No Such Thing as the Perfect Job Candidate?

The Biggest Problem Being the Lack of Appropriately Skilled Candidates

Bullhorn have recently released their annual recruitment trends report in the USA, which is always interesting for those working in the UK recruitment sector too, as many of its findings apply to Europe as well. One particularly interesting finding was with regard to the biggest challenges for this year, according to recruiters. Around 33pc of respondents said that a lack of appropriately skilled applicants was the biggest challenge. And in a separate question, over three-quarters of respondents said that they were experiencing a shortage of candidates with the right skills in various sectors, including IT.  

This was particularly interesting given how high-growth the IT education sector is, both in the US and here in the UK. The number of people achieving qualifications is steadily growing, so how can there be a lack of appropriately skilled people looking for roles?  

Unrealistic Client Demands

Many believe that the 'issue' is a perception one, driven primarily by unrealistic client demands. In fact, this was highlighted in the report as being the second biggest challenge of 2013. Certainly, empirical data in the recruitment industry suggests that some recruiters are reluctant to be seen to criticise their clients - even in an anonymous report -and others have become accustomed to unrealistic demands as being the new norm. So in reality, this figure might be even higher.  

There shouldn't be a lack of skilled Job candidates

Or even problems with access to this pool, particularly as social media and data-mining allow recruiters to engage with passive candidates and fill vacancies more quickly than ever before. Another question in the study gave further insight, showing that compensation requirements from job candidates are not yet in line with the clients' expectations. This could be symptomatic of the wider client-expectation problem as a whole, particularly given the growth of the highly skilled IT sector and the vast amount of demand for roles within it.  

The Idea of the Perfect Job Candidate

It seems that in pursuing this idea of a 'perfect' job candidate, some clients are in danger of ignoring more cost-effective alternatives, such as hiring smart, fresh graduates and challenge-seeking unemployed individuals and giving them the training they need to work in the industry. If carried out correctly, this strategy could help deal with the shortage of specific industry skills, cut costs and also build employee engagement and loyalty. For clients and recruiters alike, there is a real opportunity to start doing things more realistically and reap the rewards accordingly.

Written by Ross Stokes of Circle Square - Finance & Accountancy Jobs London