A BUOYANT recruitment market this summer is becoming even stronger despite some of the trade’s most testing trading conditions for years.
Harp Wallen managing director Kristina Wallen said the recruitment company has around 20% more work this month compared with September last year, leaving it searching to fill the highest number of positions it has had for two-and-a-half years.
She said: “We were expecting this to be the peak time of year but we weren’t expecting it to be as busy as this.”
She said the market is not only being driven by candidates returning from their summer holidays but by companies which, in the light of a depressed market, are looking to recruit the best available staff to weather future storms.
Companies are recruiting candidates with proven track records in maximising revenues and partnerships, she added.
Wallen said niche companies and online start-ups are also recruiting strongly while the corporate travel market is beginning to recruit again.
Mezzanine Recruitment director Lisa Walbridge agreed September is proving strong but added that once companies have the staff they need to face further tough trading conditions, recruitment drives will cease.
Despite high numbers of candidates in the market, some companies are missing out on the best staff by insisting on as many as four interviews, by which time candidates may have been offered another job.
Argyle director Martine Sullivan said the market was strongest for those looking for salaries between £40,000-£50,000 and agreed the niche and online sectors are the most buoyant.
She added: “Those companies seem more flexible and if a candidate has transferable skills, niche and online companies are more likely to hire them than the traditional players.”
Executive Search managing director Gail Kenny agreed online travel is proving lucrative, particularly among traditional agents and operators as they seek to grow and consolidate their online presence.
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