Where are all the candidates gone?

This year showed what kind of upheavals and fluctuations happened in the labor market. Through the HR sector, we can best see that the dynamics of the relationship towards the candidate, especially in those occupations that are in short supply, have changed a lot. The candidate is the one who leads this dance, but we notice that most employers and Clients do not understand how charming, skilled, and correct a dancer must be to get employees with the right skills. Without a thorough change in access and benefits, all published ads will remain in the ignore zone of available job seekers.

In the era of digitization and online connectivity, the number of forums or websites is growing, where former or current employees leave their subjective impressions of the employer very clearly. Records of layoffs, flexible working, overtime, office climate, diversity, or attitudes toward advancement have become litmus tests for determining potential preferred employers.

It's really funny that most companies still don't publish the salary range and financial compensation for the roles they're hiring for when it's crucial information most candidates need to make informed decisions. With a transparent approach and publication of the salary range, the selection process can be drastically accelerated and at the same time generate better talent.

Thanks to the large number of advertised and available jobs, candidates discover that they have every right to be picky about employers. In today's market set-up, the selectivity of candidates according to the offered conditions does not bring financial and existential discomfort as it was before the pandemic. We know that many employed people if they have competitive skills, receive daily offers from recruiters on Internet platforms such as LinkedIn. Remote, flexible work and online interviews only facilitate the whole situation regarding accessibility and those of employees.

Meanwhile, increasingly desperate recruiters are faced with the need to fill those jobs that were planned at the beginning of the pandemic that caused the world economy to freeze. Fintech and Tech companies and their HR departments are chasing their tails and are in a constant hiring cycle due to increasing workloads, pay-back plans, and a volatile and highly competitive job market for that type of candidate. For this reason, the value of employer branding, remote/flexible work, opportunities for learning and development, salary transparency, and all bonuses for well-done tasks has been realized in such entities as well. Also, while waiting for the right candidates, a large number of companies have tried to upgrade their existing employees to cover the tasks dictated by the new jobs. Even the giants, companies such as Google, Amazon, and the Bank of England have changed their plans and allowed remote working options in an attempt to keep staff on the brink of redundancy.

The new legal framework for remote work and the epidemiological measures that limit us provide additional justification and reason to enable flexible work for as many employees as possible if the job description allows it. In addition, it is becoming increasingly clear that this shortage of quality personnel will have to more actively initiate skills acquisition and upskilling processes at the level of each company. If nothing else, the pandemic and isolation work have shown that the era of vertical micromanagement is waning, and the self-confidence and need for employee autonomy is growing.