Published: October 2021
According to the latest Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Survey of Customer Expectations, 75% of people expect one or more job offers in the next four months. And as shown below, candidates aren’t only choosing between two offers, some of them have four or more.
“I’d estimate that nearly 80% of the candidates we’re talking to are interviewing multiple places,” said Greg Lagan, director of recruiting at Paragon IT Professionals.
“We’ve seen candidates receive multiple offers in one day, with the majority getting an offer immediately following their first interview.”
In addition to multiple job offers, we’re also seeing Midwestern companies lose local candidates to coastal companies offering remote work and higher salaries. Paragon recently experienced this with a Minnesota-based client who offered a candidate $220,000 annually, but ended up losing to a California-based company that offered over $400,000 to work remotely.
While there are advantages to offering remote work – and even local candidates want it – there are challenges it can bring (especially when the person is located 2,000 miles away).
Lack of loyalty and commitment are top of mind for Paragon. When an employee (or consultant) is an unknown remote resource, they may be more inclined to leave a contract early or not fulfill daily obligations because they have no connection to the local market.
“There are no simple answers for how an organization should think about hiring talent,”
said Lagan.
“Every skill set brings unique challenges – some skills are easier to find locally, while others make more sense to shift from a full-time employment or contract-to-hire model to straight contract. This all depends on how long an organization can afford to sit with a role vacant.”
Think about why you’ve lost candidates recently – do you know the real reason? Is there a theme? Are you still following the same pre-pandemic hiring practices?
How to Improve Your Success Rates:
- Speed to decision: one of the most important factors in winning your preferred candidate is how quickly you’re prepared to move – ideally, making a hiring decision within 24 hours of the interview.
- Leverage your partners: before posting a job, discuss your needs with a trusted partner who can share what to expect for that specific skill set and what could help increase your odds of success.
- Get creative: whether that’s committing to a longer-term contract out of the gate, being flexible with work status (W2 vs. 1099 vs. Visa) or committing to a growth and development roadmap.
- Stop being so picky: find a candidate who has most of what you want/need and consider training on the skills they may be lacking. The more selective you are, the harder it’ll be to find talent. Technical skills can be learned and developed over time – decide what hard or soft skills are deal breakers.
- Budget appropriately: if you're in the process of budgeting for 2022, plan to pay 5 to 10% more per skill set (and up to 15% more for highly competitive technical positions).
With 72% of tech employees in the US thinking of quitting their job in the next 12 months, employers have to reconsider their retention and hiring strategies. Interested in participating in a facilitated session to improve your hiring practices? Complete the form below and we'll be in touch to coordinate a date/time that works for you and your team: