1. Rejected Offers Rise
Candidates Now Driving
the Job Market
Over the past two years, recruiters in the executive and
managerial space have observed significant changes in hiring
practices, the most important being a shift from an employer-
driven market to a candidate-driven market. Following this trend,
new data indicates the talent market is now overwhelmingly
driven by top performers. Recruiters who responded to the most
recent MRINetwork Recruiter Sentiment Study provide
cautionary advice to employers who haven’t yet awakened to the
new reality.
“I have been recruiting for nearly 17 years and I have never
seen the market more candidate-driven than it is now.
Candidates have choices and ‘A’ players are being heavily
courted,” said a Joe Cianciolo, Senior Account Manager,
responding to the study. According to the report, in the
second half of 2013, 79 percent of recruiters described the
labor market as candidate-driven, up 12 percent from a year
ago.
The executive and managerial market continues to be so
candidate-driven, because the talent pool remains weak. As the
economy rebounds, average candidates simply will not do –
employers want star players to help them move their businesses
forward. This leaves top performers at a strong advantage.
Multiple job offers provide these candidates with more
bargaining power and the ability to reject less desirable work
agreements. According to the study, 49 percent of candidates
refused job offers as a result of accepting an offer with another
company, up 16 percent from the first half of 2013.
MRINetwork recruiters report several reasons for why more jobs
are being turned down:
1. Qualified candidates are hard to find and also difficult to
move. New jobs are not offering high enough salaries
or enough benefits to incent a move.
VOLUMEV|||ISSUE8August2,2013
© 2012 Management Recruiters International, Inc. An Equal Opportunity Employer
2. Top candidates are interviewing with multiple
companies and have multiple offers to consider.
3. Good candidates are becoming more difficult and
demanding. Employers haven't caught up yet. They
still think they can get a great candidate cheap.
4. Employers are taking too long to complete the
interviewing process.
With rejected job offers on the rise, the candidate-
driven market points to several things:
1. Employer branding is more important than ever to
entice star talent. “Companies should be re-visiting,
from the top down, why their company is a great place
to work, and why not,” said Robert Boal, General
Manger of Management Recruiters Cleveland-
Southwest..
2. It is now crucial that employers find ways to streamline
the hiring process to avoid losing their top picks. One
recruiter noted, “Slow hiring processes give candidates
access to more options and more time to rethink their
reasons for making a change.”
3. Salary and benefit packages need to be aggressive,
not simply market-competitive. Another recruiter
added, “More employers need to consider offering a
higher salary if their benefits are not as competitive
with those currently provided to the candidate. Many
employers looking to hire have cut back on benefits
and this isn't being covered by increased salaries.”
4. Counteroffers are a reality, especially when it comes to
top performers. Since exceptional candidates are
frequently recruited from other companies, prospective
employers should be prepared to offer a salary and
benefits package that the current employer is not likely
to beat.
The good news is that more employers are realizing the
executive and managerial market is candidate-driven.
According to the study, 25 percent of employers are
presenting job offers within two weeks of the first interview,
up 6 percent from the first half of 2013.
While the study results demonstrate that hiring trends are highly
favorable towards top performers in the executive and
managerial space, the data is not representative of overall
hiring, which the Federal Reserve noted in its most recent Beige
Book, is holding steady or increasing at a measured pace.
Even still the results are encouraging, showing consistent signs
of economic recovery.
Source: Department of Labor
Submitted by: Joe Cianciolo, Senior Account Manager
Management Recruiters of Cleveland-Southwest
>Exper t s i n Gl obal Sear ch
(330) 273-4300 ext. 109
JoeCC@MRCSW.com

2. Employment Situation Report
No bad news is good news.
There was no bad news in the July Bureau of Labor
Statistics Report, and the offshoot may be the
indication that flat job growth will likely continue the
Federal Reserve’s Quantative Easing Program and
continue to fuel the economy with cheap money.
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by
162,000 in July, and the unemployment rate edged
down to 7.4 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics reported today. Employment rose in retail
trade, food services and drinking places, financial
activities, and wholesale trade. Many of these new
jobs produced were reported to be lower paying
positions
Both the number of unemployed persons, at 11.5
million, and the unemployment rate, at 7.4
percent,edged down in July.
Employment in professional and business
services continued to trend up in July (+36,000).
Within the industry, job
growth continued in
management of
companies and
enterprises (+7,000) and in
management and
technical consulting
services (+7,000).
Employment in temporary
help services changed
little over the month.
In July, the number of long-
term unemployed (those
jobless for 27 weeks or
more) was little changed at
4.2 million. These
individuals accounted for
37.0 percent of the
unemployed. The number of long-term unemployed
has declined by 921,000 over the past year.
The civilian labor force participation rate was 63.4
percent in July, little changed over the month. The
employment-population ratio was unchanged at 58.7
percent.
The number of persons employed part time for
economic reasons (sometimes referred to as
involuntary part-time workers) was essentially
unchanged at 8.2 million in July. These individuals
were working part time because their hours had been
cut back or because they were unable to find a full-
time
job.
In July, 2.4 million persons were marginally attached
to the labor force, little changed from a year earlier.
(The data are not seasonally adjusted.) These
individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and
were available for work, and had looked for a job
sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not
counted as unemployed because they had not
searched for work in the 4 weeks
preceding the survey.
Among the marginally attached, there were 988,000
discouraged workers in July, up by 136,000 from a
year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.)
Discouraged workers are persons not currently
looking for work because they believe no jobs are
available for them. The remaining
1.4 million persons marginally attached to the labor
force in July had not searched for work for reasons
such as school attendance or family responsibilities.
Retail trade added 47,000
jobs in July and has
added 352,000 over the
past 12 months. In July,
job growth occurred in
general merchandise
stores (+9,000), motor
vehicle and parts dealers
(+6,000), building
material and garden
supply stores (+6,000),
and health and personal
care stores (+5,000).
Within leisure and
hospitality, employment in
food services and
drinking places increased
by 38,000
in July and by 381,000 over the year.
Financial activities employment increased by
15,000 in July, with a gain of 6,000 in securities,
commodity contracts, and investments. Over the
year, financial activities has added 120,000 jobs.
Employment increased in wholesale trade (+14,000)
in July. Over the past 12 months, this industry has
added 83,000 jobs.
Provided by MRINetwork www.MRCSW.com |