Philip Sawyer’s Post

The job market is turning... 🖊 With positive winds in the economy, more data projects are being released, resulting in an increase in permanent jobs and opportunities for contractors. Below are some of our recent observations at Cognify Search: Counter offers are back! Over the last 15 months, we have rarely seen counter offers. However, in the last 30 days, two of our candidates at the offer stage have had their current employers attempt to keep them with attractive counters/buy backs. Competing offers: Last month, we lost a candidate who had three offers, and this trend has continued. CMI (Candidates with Multiple Interviews) is a stat we track at Cognify, and we are now seeing candidates juggling 3-5 interview processes at any given time. Modern/Cloud data roles are HOT! Our perspective might be biased, but the candidates in demand are those with prior commercial experience in modern cloud warehousing. Some of the biggest hirers currently are companies with brownfield data projects. Fintechs are back! In recent years, many regular data hirers have been Fintechs, but there was a noticeable decline in hiring from this sector during 2023. We are now seeing a significant increase in hiring from Fintech companies, which could act as a catalyst for upward salary pressure as many of these companies pay well. ICs are hotter than leaders. With pressure on budgets and companies looking for fast ROI, many organizations have shed middle and senior leadership roles. Hands-off leadership roles are still very hard to find. I would urge anyone considering that type of role to retain "hands-on" responsibilities for as long as possible. Companies are pushing for much more agile approaches, closely linked to lean manufacturing. Wasted time at interviews: Many companies have shed or reduced internal recruitment teams. Hiring managers are having to sift through hundreds of CVs for maybe 3-4 half-decent candidates. We recently filled a role in three weeks; that same role had been open for five months with the hiring manager not given the budget to use agencies. I would love to hear the perspective of job seekers, hiring managers and internal hiring teams. Are you seeing the same?

IT Employment remains stable according to TechServe Alliance. The IT employment numbers for September were disappointing. According to SIA/Bullhorn, temporary staffing hours worked in professional occupations (IT, healthcare, finance, engineering, etc.) were down -14% year-over-year for the week ending 10/5. SIA forecasts a 7% decline in IT Staffing Revenue this year. Indeed’s data shows the number of technology professional looking for jobs has increased by 86% since January 2020. The growth rose to 3.34 million in August 2024 from 1.79 million per month in January 2020. However, tech pros with five to 10 years of experience are more likely to apply for internal roles than outside their current company. If you are hiring IT people you should see more resumes than in the past. It seems that with the availability of AI tools, candidate resumes are becoming less dependable. Additionally, motivated candidates are actively using AI to help them get through interviews and testing.  

Not in full agreement on a few of Henley's points, but the writing on the wall is clear- there is a huge adjustment happening, so we need to be upskilling ourselves as well as finding roles where our sales, passion for a company, passion for people & HR insights etc. can be transferable. What is painfully clear is companies that may be hiring recruiters want "many years of experience", but also want to pay nothing close to what you are worth. And with demand at an all-time low, unless you are willing to take such a hideous cut, you need to move on to something else. We need to do better as a career path as we are the hiring & culture ambassadors for an organization, yet always first on the chopping block.

😫 I’m hearing a lot of distress from 2024’s jobseekers. The current market, despite looking robust with low unemployment and lots of open positions, is fraught with frustration. Job seekers face daunting odds, with so few applications resulting in job offers. 😢 😢 Technology has transformed job search, with online job boards (guess who does the legwork) and AI-powered applicant tracking systems becoming more prevalent. While these innovations should make hiring more efficient, they've created new challenges: 👉🏻 Most applications are never seen by human eyes, filtered out by ATS, automated systems that often reject qualified candidates based on keyword mismatches or arbitrary criteria. This leads to candidate burnout. 👉🏻 Employers also struggle, with most hiring managers reporting difficulty finding skilled professionals. AI tools used in hiring can reproduce human biases, disadvantaging certain groups; many worry that qualified candidates are rejected. 👉🏻 The job market has shifted since the pandemic’s Great Resignation. The hiring process has slowed, with everyone anxious about AI's impact on future employment. Yet, more than ever, the volume of applications overwhelms HR departments. #recruitment #hiring #careertransition #ATS #jobmarket

