming. Back to square one for you.

So, recruitment 101 tip.  Unless the job seeker doesn’t meet the job criteria and hasn’t got the right experience do not think this is a good time to save money.  Don’t risk the best person in your shortlist going to your competitor.

Here’s to attracting and retaining the very best people in 2021.

Written by Erica Westbury, Managing Director of Norwest Recruitment.