There's a lot to be said for comparing the current employment marketplace with the Stock Market, as demand continues to outstrip supply for staff in the UK, writes Clive Jefferys of Telecoms recruiter, JMA Network.
Just like share trading, relatively little stock changing hands can dramatically increase selling prices.
When it comes to current employment surveys, recorded salary rises are based on relatively few people actually moving jobs.
Just like investors hanging onto their shares, people stick in their current role until they judge the moment is right to move.
The jobholder hangs on until the offer becomes too tempting to refuse.
There is another aspect to recruiting in a Bull market, highlighted by a recent niche recruiters meeting.
As the afternoon progressed, opinion became increasingly divided and thankfully, the bar opened early. Option Three beckoned.
Prior to this, I had listened to endless presentations about interview techniques, background checks, vetting procedures, due diligence and more. All the complicated things that big companies tell you is essential in the correct selection of candidates, but without any real explanation as to why.
All these complex processes pre-suppose an excess of candidates, the Bear Market, but in truth this is yesterday's news.
In today's world, the primary purpose of all recruiters is to introduce the right candidates to the right employers with all possible speed.
Doing anything else is just getting in the way. Employers are the best-placed people to judge who is right for their business, not the recruiter. Our function is to understand our target sector, to hunt, to network and then get the right people talking as soon as possible.
There was another divide on show in the bar that night. The process-heavy recruiters moaned that their best candidates were being snapped up by someone else, but the other recruiters said nothing and simply smiled.
When clients engage a recruiter's help it's because they've already exhausted their recruitment options. So when they are prepared to pay a fee, they want results and they want them fast!
Anything less is unacceptable.