The drop in vacancies to a three-year low piles more pressure on recruiters as we near the end of Q1 ⬇ Open positions decreased by nearly 25% in the three months to February compared to the same time in 2023. But at the same time, there was a sharp 20% increase in job applications. These two things happening simultaneously suggest a cooling jobs market. And the data suggests it's in all sectors. Now, if you're a recruiter, that's going to bring with it the usual challenges: 1. Decreased demand for your services 2. Increased competition 3. Longer time to fill 4. Downward pressure on your fees and margins You've probably got tons of strategies that you've developed over the years to cope with these. But how about not just surviving, but thriving? 💪 By adopting and implementing AI-powered automation tools, you can simplify and streamline your workflow. This can save you time and effort, and cut the overall cost of placing candidates. And all three of those combined will make you a more competitive proposition, which could even increase demand for your services 💸 #LabourMarket #Recession #AISolutions #RecruitmentAutomation #DataIntelligence #HRTech

As recruiters seek to find and hire the best talent for their organizations, the job market in 2024 is expected to be highly competitive. Are you interested to know what skills and roles will be in high demand in 2024? Find out how to stay competitive and relevant in the job market with our blog article! #skills #skillsforsuccess #demand #recruitmenttrends #recruitment #roles

According to YouGov*, a certain percentage of people, especially younger individuals, now believe it's acceptable to use AI to complete job applications. This raises concerns about the calibre of candidates applying for roles – further highlighting the importance of using a recruitment agency to ensure high-quality hires. Why Just Recruitment? 🟪 We specialise in finding the best talent for specific roles. 🟪 Save you time and money by handling the entire recruitment process. 🟪 We already have access to a wide pool of candidates. 🟪 We conduct thorough screenings and vetting processes. 🟪 We also provide insights into market trends and salary benchmarks. For assistance call: 01376 517079 #hiring #FindingTheRightFit #employeeowned * https://lnkd.in/dxYxq7pZ

The job market in 2024 is more competitive than ever. With tech roles staying open for months and job postings overwhelmed by thousands of resumes—many AI-generated—finding the right candidate has become a daunting task. But there’s a better way. At Averity, we've streamlined the process, saving time, money, and stress for both companies and candidates. Want to know how we do it and why recruiting firms are more essential than ever? Keep reading to find out.

I’m always reading research and news about recruiting and the HR market. It’s essential for me not only to do my job but also to understand how industry trends impact Unbench and the broader hiring landscape. For the last few months, tech recruitment has seen significant changes. Despite layoffs, job openings are increasing, especially in specialized IT roles. Companies like Unisys, Fusion Connect, and Tenable are actively hiring, and the U.S. added 142,000 jobs in August, bringing unemployment to 4.2%. Here are some important trends that I noticed: 1. Increased Job Openings Amid Layoffs: Many tech companies are still hiring for specialized roles, even while laying off employees in other areas, reflecting a shift in workforce needs. 2. Shift Toward Flexible Roles: Businesses prioritize candidates with diverse skill sets who can adapt to multiple responsibilities as business needs evolve. 3. AI’s Growing Role in Recruitment: AI has streamlined hiring but not without concerns from job seekers. While AI improves efficiency, many candidates feel uneasy applying for positions where AI is heavily involved. Transparency about AI use is crucial. 4. Salary Transparency & Benefits Disclosure: Companies are increasingly upfront about salary ranges, helping candidates make more informed decisions. 5. Shift Toward Contract Work: The economic climate has driven businesses to hire more contractors, offering flexibility while managing costs. My take on the recruiting market is that it’s evolving faster than ever. Strategies that worked a year ago may no longer be effective. In tech recruitment, we especially see these shifts first. To keep up, teams need to embrace flexibility and adaptability and implement tools (not always AI) that streamline the hiring process. Being agile is key in today’s landscape. Last week, we at Unbench gathered our insights to prepare an article with our point of view and tools to improve your hiring experience. Check the link in the first comment below. And while you'll be opening the comments section to follow the link, drop a few words about how you feeling about such changes. #TechRecruiting #HiringTrends #Unbench #RecruitmentTools #AIRecruiting #ContractWork #SalaryTransparency

https://lnkd.in/ghreYC46 "But the changes may not fix everything recruiters are dealing with. The recruiter from the health tech company says their company rarely posts jobs to LinkedIn; the job platform’s Easy Apply feature sends too many unqualified applicants their way. And with so many people out of work and applying, they’re relying more on inbound candidates, and have little need to source for more options." #recruitment