How the tables have turned!
Since I joined the Recruitment world in Cayman 5 years ago, the market has been very much what we call “Candidate Driven.” This means that there are more jobs available than suitable candidates to fill them, therefore you might have one candidate who could do 3-4 of the roles you are trying to fill.
COVID-19 has dramatically effected everyone’s lives all over the world and has seen some pretty obvious short term effects however, now, after 9 months of living with this pandemic, the longer term effects are starting to come to light. As far as the Cayman recruitment market is concerned, this has led to a “Client or Employer Driven” market. Oh, how the tables have turned!
What this means is that now we have more candidates or employees looking for roles and not enough jobs to go around. Especially at the more junior or mid-tier level where companies might have decided to remove these roles altogether to cut costs.
So, what does this mean for someone searching for a new job now?
- Increased competition: Due to the increase of candidates in the market looking for roles, the probability of a company considering more candidates for one role is very high. (For an example, a Reception role will have 100+ applicants.) This means there will be an increase in competition between candidates. There are lots of things you can do to set yourself apart from the competition such further education/qualifications, volunteering/community involvement, standard preparation before interviews. (time keeping, dress code, research etc.) At the end of the day, you need to try and be the best version of yourself. (Using a recruitment company such as SteppingStones can really help when increased competition comes into play!)
- Flexibility: When more candidates enter the market and there is more competition it can be helpful to be flexible on the types of roles you are considering and the industries you might be looking at. Considering Temporary roles can be a great way to get your foot in the door and gain some transferable skills in the short term.
- Salary expectations: A competitive candidate market can be challenging as sometimes candidates will drop their salary expectations to secure a role and companies will sometimes be looking for a “deal” (Getting good talent as cheaply as possible). However, in these challenging times, you still want to know your worth and what salary you can comfortably live on based on cost of living etc. It really helps to do some market research when it comes to this!
Here in Cayman, we’ve been very fortunate to not have been affected by COVID-19 in the way most of the world has been, through wide spread death and devastation, however our economy has been negatively effected, just like everyone else.
With that said, employers within the Financial Services and Legal industries are always looking for top talent for their senior level qualified positions such as Lawyers, Accountants and Compliance professionals. So maybe, at this level, the tables haven’t turned as much as we think?
Hannah Foreman
hannah@steppingstonesrecruitment.com