Recruiter Sentiment Study 2 nd Half 2012 Second Half 2012 MRINetwork.com/RecruiterSentiment
Recruiter Sentiment Study 2 nd Half 2012 As leaders in the search and recruitment industry, MRINetwork recruiters conduct searches every day in virtually every industry at the executive, professional, and managerial level. From their vantage point, our recruiters have a keen awareness of the overall job market and the factors that affect it. In July, we once again conducted the MRINetwork Recruiter Sentiment Survey to evaluate the current employment landscape and to project its direction in the months ahead. On the positive side, our findings indicate that the job market for professional and managerial talent has steadily gained momentum and now rests squarely in the hands of candidates. According to the survey, 67 percent of participating recruiters, defined the talent market for the professional sector as candidate-driven a 13-point year-over-year increase. Companies are realizing that they have to move decisively to get exceptional candidates on board. Nearly half 47 percent of recruiter-assisted placements this year occurred after only two interviews or less, while 60 percent of accepted offers were made within just four weeks of the first interview. These statistics represent significant 19-point and 10-point increases over last year s data. Yet, these are only of successful placements, and in the open comments you can see the growing frustration of recruiters trying to navigate top talent through often extended hiring processes that are leading to multiple offers and turndowns. As you navigate today s changing landscape, it is our hope that the findings of this survey will help you develop the employment strategies that will move your company forward. We welcome your feedback, as well as the opportunity to work with you in finding the people who will truly make a difference in your organization. Rob Romaine President of MRINetwork
What is Causing Job Openings? Recruiter Sentiment Study 2 nd Half 2012 60% 59% 50% 40% Jul-11 Jul-12 30% 21% 20% 14% 10% 3% 3% 0% Top grading workforce Newly created positions Vacancies from resignation Vacancies from retirement Other Q1: Of the job orders you are seeing today, what is the primary reason for the opening?
Recruiter Sentiment Study 2 nd Half 2012 Comments on the Causes of Job Openings Today We are seeing positions we have not seen in many years-marketing, IT, more support type positions that have been ignored. Current staff is overworked. Lean and mean for too long. A second major reason for openings is resignation. The supply of people is very tight and top performers are being recruited away from lower quality companies. Basically pent up demand. They have held off hiring for so long they cannot expand into markets without additional headcount. Clients are expanding into new territories or are adding staff to meet compliance requirements. I think many are backfilling positions that they laid people off about 2 years ago or so. They cut too deeply over the past few years. While I indicated newly created, most likely they had the position filled in the past, but downsized and now are able to hire again. There is a lot of movement in the market right now with companies adding to teams and creating new teams.
Candidate or Employer Driven Market? Recruiter Sentiment Study 2 nd Half 2012 Open Comments: 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 67% 54% 56% 46% 44% 33% 2nd Half 2011 1st Half 2012 2nd Half 2012 Candidate-driven Employer-driven It began to change "slightly" in 2011 to a candidate driven market - and has accelerated significantly in 2012 - candidates are less likely to just "jump" at an opportunity - they are pickier and more fickle. Is changing very slowly to a candidate driven market for higher level professionals, Director level and above. Lower level positions are still quite soft. In technical areas there is a severe shortage of talent and salaries are going up. I would say depending upon the position and the local market it could be either an employer driven or candidate driven market. I feel that we are on the cusp of tipping to a candidate driven market. Unfortunately our hiring managers do not understand this yet. Current housing market is influencing companies to hire less qualified but coachable local people. Cost/benefit of relocating top talent is diminishing. Q2. If you had to choose one, how would you describe today's labor market?
Has the Use of Counteroffers Increased? Recruiter Sentiment Study 2 nd Half 2012 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 52% January-11 48% 45% January-12 55% Yes No Open Comments: Multiple offers yes, counteroffers, no. I believe employers are becoming smarter about the risk of countering a candidate who has decided to leave. They would rather let them go and hire a long term prospect. We have seen more counteroffers, falloffs and multiple offer situations in the 1st six months of this year than we have in my six years in business. Counteroffers now happen on a regular basis, rather than the occasional event. The fight for talent is more fierce than ever. I expect all top performers to receive temptations to stay, and they do. Moreover, I've seen an increase in multiple offers in the past six months. Q3. In the last six months, have you seen an increase in the number and competitiveness of counter-offers?
