Cautious Employers Still Not Fully Confident In Hiring
According to Jobsite`s latest Online Recruitment Market Tracker, an air of caution remains with those businesses who are looking to recruit.
Whilst more companies are recruiting overall, fewer jobs are being advertised, suggesting that it is only critical vacancies that are being filled rather than widespread recruitment. Interestingly, it is SME’s that have made the biggest change in recruitment over the summer with 11 per cent more advertising vacancies than in February 2010.
It would also seem that businesses are returning to more tried and tested recruitment methods with a steady rise in adverts seen in newspapers, on job boards or in trade publications, whilst the use of social networking websites or business networks has suffered a sharp decline. This is also reflected in how people are looking for jobs, with the most popular method being online job boards, whilst both social networking and career fairs are losing the attention of job seekers.
This latest bout of research, which has been conducted since the general election, suggests that it could be the changes in government that have resulted in some of this cautiousness.
Recruiters and job seekers are both looking for a simple, ‘no-frills’ service from their chosen job boards but whereas recruiters tend to remain focused on using one job board, candidates are more likely to use several different ones. The latest research shows an eight per cent increase in candidates using between three and five job boards at a time. While businesses are wanting to minimise recruitment costs, candidates are feeling that they have a greater chance of finding a job by spreading their net wider.
Keith Potts, MD of Jobsite.co.uk, said: “The Online Recruitment Quarterly Market Tracker report is an invaluable piece of independent research detailing how both recruiters and job seekers are changing their behaviour. It helps to show the true effects that factors such as the recession or a new government have on job hunting and recruiting. It’s fascinating to see both the similarities and differences between the two audiences and by gaining a better understanding of their changing attitudes and behaviour it means we can do a better job at meeting their needs.”
Source: Recruitment Consultant – www.rec-con.co.uk
