State of Recruiting Powering the World of Work - Viewpoint - careers advice blog Viewpoint careers advice blog

State of Recruiting Powering the World of Work - Viewpoint - careers advice blog Confidence is an elusive quality. It’s also the quality that is so fundamental to a healthy job market as it drives the belief of professional individuals that it’s a favourable time to look for new work. It’s just as fundamental to employers, giving them the faith that the economic conditions are right for taking on new talent. When both our candidates and our clients have confidence, we see a marked step up in terms of job movement and job creation. Undoubtedly one or other of these two groups has suffered from a serious knock in confidence over recent years. That is what has made the specialist recruitment business such a challenge since 2008. When that all-essential confidence was lacking in so many parts of the world due to the uncertain economic backdrop, as an industry we realised that we had to innovate and look to new markets to position us favourably for the future. Thankfully, those opportunities did exist for those who looked hard enough and were willing to invest. That has been one way in which we have developed our own business, taking our industry into markets where specialist recruitment remains a new concept. Times and technology are changing. The way we work, both in the world at large and in the recruitment industry specifically, is evolving fast. I’m acutely aware of new developments such as the growing influence of social media, and these innovative ways of interacting professionally as well as personally have to be acknowledged. No industry is immune from the impact of technological change and our industry is no exception. However, I think that adapting to change is a great opportunity, not something to be feared. We have embraced social media as an opportunity and I’m proud for example that Hays is the most followed recruiter in the entire world on LinkedIn. I see technology as being a great enabler, and ours is an industry where it is important to have this at the heart of any strategy. In many ways we are the ultimate people business and our value is driven by the skills and expertise of every one of our consultants. However, equipping them with the technology tools to do their jobs even better makes a big difference. This is something that I’ve made a particular focus on in my time at Hays, investing in technology to help towards our ultimate goal to achieve a global reach, to be the expert in as many industry sectors as possible, in as many places as opportunities lie. That’s why we’ve developed a global database that works with and complements the knowledge of our consultants. Each is vital to the other â€" technology can do a great deal, but nothing can replace human expertise and experience, particularly in a field like ours, which is all about human beings. I’m glad to see business confidence returning in one of our largest markets, the UK and job activity there is picking up very quickly. Having weathered some very difficult years of late, other European markets are also looking stronger. Even Spain, which has been one of the worst hit of the Eurozone economies in terms of unemployment, is showing signs of improvement. Asia is hitting record levels of demand again and the North American market continues to gain momentum. These are all reasons for good cheer. Candidates are moving jobs and clients are investing in their business so they need more talent. I can honestly say that I sense a greater level of confidence in the job market globally than I have for several years. My business is a lightning rod of candidate and client optimism, and we have to be quick to react to changes in mood. But after six years of relative anxiety in many markets, we’re now experiencing the swell of good feeling that’s returning to many geographies and industries. That’s not to say that we don’t still face challenges. Markets will always fluctuate and it’s for us to respond accordingly. But confidence is on the up in many quarters, and that can only be a good thing for candidates, businesses, and recruiters the world over. //