Recruiter Sentiment Study 2 nd Half 2012 What is Holding Managers Back From Hiring? Sales have not rebounded and less staff is needed. 14% Sales have rebounded, but hiring managers are not finding enough suitable candidates to fill open positions. 20% Sales have rebounded, but hiring managers meet resistance to getting authorization to fill their open positions. Efficiencies found during the recession have allowed them to do the same with fewer staff. 18% 33% Jul-12 Jan-12 Jul-11 They already have returned to or surpassed pre-recession levels. 6% Other 9% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% Q4. What single factor - aside from a company s revenue - would most help improve employer confidence in adding to their headcount?
Recruiter Sentiment Study 2 nd Half 2012 How Recruiters Use Social Media to Identify Candidates Identifying candidates on LinkedIn. Maintain a profile on Pinterest. Post search assignments to Facebook. Keep in touch with candidates, including those that didn't get an offer. Identify candidates by looking for Twitter users using hashtags at industry conferences. Proactively seek out candidates through LinkedIn groups. Post search assignments to Twitter. 2% 2% 15% 11% 55% 77% 89% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Q5. How do you use social media in the candidate sourcing process? (Select all that apply) Open Comments: [Social Media] is a tool, not the engine of what we do-we still have to be on the phone and can not get away from that as our primary driver of this business. Social Media is another (very solid) tool in our arsenal. It is effective in sourcing and learning about candidates. I have more success finding more sincere candidates by search and recruit methods other than social media. LinkedIn is becoming saturated with recruiters of all types, so it is becoming increasingly difficult to source there. We are finding that our networks, being creative in where we look, etc. are yielding better results.
How Many Interviews to Get an Offer? Recruiter Sentiment Study 2 nd Half 2012 1 5% 2 42% 3 4 11% 36% Jul-12 Jan-12 Jul-11 5 + 7% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% Q6. Thinking of your most recent placement how many interviews were there before an offer was made?
How Long Does it Take to Get an Offer? Recruiter Sentiment Study 2 nd Half 2012 1 to 2 weeks 23% 3 to 4 weeks 37% 5 to 6 weeks 22% Jul-12 Jan-12 Jul-11 7 to 8 weeks 11% 9 + weeks 7% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% Q7. Thinking of your most recent placement how much time was there between when the candidate was first interviewed and when an offer was made?
Additional Open Comments Recruiter Sentiment Study 2 nd Half 2012 Every search I do on my desk is for a White Tiger. This is not by design and was not always the case. We are doing searches that are very narrow in scope of skill sets, thus challenging. Candidates are yearning for pay raises and benefit increases that they missed out on during the recession, but the real estate market still prevents them from relocating for a new position. Hiring processes definitely are taking longer these days. I have found that candidates' expectations have increased. No longer are they merely happy to just get an offer: they are looking for a significant improvement in their employment conditions. I find that some companies are very aware of the talent war, and willing to move quickly, while others are not aware, and thus are having a much more difficult time of filling their openings. Employers need to recognize the dynamics have suddenly changed. The most sought-after candidates will always have options. The only way smaller firms will survive the talent war is if they have a disciplined process to identify and attract the best talent. As a rule, I'm seeing more stakeholders involved in the interview process, which slows it down. It's not all about the money. It is about what they will be doing, flexibility and career advancement.
Recruiter Sentiment Study 2 nd Half 2012 About the Study The MRINetwork Recruiter Sentiment Study (2012 2 nd Half) is based on a survey conducted between June 19, 2012 and July 8, 2012 via a web-based questionnaire with a total of 218 recruiters responding. The survey has a 4.8 percent margin of error with an 80 percent confidence. The survey was conducted by MRINetwork and compiled by Sean Muir (215.282.8812 sean.muir@mrinetwork.com) of MRINetwork. Additional assistance was provided by Kitchen Public Relations and the MRINetwork Marketing Committee. This was the 3 rd edition of the study, which is conducted on a bi-annual basis. Parties interested in receiving the most recent report should contact an MRINetwork affiliate, which can be found at MRINetwork.com, or find more information at MRINetwork.com/RecruiterSentiment.