The hunt for quality candidates and why you could find them in the most unlikely of places!

When it comes to finding candidates, one of the question on everyone’s lips this year is “Where have all the quality candidates gone?”. Filling niche vacancies with exceptional applicants is seemingly getting harder and harder. Why is this – are there less job seekers? Are the job seekers out there less able?

Or are you looking for them in the wrong place?

Times have changed and so has the job market. We strongly believe that there are plenty of top quality candidates out there – they just might not be in the places you expect…

The first thing to take on board is it is no longer the norm to stick to one career pathway. On average people change jobs ten to fifteen times during their career, making a major change in industry or sector as often as every 5 years. Not only is it is much more widely accepted it’s commonplace.

But what does this mean for you? Recruiters need to broaden their search! There is a high chance the quality candidate you are looking for isn’t already in the sector you are recruiting.

Yes you may be recruiting for a niche area but remember skills are transferable! The kind of individual you are looking for may not have worked in this sector but could have easily gained the skills needed from other fields. Start by working out the direct skill set you need for the position, then think of other areas this could translate to. Not only could this candidate offer an interesting outside perspective, they are also likely to bring in additional benefits. Plus if they really excel it will be easy for them to pick up the new jargon and finer details of the industry.

Another recent trend we are experiencing is that candidates now place a lot more emphasis on company values and benefits. This means they are often happy to consider a career in a sector they previously had not considered if they felt the company was a good personality match or offered them the opportunities and culture they wanted. This is especially prevalent for the Millennials who are the first generation to value experience over direct wealth.

Finally it’s important to look at the way social media has impacted career choices. With more companies and individual putting out a constant dialogue of their work social media has exposed people to a massive range of career options and job types. Applicants are regularly discovering jobs they previously didn’t know existed, are far more open minded to change.

To prove our point here are our top five high-profile examples of successful career changes:

1. Ellen Degeneres, famous comedian and television host, originally worked as a paralegal.

2. Reed Hastings, the CEO of Netflix, began his career as a door-to-door salesman selling vacuum cleaners.

3. Elvis Costello, famous for his singing, originally started his career as a lawyer working as a defence attorney.

4. Marissa Mayer, the President and CEO of Yahoo was first employed as a grocery clerk.

5. Martha Stewart, businesswoman, writer, and television personality, made a dramatic change moving from a career as a stockbroker on Wall Street tycoon.

If you’re in a hurry to recruit new talent then use our Emergency Candidate Boost service and find candidates for jobs!