Research from fish4jobs can confirm that although recruiters are being more cautious with their budget, there are still plenty of vacancies advertised in the UK.
It appears that despite the credit crunch the employment market is still buoyant.
When asked what methods recruiters have previously used to attract candidates over half (57%) of recruiters surveyed admitted to having used recruitment consultancies, the same amount (57%) used their own website and 54% used jobs boards.
Now, nearly two thirds (64%) admitted that it is much harder to recruit with less money to spend, which might be why more recruiters (an increase in of 8% to 65%) are turning to their own website to promote their vacancies, running the risk of missing out on the best candidates.
Joe Slavin, CEO fish4jobs comments:
“It is evident that recruiters are being more cautious with their money, but recruitment will continue to be an important cost unless the jobs market slows down. This is great news for job seekers as there are still plenty of vacancies available, although everyone should exercise caution before leaving jobs hastily.”
With Christmas recruitment plans just around the corner, it makes sense that recruiters plan in advance their seasonal recruitment, knowing that the best candidates are snapped up very quickly.
Over 80% of those surveyed felt that the current climate won’t affect the recruitment of seasonal staff, with employers looking at ways to retain existing staff over the Christmas period to save spending more money.
There is good news for candidates looking to find short term contracts over the Christmas season, as many retailers and warehouses have already budgeted to recruit for Christmas staff and will be starting their campaigns as early as August and September.
Statistics from the fish4jobs website show the towns and cities where the highest number of jobs were posted during the first six months of 2008:
Manchester, Birmingham, Reading, Leeds, Bristol, Liverpool, Oxford, Gloucester
Warrington, Nottingham
The most frequently searched for job categories amongst jobseekers in the same period were:
Secretarial, retail, driving and transport, IT, construction, healthcare, distribution, education, customers services, accountancy
To help recruiters get the most out of their budget, fish4jobs have compiled the top 5 tips:
1) Make sure you know exactly how many staff you need before you start any recruitment plan.
2) When deciding how to attract staff, think about where people will look for a similar job.
3) Sometimes it is necessary to advertise in more than one location, for example advertising in newspapers and job boards works really well for generic recruitment, whereas a trade magazine is better for specialist jobs.
4) Remember to have a full job description and person specification so you can recruit wisely and filter out C.Vs quicker.
5) If you find the right person – don’t let them go! Let them know you are keen, invite them for a second interview quickly. In this market people will snap up a good job if they find it.
Tips for candidates looking for work:
1) Remember that in this climate recruiters may not run fully integrated national campaigns so be prepared to research company websites you are interested in.
2) Ensure that your CV is up to date and you know what you are looking for – good jobs will go quickly
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
3) Make sure your CV is visible to recruiters – access job boards, attend recruitment fairs, speak to friends and family
Christmas may seem a long way away, but companies are starting their recruitment campaigns in August / September so if you want that job you need to start applying now!
4) Don’t give up – it may take longer to find the right job but there are still plenty of vacancies out there – so be patient!
