I was having coffee with another recruiter colleague a couple of days ago. He owns a “staffing agency” and currently has about 500 part-time, temporary or contract employees working with his clients. He’s a very smart business guy and our conversations are always interesting and enlightening. After this meeting, I realized once again how lucky I am to have a niche, a recruiting specialty and expertise.
Most recruiters’ number one issue, the thing that routinely keeps them up at night is that inability to find qualified and/or reliable employees. Seems amazing doesn’t it, when all we’ve heard for the past six or seven years is how bad unemployment is?
I’ve said it before and now I’m saying it again. If you factor college degrees into the equation, the unemployment rate drops significantly, to as low as 3.6% in some studies. Well folks, that’s what’s called “full employment”. It is not easy finding qualified candidates. Yet, I’m lucky to be in a position to have a bit of an advantage.
I’m in a niche, recruiting exclusively for marketing and advertising. I’ve been in that same niche as a recruiter for (almost) 15 years. I’ve spent my entire career (to date) in that niche. All that time and specialization, along with an online presence and reputation I’m very proud of, has lead me to having the advantage of candidates finding and contacting me. They introduce themselves because they want to “be on our radar”. I had forgotten how lucky I am. It’s also an advantage for our clients.
Because of the length of time in one industry, the various reviews, articles, word of mouth client (and candidate) referrals, and (thank god for) Google, I have an advantage of having candidates get in touch with Bishop Partners, daily. . . normally a dozen or so. Many of these are successful, productive, ambitious and smart enough to be interested in consciously moving their career forward, not waiting for chance . . . or that elusive promotion.
Those scores of resumes that are uploaded to our database on a weekly basis, invariably contain some gems . . . superior candidates who are absolutely top performers, having real impact on their current employers (and clients) and who want to get better . . . they want to grow. They know that the market is improving and there are now opportunities out there. They believe that often times, executive recruiters are contacted for the best, most critical roles in the industry. They’re right.
Recruiters call those candidates “Most Placeable” (MPCs), because there is an almost constant demand for them. Roles like “Digital Strategists”, Writers who practice “content development”, Online Producers and Creative Directors and the “pink squirrels” of 2015, marketing data analysts, are in constant demand. These same sorts of competencies and needs also exist on the brand/client side.
As a result of the niche, we have a constant supply of “MPCs”, in virtually every discipline all across the country. These professionals are not available very long because their value is in such demand and so easy to recognize. Employers have started to hire in advance of need. Compensation packages are starting to increase. Competition for talent will only become more difficult in the future.