Job market bounce means recruiters need to work smarter

As I write this post, Sydney is once again in a lockdown. For many of us, that has come as a shock to the system, as Sydneysiders have enjoyed a relatively smooth run since last year’s widespread lockdowns.

Let’s be real: Lockdown 2.0 is exhausting, but it’s not all doom and gloom for those of us in recruitment. Economically speaking, Australia has ridden out the pandemic reasonably well, and in early 2021, we saw a bounce back – particularly when it came to employment. 
 
Despite current conditions and restrictions, we are now in a candidate-short market. In March 2021, Seek recorded the highest number of job ads in its history and the least applications per ad since 2012. With candidates holding all the cards, recruiters and HR need to work smarter to find the right hire.

Some industries are really booming

While we are seeing some level of candidate shortages across the board, it’s clear that some industries are facing even more challenges when it comes to finding the right talent.
 
At Referoo, we’ve seen the number of reference checks boom across multiple industries, but a couple that are moving particularly fast are:
 
Health and aged care: Of course, our healthcare industries became the very public face of the pandemic, leading to a surge in demand in 2020, even as other industries were standing staff down or making redundancies. Now, the demand continues to grow, fuelled by a lack of skilled migration and increasing need for services. Referoo works with a number of organisations in this space, including Allity and Carestaff, to identify the right talent and speed up the recruitment process.
 
Trades and construction: Notwithstanding temporary halts in Sydney, construction and trades are booming. We’ve seen significant public and private sector interest in qualified candidates, and Referoo’s SMS reference checking capability is making it even easier to connect with referees who may not be behind a computer all day.

Talent pools and networks are critical

In the current climate, whether you are an external or internal recruiter, you need to work your candidate pools harder as clients and business units are crying out for talent.
 
This has both pros and cons for recruiters: If you have the relationships and the network, you are likely finding lucrative opportunities and may be more in demand than ever before, but if you don’t, your clients may be looking elsewhere for their next hire.
 
For HR and internal recruiters, this is pushing the need to find better ways to attract and source talent. It’s also about how you position your brand – today’s job seekers are looking for more than just a pay increase, they want to know about your culture and what you offer, such as flexible working hours or remote work opportunities.
 
Your technology can play a role here. The right recruitment tech can support you in times of candidate overload and candidate shortages. For example, Australian rec tech company, Recruit Wizard, offers a great platform to manage talent pools in real-time and these tools can give you a competitive edge.
 
The team at Referoo have extensive recruitment experience and we know the value of a great network. To help recruiters and HR teams achieve this, we’ve added an innovative business development/talent pooling tool that enables you to grow your network. With Referoo, you can find out if the referee might be looking to hire (or looking for their own next career move!) all while getting faster, higher quality references that help you make more informed, faster hiring decisions.

Moving fast is critical to secure the best candidates

In this market, the best candidates have a world of choice when it comes to their next move, and a bloated or sluggish recruitment process could mean you miss out. It’s a common issue in our industry – of course you need to do all the checks and balances, but this can be incredibly time consuming.
 
We all know the value of a reference, but it can be a significant bottle neck in your process – it’s one of the reasons Referoo was born. Our clients are getting references back without all the hassle (and time!) of manual reference-checking, while using the tool to grow their own networks. It’s just one of the ways recruitment technology can help you not only work smarter and faster, but, ultimately, find the right hire for your client or your business.

Build a custom solution to your challenges

While the team at Referoo is known for our online reference checking solution, we work with a wide range of tech partners to help our clients build a custom solution that helps them with all aspects of the recruitment process.
 
How are you reaching the best candidates in today’s tough market? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Get in touch via email: chris.morrison@referoo.com.au.