There’s no doubt about it, navigating our way through these unprecedented times and being inundated with news and different media sources can easily lead to misunderstandings about the current climate we are working in.

News reports would have us believe we are heading towards unemployment rates last seen in the 80’s but is that really the case? We must remember that, put into context, unemployment differs greatly depending on location, industries and age range. A recent report stated that current ONS figures of 4.1% are still close to the lowest this has ever been. Putting that overall figure into context locally, unemployment in the East of England is currently running at 2.8%, the lowest for the whole of the UK!

As experienced HR recruiters, we are seeing more and more companies falling into the trap of thinking that in the current market there will be many more job seekers to apply for their positions and this makes us worry.

From the conversations we have been having over the last few months with candidates and clients alike, the HR sector has not been making the large-scale redundancies and job cuts that other sectors have suffered from. As a consequence, the market is not “flooded with immediately available, great HR candidates” as many would believe.

In addition, too many times, not enough consideration is given to the message that needs to be sent out to the market about the company brand, the proposition, why the role is exciting and the best opportunity for the candidates. Simply putting the job description with the company logo on a generic job board just isn’t going to cut it. Yes, they will probably get some applications, but these are likely to be applications from someone sitting at a laptop applying for everything. And do hiring managers have the time to sift through all of those?

Now more than ever, it is extremely important to get the recruitment message right from the start and ensure you are bringing your role to the largest possible market, engaging not only active but also passive candidates. Working in partnership with a Consultancy such as Waddington Brown where we make it our business to understand where our candidates are at in their career journey can help you open those doors.