“The job market has changed forever”, cry the prophets of recruitment.
From shaken security to scrutinised bonuses, candidates are taking another look at their careers and prospects. On the agency side, online recruiters with massive volumes of CVs claim to have the edge with a pile ‘em high, sell ‘em cheap attitude that they think clients want when budgets are tight.
But we at FreshMinds are generally wary of prophetic assertions that ‘things will never be the same again’. Experience shows that the collective memory is short, old habits die hard, human nature prevails and fundamental value remains.
So what’s really changed?
Victims of the downturn have been forced to embrace contract or interim work. But many have discovered that they actually quite like it; revelling in flexible hours, personal autonomy, variety of task, multiplied networking opportunities and attractive wages.
Which is great for employers seeking to reconcile budgetary flexibility and a high-quality, fully utilised workforce – at some clients, interims make up 80% of a project team. It’s great for recruiters too, since more people changing jobs more often means more chances to add value.
And if you’re a candidate, well, it’s nice to know you have options.
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