It would be an understatement to say the recession is having a huge impact on the recruitment market. One of the most concerning aspects from a recruitment perspective is total inertia.
While the economy is on the verge of deflation, recruitment is already characterised by stagnation. People are frozen with fear of making the wrong choice, just when businesses need them the most.
Inevitably, the focus is on leadership performance. Many CEOs are questioning whether they have the right team in place to survive the difficult times ahead. Priorities change and teams have to adapt with them. Bullish expansionist strategies are well and truly over and everyone is reassessing how to move forward.
Because of this, the job opportunities that are coming across my desk are some of the most well thought out and will often prove to be the most important hires an organisation will ever make.
Sometimes companies are seeking the white knight saviour and we will always counsel against that — it just sets people up for failure. But most often businesses need a new executive to bring about positive change and rebalance a business so it can move forward.
Organisations are actively looking for people who can drive change. The challenge is that people are inclined to ‘play it safe’ in the belief that this is not a good time to move on. In most cases, their rationale is flawed and driven by what they are seeing in the news, rather than by their own circumstances.
Some of the businesses that made knee-jerkcuts are already having to return to the recruitment market to staff back up. Others are making decisions slowly and with the market in unimagined decline, the team cutbacks are ebbed out over weeks.
It is a turbulent time and has definitely created an atmosphere of corporate mistrust which already is proving detrimental to our economy’s survival.
So although there are some amazing career opportunities and some true leadership roles out there, people just don’t want to even want to entertain a move.
I understand the power of security in this market and how destabilizing it can be to even explore an opportunity outside of someone’s current focus. But do not dismiss the idea out of hand.
You might not be actively seeking a new opportunity — you might actively be keeping you head down. But don’t dismiss the head-hunter’s call.
There are some great jobs and if you step up to the plate and succeed in this market, your positive career trajectory is pretty much guaranteed.
