As the year draws to a close it looks like it's going to a fabulous time for job seekers in 2014. A recent survey by the CIPD reveals that over a third of workers in the UK are not happy with their current job and want to move employer next year.
After five years of pent up frustration about working hours, little or no increase in salary and the higher cost of living, people are running out of patience with their financial lot. Now that the general economy is doing well, the stock market is soaring and companies are posting better profits, employees are saying - 'me next!'.
The signs of this can be found right across our world of telecoms recruitment. Over the last six months we have received ever more calls from candidates getting back in touch after a five year silence. Conversely, advertising response is at an all-time low. In 2007 a good job in comms would garner thirty applications whereas today you'll be lucky to receive half a dozen, and most of them will be pretty poor.
So what is driving recruitment activity? The big change in our market has been the rise of business social networking websites, and everyone is trying to link up with everyone in a desperate attempt to generate new candidate connections like a game of career conkers. However, an accepted invitation to connect does not constitute a motivated job seeker and employers have discovered that 'having a chat' does not automatically lead to serious interest in a job offer.
The RoI on networking is dramatically lower than working with people who have already taken the decision to seek a new role.
Meanwhile, the candidates that are actively looking with us are enjoying unprecedented choice as everyone fights for their attention. We've seen telecoms people garner six offers of employment in as many days, and the average salary we have secured for candidates has risen by 18% this year alone.
My analogy is that the recession has acted like a huge dam, full right up to the brim with a five year backlog of candidates wanting career change.
Fear of redundancy and fear of making the wrong decision has held back the natural flow of our river of candidates. Hirers and recruitment agencies have gotten used to relying on the very few candidates that have brimmed over the top of this dam, but I think it's all about to change for the better.
Peak flow in recruitment is always the first half of the year as 75% of actual job moves take place before the summer holidays.
Whether my candidate dam bursts or we just open the sluice gates wider, I predict there will be a lot more people on the market after Christmas.
It will be a lot easier to hire new staff, particularly if you raise the salaries you offer to get the attention of the best candidates. Certainly our client base is issuing new job orders daily in anticipation of this rush.
So here's how to make 2014 your best year yet for hiring: • Always be on the lookout for new staff
• Talk to everyone - online, agencies, referrals
• Meet candidates quickly and make decisive offers
• And never delay start dates