A recent survey – the 1999 Recruitment Industry Survey commissioned by the Federation of Recruitment and Employment Services – revealed an 11.8 % increase in turnover on last year for the recruitment industry as a whole.
I impart this fact only by way of illustrating that the recruitment sector is extremely buoyant. It reflects the increased trust that employers are putting in recruitment companies to assist with the increasing problem of finding good staff.
Any good future business strategy must place a significant focus on attracting, recruiting and retaining good staff at all levels.
The jobs market is big business. There is a wealth of opportunities available to those with the skill sets, talent and emotional intelligence to seize the openings.
Note how often the pages of the press, and not just the classified section, carry editorial coverage and speculation about who’s being appointed to which role and who’s being moved out in restructuring.
One potential issue facing many businesses is balancing the requirement to resource quickly at all levels whilst not compromising on the quality of the candidates.
Potentially the balance between youth and entrepreneurial flair and avoiding the pitfalls of an immature management structure is a tough one. So where are the bulk of these new opportunities?
While there is still an on-going requirement for most skills at middle-management level we have seen a significant increase in the demand for candidates with a genuine vision for the part that the Internet will play in future.
I’m not necessarily talking about techies but more buyers, marketers and generally commercial managers with an excellent knowledge of travel.
The demands in this arena are great and the rewards high.
There are certainly some exciting and lucrative career opportunities in e-commerce but the clever money should be on those businesses with a strategy that encompasses good commercial travel knowledge along with proven technical skills.
If you are looking at a career move into this sphere do your market research. There will be failures.
With the advent of all this technology we should be worrying about the effects of the disappearance of intermediaries on our business.
But luckily, despite significant technological advances, the facts show you’re not yet sourcing your candidates or jobs without us!