For the past year, the job market has been in the doldrums. While not unexpected given global economic conditions, at times things were so bad that even some retainer oriented executive search firms, who normally can ride out market slowdowns, were cutting staff.
I should mention though that while the market was slow, it was not dead. There were still many positions open on the market. What changed though were the nature of the roles (many more in the public sector; many more in less senior technical and sales functions; many fewer staff roles), and the nature of their being recruited for (via job posting boards vs. through ads or search mandates).
So, where are we now, in my opinion?
Thankfully, for those looking for work, and those in roles who stayed while unhappy in what they were doing, only because the job market was slow, the market is picking up. Governments and public sector/not for profit employers are still actively hiring. What has changed though is that Companies who put hiring on hold while cutting expenses (including headcount), are increasingly back in the market.
This is a wake-up call therefore for leaders; employees; and investors. For investors, there are some publicly traded executive search firms in both Canada and the United States, and it is worth taking a look at where their share prices are vs. book value; historic cash flow; debt/equity ratios, etc.. For employees who are not happy where they are, more positions are now opening up; the search firms are much busier than they were; and the job posting boards are much fuller than they were several months ago. For leaders, while still wrestling with the aftermath of staffing and compensation reductions that you’ve had to manage through over the past 12 months or so, you now should begin to turn your attention to understanding who’s valuable and at risk of leaving, amongst your staff. If not already on a competitor’s radar screen, you can be sure that they soon will be.
The economy is recovering, and while economists debate whether this will be a V, U, or W (I do not believe that it will be L-shaped) recovery, and while all agree that hiring lags economic expansion, key hiring actually leads the economic recovery.
This is good news for Leaders who can be first in taking talent from competitors; good news for talented employees who are unhappy where they are and have the courage to leap to something new; and good news for investors who make the right investment calls.
It’s been a long time coming, but improving job markets are here.