No ways around it, it has been a hard year for everyone, especially in the job market. If you have been looking to move on, or even find an opportunity in a commercial role, you could have been forgiven for thinking “What’s the point?” The jobs on the job boards have diminished and the classified sections of the newspapers have fast become empty spaces full of fillers. Temp bookings have been idle and the phone that used to ring off the hook has been strangely idle.
Before you get too disheartened, there are serious reasons for optimism as we go in to the last quarter of 09. A year many will be glad to be rid of. As the queen once said, an “Annus horribilis” 2010 holds lot’s of promise, and the tail end of the year is the time to start thinking about that next move.
Our reason for thinking this on the recessionary cycle within recruitment and what we have learnt from the recessions of the past. The good news is that the Chartered Institute of Accountants report that in financial terms is already over. (Hooray, if the bean counters are optimistic things must be good.)
The recruitment cycle in recruitment terms has four clear stages which reflect employer confidence for the future.
Phase 1: Temp numbers rise and Perm Opportunities slow down or go on hold. This happened between July and October last year. Our temp numbers were very high whilst Perm placements slowed or disappeared.
Phase 2: Temp numbers drop and Perm Opportunities go to a standstill. This happened in November. It was like someone flicked a switch and turned the market off. This was followed by a period of negative news stories, redundancies (now called restructures), closures and the banks going seriously over their overdraft limit. (Strangely no charges were applied to them!)
Phase 3 sees a gradual increase in the number of companies using temporary staff with more people securing permanent jobs. From our offices, im delighted to say that this has been the case for the last 11 weeks with real signs everywhere that the sun is shining again. 
We are noticing that jobs are taking longer to fill, from three weeks last year to six weeks this year, and that candidates are being asked to attend more interviews and jump through more hoops to be successful. This means candidates need to be clear about what they want, and remain committed to getting the right job.
Research indicates that up to 35% of people in work are unhappy and will be looking to move once they are confident that the recovery really is here. That means there will be a lot of new openings, particularly in support roles coming up over the next few months, now is a great time to be looking.
Phase 4 sees full recovery in the economy. We expect this to come around by May 2010 at the latest. Now is the time to start preparing for the recovery, identifying what you want next and your real value in the market. Come in to the office for a chat about what you next, dust down your CV, brush up your skills and start looking for the right opportunity.
Good luck in your search, and enjoy the ride in to 2010 and beyond.
