Recruiters are going to extreme lengths to hire

A year since the US started seeing record sales, exhausted employers are putting everything on the table.

The pandemic-recovering economy has proven to be a market for job seekers, with nearly 48 million people quitting their jobs last year and 76 million taking up new jobs. According to recent Labor Statistics data, the labor market currently has 11 million jobs open, and about two jobs for every person looking for a job.

Pete Lamson, CEO of Employ, the parent company of several recruiting brands, said: “If today’s labor market is a golden age for workers, it’s a bonfire for those in the workforce. Employers cannot adapt to the new world we live in.

To make up for that, recruiters are fighting to hire by advertising skyrocketing salaries, throwing out bountiful benefits, and putting everything on the line to fire one candidate – before another. remove them.

Payment transparency is on the rise as businesses in some states and cities, like Colorado and soon New York City, are being asked to include their wages on job listings. Angela Copeland, senior vice president of marketing at Recruiter.com, says many forward-thinking companies are advertising pay to attract talent.

And bands are on the rise, too. Copeland recently heard about someone being poached by a competitor and being offered three times their current salary – they weren’t even actively looking for a new job, she said, “and the starting salary is not a bad one.”

Most people, she says, negotiate a raise with a new job, but “going above and beyond that is a new phenomenon.”

Erica Thomas, a technical recruiter in Palm Coast, Florida, says high-paying advertising is vitally important for companies trying to find direct workers. If she’s flirting with someone working remotely for a job that requires them to be on-site, “we’re probably not going anywhere,” says Thomas. But if she raises a high enough salary, it might be enough to get them to go in for an interview. “If I say, ‘you’ll be on the spot and the range is $118,000 to $130,000’, we’re talking now. You might be interested in getting to the place with that money. “

“You have four to eight seconds to grab a candidate’s attention, whether they’re looking actively or passively,” Thomas adds. “People want to know the bottom line: how much will they be paid.”

Paul McDonald, senior managing director of Robert Half, said higher wages and remote work are important factors for so many job seekers today, so employers are scrambling to get the job done. bringing out the latest and greatest. That includes setting up a four-day workweek, flexible working hours (common among caregivers), paid leave (attractive in a high inflation environment), and reimbursement for expenses. work from home expenses such as phone and internet bills.

During the last year, Crystal Brown-Tatum, a human resources manager based in Dallas, started rewriting all of her company’s job descriptions to lead with benefits first. After all, everyone knows what job and company they’re applying for, so why waste precious time when she can showcase all the benefits they have to offer?

McDonald’s says it’s “unquestionable” that bringing special perks into the mix is ​​helping companies close in on hiring. According to a July 2021 Robert Half survey of more than 2,800 senior managers, 48% are offering bonuses for signing contracts, 43% are giving more paid time off and 40% are offering better job titles to attract new employees.

Lauren Rackley, 31, recently received a $19,500 relocation bonus to move from North Carolina to Florida for her new pharmacy job. Previously, she had to move across the country to find work but never received more than $5,000. “It was the best I’ve ever had,” she says of the offer, which allows her to pocket any money she doesn’t end up using on the go.

As an employer himself, Brown-Tatum finds the competition “tough” from both sides. She’s taken on two new jobs since the pandemic began, and receives an average of two messages from recruiters a week with what she considers a certified job offer – not a lot. Are you ready to chat?” but more about the “we’ve got this job, we want you to take it” sales pitch, she explains. Not long before our call, Brown-Tatum said she received one such message offering $40,000 more than her current salary.

Brown-Tatum says that recruiters typically try and respond to applicants within 24 hours of their application. With her rapid closing speed, she saw up to eight people quit a job within a month – all for six figures each. “When people leave a $100,000 job so easily,” she says, “it tells you how tight the market is.”

Employers are creating a wider network on LinkedIn by searching for people with titles that match the job but loosen the requirements for education, years of experience, or location. Lamson says it’s really a good time to transform the industry. “There is mobility in the workforce if employers can look beyond specific requirements and beyond into workers’ abilities, aptitudes and attitudes.”

They are also catching up with recent job transfers to see if things are up to their expectations. If not, hopefully, employers will consider another move?

But they’re having a hard time being targeted and personal while trying to expand their reach. Copeland has seen an increase in recruiters using LinkedIn to send video messages to potential clients, up to 3 minutes long, inviting them to apply. “It’s a really different approach and it takes a lot of time,” she said.

In some cases, employers may be willing to revisit old candidates and accommodate negotiations they have previously rejected.

Deanna Havrelock, 25, lives in Medicine Hat, Alberta. She applied for a job as a production supervisor at a food manufacturer earlier this year but was told it would be a contract position without any benefits, bonuses or relocation assistance. (she is currently a 5-hour drive from the factory). She felt it wasn’t a “safe offer”, so she turned it down and said she hoped to eventually join the company.

In early April, she saw the job was still open and applied again. The employer called within a few weeks and offered her a full-time salary, benefits, bonus and relocation – everything she wanted before but was told no. .

Havrelock has yet to give them an answer. She’s also taking on a corporate HR role, where more hours and more room may be available to negotiate.

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