Steve's Blog (for Jobseekers & those hiring)

I was in a conversation the other day with a colleague and we were discussing what our respective companies are going through right now, regarding the ever-decreasing pool of strong talent, and the difficulties in sourcing, presenting, and closing these hires to be productive members of our hiring pool. 

I have learned the following:

1. For highly-valued skill-sets, there is no down-turn – if candidates are strong enough, they will have no difficulty entertaining multiple offers and will have a variety of options on where to work.
2. For those of us, that may not seem to have highly marketable experience or skills, there is a wide divide, and the only way to cross that divide, is to to strategize accordingly by emphasizing those strengths that we do possess, and eliminating or minimizing weaknesses and shortcomings. 
3. In some cases, this may mean skills-building or training.  In other cases, it may mean looking at career shifts to move us out of career paths with limited success to those with more opportunities.

For the recruiting/staffing professionals that work to identify and manage the placement or disposition of both pools of candidates, it presents multiple challenges. 

We must be willing to move candidates through the hiring process as expediently as possible, with an eye towards the volatility of the attention spans of both the employer and candidate.  We must be mindful to generate strong matches based on clear criteria before us, and make the best judgements we can on limited information.  We must also be ready with contingency candidates when those really “great” prospects don’t pan out.  We have to be aware that sometimes a candidate that on paper seems to be ideal, really isn’t, and there may be times to cut the cord, let them loose, and move on. 

Is this a real war?  Are there casualties?  It seems like that sometimes.  I always hear about how recruiters and hiring teams are always “putting out fires,” “doing triage,” and sometimes “keeping the bleeding” to a minimum.  At the same time, like in war, to the victors go the spoils.  In other words, the most efficient, effective, and (dare I say it) ruthless armies will win the battles (small and large) and (hopefully) the war.