by SuzanneThis is the hottest candidate market I’ve ever seen as an executive recruiter — and we’re almost ten months into a global pandemic.
That’s not what the news pundits would have you believe. The pervasive undercurrent is that this-is-a-terrible-time-to-look-for-a-job, and it’s dead wrong. Changes in the workforce this year, plus enormous increases in demands for certain jobs, combined with the ease of scheduling zoom interviews (iso in person full day onsites) means mid-career and executive professionals are being hired in just 3-4 weeks!
For comparison, the average rate time from interview to hire at the executive level is usually 6-9 months. And it’s not just my clients who are seeing these results – I’ve spoken to several other recruiters and HR leaders who’ve said the same thing.
What’s going on? Let’s take a look.
Why the Pandemic Job Market is PERFECT for Candidates Like You
Candidates are always surprised when I explain what a hot candidate market we’re in right now. And yes, it’s not true of EVERY industry. Travel and hospitality are still on shaky ground. But tech, biotech, logistics, health and subscription services are thriving. Now is a fantastic time to find your next role in one of these sectors. Here’s why:
There are less people working
Over one million Americans dropped out of the workforce in September alone. More than three-quarters of that number were women (source). There are less people working, which means good candidates are hard to come by for hiring managers.
In fact candidates are so scarce that a VP of HR said to me recently, “people we laid off already got hired. It’s amazing because we fired them and yet they got hired again within 4 weeks!”
There’s lower productivity
Working from home can be enormously productive… but it’s tough when you’re also Zoom-schooling your children, or stepping on your partner’s or roommates’ toes trying to find a private place to attend a meeting. Then there’s your dog needing a walk, and the libraries and coffee shops you could escape to are still closed… etc. It’s just hard to get in a full day’s work, and many companies are feeling that pain, and hiring accordingly.
What Most Candidates Don’t Know about Job Competition
That’s the reality: a scarcity of candidates and lower productivity mean more employees are needed. But the perception among employees is the opposite.
I hear this time and again in my coaching practice and around the Internet: “I know now’s a terrible time to be looking….”
Or, “I’m able to work from home and I have some flexibility. I don’t want to rock the boat so I’m not going to look until the pandemic’s over. I’ve got a sort of good thing going, I don’t want to mess with it.”
Sigh.
In other words:
- People who were looking for a new job before have stopped, because they don’t want to mess with a “sort of good thing.”
- So we have less employable people willing to take a meeting AND we have more work available! The market has swung hard in the favor of job candidates in a way I’ve never seen before in my life.
Hiring is so rapid right now. Three people I know got offers last week – amazing offers. One got a 50% increase. Another’s been looking for a year and it’s her first offer, which she received within three weeks of applying for the position.
There’s minimal competition. If you’re going to make a career change now’s the perfect time (despite the economic doom-and-gloom you see in the news). Companies and hiring managers have to be open and flexible because they don’t have a choice.
And one more thing — companies are doing their best to meet their year-end goals. So hiring tends to accelerate in December. Seriously, there could not be a better time.
So go forth and rock the boat. You don’t need to cling to a “sort of good thing” when there’s a fleet of stable boats out there that will make you more fulfilled, better paid, and happier. Always take the meeting — it could be the yacht you’ve been waiting for.
Whether you’re looking for a job or an opportunity, you’ll need to get past the screening process so you can ace your interview. That’s what my Guide for a Career Defining Job Search will do: ensure you’re searching for and finding the right opportunities for YOU; opportunities so right that you’ll be an obvious “yes” to the hiring manager in charge of vetting resumes.
Click below to download this free (and highly detailed) cheat sheet so you can get one step closer to landing the work life you’ve earned.
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