Recently, we have been struggling to attract candidates for job opportunities that would ordinarily be grabbed with both hands by eager applicants. The task at hand would typically be evaluating the resumes of a multitude of candidates, politely declining a good number of them and then making the difficult decision on which worthy candidates we would send for a client interview. The reality right now is anything but that – applications have dried up and there seems to be a glut of jobs on the market and everybody, it seems, is gainfully and happily employed, so what’s happening ?
Unemployment rates in Australia have been hovering at around 6% for a while, up a little from this time last year. Unemployment on Sydney’s Northern Beaches where Employee Matters is located (although we operate nationwide) is an eye popping 2.3% and NSW officially has the lowest unemployment rate in the country, so again, what’s going on ?
Whilst the unemployment rate is down, youth unemployment remains high at around 14%. The future overall though looks bright: businesses are doing well and we are all hiring. But the problem remains of how we fill those positions with skilled workers.
- One option is e-lancing – if the position you need to fill does not require an office presence, then why not go online and find the skills you are looking for either locally or abroad?
- Offer flexible hours and work from home combinations – we had some positions recently for which we were overwhelmed with excellent applicants, all from talented people who wanted to tailor their hours around their family commitments and achieve a better work/life balance
- Consider job sharing – again, this could attract candidates who are reluctant to commit to a full-time job, plus you benefit from two different sets of experience
- Make sure that your remuneration package is well within industry expectations – if you are looking for applicants at the lower end of the pay scale, you will have a hard time attracting any quality talent
- Have a think about whether you can give a younger candidate a start in the workplace – they can’t get experience unless they can nab that first job – and they’ll love you for it
- Think about your Employee Value Proposition – in other words why would someone want to work for you? What is in it for them? You need an attractive offer and this is more than just the salary
Employee Matters has skilled Recruitment Experts on tap to help with your recruitments needs, however tricky!