Unrealistic expectations of labour market

Media release                                                                                                 

4 August 2009

Employers have unrealistic expectations of labour market

Employers who believe they have a wide choice of highly skilled candidates to choose from because of rising unemployment are in for a shock when they next advertise a vacancy, says an Auckland recruitment specialist.

Megan Alexander, senior manager of finance, accounting and IT recruitment agency Robert Half, said many employers thought there was now a large pool of highly skilled unemployed candidates and had unrealistic expectations of the labour market.

Statistics New Zealand today released its Quarterly Employment survey, showing the number of fulltime equivalent employees had fallen 3.2% in the year to the end of June and the number of filled jobs decreased by 2.1%.

Official unemployment statistics for the quarter will be released on Thursday. Last quarter unemployment stood at around 5% and it is forecast to rise to 7-8% next year.

But Ms Alexander said this did not mean there was a large pool of skilled candidates available to fill jobs and some employers had to start being more realistic.

“Especially in professional services, New Zealand is still experiencing a shortage of skilled, talented staff,” Ms Alexander said.

“The reality of this recession is that while many organisations are shedding staff, they are being selective about the staff they shed. Star performers are not being shown the door in large numbers, because companies realise these are the people who will help them through the recession and prepare for the upturn.”

Even top performers were made redundant, through company closure or drastic downsizing, they were quickly snapped up by other employers that were still short of top talent, Ms Alexander said.

And even though the number of New Zealanders crossing the Tasman was decreasing, Australia was still tempting many finance and accounting professionals with higher wages and salaries, she said.

“In Australia our recent Workplace Survey revealed that 60% of Australian companies believe there is a shortage of high-quality finance and accounting professionals and 35% of companies would be willing to negotiate higher pay for a suitably qualified candidate, even in this economy,” she said. In New Zealand 59% of companies believe there is a shortage and 30% would be willing to negotiate higher pay.

Despite the high demand on both sides of the Tasman for skilled and qualified staff, Ms Alexander said some employers were rejecting candidates who met eight out of 10 of their desired criteria, saying they wanted to see only those who were a perfect match.

“The reality is, if a candidate fits eight out of your 10 desired attributes, you should be interviewing that candidate, as they may be the best available,” she said.

Ms Alexander said Robert Half received a high number of applications for every job it advertised, but most candidates simply were not suitable for the position.

And she had some advice for those candidates – they had to realise they were competing against a large number of similar unemployed people and had to be more selective about the jobs they applied for.

“There is no point in applying for every job that’s going on the off chance you might get it – you won’t,” she said. “Recruiters have to be very selective, looking for specific skill sets. If you send in an application that doesn’t match the advertised job, you are potentially damaging your own reputation. It suggests you haven’t taken time to research the job and how it matches your own skills.

“You are much better to ring the advertiser up, have a talk to them about what’s really required for the job and then apply only for those you are truly suited to. When you do apply for a job, put some real work into your CV – make sure you tailor it to the specific job and make sure it stands out from all the other CVs being sent in by people who aren’t really suitable.”

Some candidates who were newly unemployed also should brush up on their interview skills to give themselves a better chance of landing a job, Ms Alexander said.

“We are seeing quite a few candidates who are job hunting for the first time in many years They haven’t had much practice at interviewing and simply don’t know how to sell themselves, to show why they match the job and what value they will bring. As a result, they are sabotaging their own chances of success.”

Candidates had to really sell their skills, personal attributes and abilities to stand out from the crowd, Ms Alexander said, and some might even have to consider further training to increase their skills and improve their job prospects.

“The candidates who are winning jobs are those who are flexible, realistic about the market and able to show precisely why they fit that particular role and the value they can add to the company.”

Ends

© Scoop Media