Wow! What a difference a few weeks can make to the marketing recruitment market and isn’t it a buoyant market now!
Over the last few weeks, we’ve been working on more new positions than before COVID-19, which has started to feel less of a world away now shops, pub gardens and restaurants (with their creative out door heating arrangements) have opened again!
We’re seeing a fantastic balance across levels and less of a disparity between the positions coming through which means candidates across the board are in the mix for vacancies, perhaps with slightly less competition than say back in November! Which interestingly means we’ve seen a huge flip and companies are almost light on candidates, yet with many roles on the market.
Since the beginning of April we’ve managed recruitment processes with a whole plethora of candidates who have more than one offer on the table – they have options again! Naturally, there’s almost a war on soft benefits and flexible working to hire the best talent and counter-offers are rife! Nevertheless, we’ve managed some fantastic placements this month with candidates securing their dream jobs and companies overjoyed with their new recruits so all in all a crazy, busy and positive month!!
What I would say to companies right now is really consider the working arrangements you’re offering candidates, since January 2021 we’ve worked with only two companies enforcing five day a week working and it really proved challenging as companies are adapting, so where you can, adapt too!
Candidates, consider your options! Professional development opportunities, team feel, company growth and role diversity opposed to just salary and benefits when accepting a role! When you’ve got two or three offers on the table, a good old pro’s and con’s list can make all the difference.
Alongside one of the busiest months we’ve had, we haven’t forgotten about the importance of work life balance (which feels kind of like a fashion statement nowadays) and with April being Stress Awareness Month, Brand have been focusing now more than ever on how to reduce stress…..This week some of the team had a very extended lunch together to sit in the beautiful outdoor space of Provenance Cambridge, soak up the glorious albeit chilly air and dive into a three course meal and appreciate seeing our work colleagues faces in flesh!
Meanwhile several of the Brand team, if not all, have dived straight back into exercise with a Bootcamp addiction flourishing for many and personal bests at the local gym which many have re-joined….needless to say the double set of stairs to the office have been a chore for many this week.
We’re taking advantage of long lunches, having more conversations on how we’re feeling and absolutely finding ways to help each other manage navigating through this continuously bumpy period!