Articles From the Team
Skilled talent, an improving economy and the increase in ‘passive’ candidates – the relationship between recruitment partners and employers
An article by Recruitment Grapevine this week raises an interesting point. “With candidate number declining and the war for talent hotting up, the relationship between recruitment partners [and employers] is becoming increasingly important”.
Whilst the article is focused on technical and engineering staff, the sentiment of the article is relevant to other industry sectors where specialist skills and/or qualifications are in demand, such as the Legal sector.
As the market improves and demand for additional employees increases, individuals with specialist skills often recognise that their skills are in demand. They are also well looked after by their current employer and will often only move for career progression, financial gain and/or other personal reasons. The result is that they tend to become less ‘active’ job seekers, who apply for fewer roles, respond to fewer job adverts and are less likely to post their CVs online, certainly when compared to activity during the downturn.
By becoming ‘passive’, these job seekers make themselves much harder to identify, attract and keep engaged in the recruitment process. This is because they don’t respond to traditional advertisements, they often need to be verbally ‘sold the benefits’ of a role, and they need more time and a slower approach when being interviewed. Interviews are very much a two-way street and the ‘passive’ candidate will be far more critical when considering potential job opportunities.
This is particularly troubling for companies trying to recruit directly, where there is no established database of potential talent and zero history and/or relationship with the candidates they hope to attract. Recruiting ‘passive’ talent requires a different approach, an approach based on established personal relationships, trust, a knowledge of a persons motivations and lots of upfront leg work.
As highlighted in the article, it is “now more than ever … that working with capable and reputable recruitment consultants can often be the key when clients begin to tackle the challenge of finding the right people to help grow their businesses.” “Placing your trust in your recruitment partners, by understanding that their day-to-day business is all about conversing with quality candidates and understanding what drives, motivates and pushes their buttons, is also imperative.”
BCL Legal is a specialist Legal Recruitment Consultancy with over 11 years experience. Our in-house legal recruitment team are dedicated to a specific geographical location and/or sector. As experts in our chosen field, we have an intrinsic understanding of the in-house legal market and are therefore able to offer the best possible guidance for both clients and lawyer candidates.
Craig Wilson is a Senior Consultant in the In-house Team. He focuses on the recruitment of legal professionals into commerce and industry across the South East of England and he has extensive experience managing client and lawyer candidate relationships for some the world’s leading organisations. If you would like to know more please contact him on 0845 241 0933 or via email at craigwilson@bcllegal.com.