2024 Hiring Trends

 I’m seeing a few trends in hiring right and it’s going to be interesting to see how this plays out –

  

A big push back with working from home, especially for anyone in the finance and accounting world. Employers want them back in the office with little to no work from home.

Hiring people over 35 is trending.  Yes, ageism is in reverse. I’m hearing the younger generation doesn’t want to work. They are on their phones more than working and have challenges with communication and interpersonal skills.

Employers don’t want to hire anyone who’s moved around a lot. Understandable if it’s been 10 – 15 years of constant change. But if they had movement during Covid it’s a hiring mistake not to talk to them. The average person moved 3 times during Covid.  A lot of people had to move jobs due to issues with their industry/company and it wasn’t by choice.

Fear – people are fearful right now because of the economy and the political climate. It’s been putting a damper on hiring. 

The Grass is Greener

Wow what a difference 10 years makes.

10 years ago, most of my blog posts were about how to survive the Great Recession.  Those blog posts include advice from my Grandfather and how he survived the Great Depression, which is still an interesting read.  They also included how difficult it was for me to talk to friends on the kid’s school playground about their layoffs but, times have changed and for the best!

Right now, unemployment rates are crazy low --   Los Angeles, CA is at a 4.4. Orange County, CA is at a 2.4 and Tampa Bay FL area at 3.3. Times are good and shockingly some of our clients are still very conservative with salaries and pulling the trigger with hiring. They learned a big lesson and a good one from the past, but we do caution them on taking too much time and offering too little money.  Good people are getting hired quickly and if our client finds someone they want to hire, it’s like the crazy housing market, you need to jump on it and make an offer! A start date can always be contingent on background checks and references so if someone is that great fit – make the offer! 

The grass is greener right now – go for it.

*Amazing lawn care and photo credit go to Holden McLeod

I already sent it.

I had two people in two days’ time ask me for help with their job searches after they’d sent their resume to a company. They wanted me to call the company directly to pitch them because they didn’t get a response from sending in their resume. This happens often, the black-hole of resumes - no response from emailing a resume. It goes into a virtual pile of paperless resumes. 

Sadly, I can’t help. Once you send a resume you are considered a "prior" by human resources. This means that I basically have no claim to your resume anymore as my candidate; you become the company's. Occasionally, if they are a client we’ve been working with for years and if they’ve over looked you, they are fine with us presenting you. However, if we don’t have that relationship and you are in their system – they don’t want to talk to me let alone pay a commission.

Recruiters work for our clients. As much as we try here at TAG to help every candidate possible (the person applying for the job) we can’t. Our client, the company, their needs come first. We find and fill what they need. It’s one of the rough edges of recruiting. I’d love to start a candidate coaching/teaching division one of these days so we can help out people a bit more, but Dave prefers to stay focused on recruiting – which is fine. He’s still here working daily so we try to stick to what works for him.  

So, we recruit and work to find the proper candidates for our clients. If you do need help on your own, this blog is a good place to start! 

How to Interview a Candidate for your Job Opening

1. Remember this is not a social event. This person is not your friend.

2. Remove your ego from the equation. Be genuine.

3. Especially in this economy, do not assume the unemployed person you are interviewing is second class. In fact, don’t treat anyone like they are second class.

4. Start with a plan. Write down the important questions you need answered and ask them. If you need to make a check list of your questions do it and then check them off as they are answered.

5. If they don’t answer directly ask the question again in a different way. Candidates are trying to avoid difficult questions as much as possible. They like to talk around things. Sometimes it takes a few tries to get a real answer out of them. Yes, this speaks to their character.
6. Take notes – write all over their resume.

7. Be real about your needs and wants. Understand the job you are hiring for.

8. Listen. Quit talking so much. Ask your questions and wait for an answer. Stop the chatter.

9. If you don’t like the person at all be gracious and kind when you exit the interview. That person could know the perfect person for your job and will refer them – if you are cordial to them.

10. If you think the person is fantastic don’t over sell the job or the company – again, be real.