Counter-offer, higher bid, multiple offers, buzzing sectors, does that ring a bell? No, I'm not talking about the real estate market in the Montreal region here, but rather the new reality of recruitment.
Recruitment, this word is often used, especially in the past two years or so. Usually, it is associated with an adjective such as difficulties, problematics, challenges, rarity.
I was on the benches of the university in the late 90s and my professors told me about the aging of the population, the inversion of the age pyramid, demographic problems, shortages of human resources and all that seemed a hypothetical and far away problem, but it is not at all the case now. The problem is very real and, adding to this the relative good performance of the economy for ten years, we have the perfect ingredients to create the situation in which we find ourselves today namely, a rarity of labor in several activity sectors and therefore, in increasingly difficult recruitment mandates.
I have been working in recruitment for 20 years and, for the past 2 years, I have frequently asked my clients to revise their hiring criteria a little bit down or at least to shorten the list of their criteria, because in many In some cases, it is simply no longer possible to recruit in 2019 as we did in 1999.
In the ideal world, my clients are looking for candidates with solid relevant experience in their field of activity, proficient in French and English, both oral and written, mastering software in particular, having various certifications, having a good experience in management, being good team players and with certain leadership, having a good stability in previous jobs, demonstrating a strong interest in joining his organization, being ready to invest long term with my clients, with average salary expectations, and the list could go on and on.
My clients have all the right reasons in the world to find the best possible candidate, but in 2019, they must learn to prioritize certain criteria and to drop others. Indeed, with the current situation of the Quebec job market, my role is to see with them what is necessary in terms of the qualifications required of what is not. Does a candidate absolutely need to have 5 years of management experience in order to manage a small team or could this skill be developed in their new position? Does the fact that a candidate who masters Solidworks software rather than Solid Edge automatically means that he is an irrelevant candidate? In addition, a business located in Sept-Îles can no longer have the same expectations as another located in Montreal.
The purpose of my advice and interventions with my clients is not to lower their expectations in order to submit lower quality candidates, but rather to offer them my market perspective and to align their expectations with current reality. The quality candidates are all in place, they are popular and sought after, the competition between companies is fierce to attract and recruit them and we must therefore adjust our expectations accordingly.
As recruitment specialists for 20 years, I and my team have mastered recruitment, but unfortunately, we cannot do the impossible.
Do not hesitate to contact us to take advantage of our expertise or discuss your need, without any obligation on your part. We will be happy to chat with you and answer any questions you may have.
