Recruitment freezes thaw!

StevieJ

Some positive news on employment but don't expect big pay rises.

But the number of firms operating a recruitment freeze has dropped from 61% in the spring to 37%. This was largely due to firms unfreezing parts of their organisation, and there was far smaller drop in the number of firms who have blocked new hires across the whole business.

http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2009/11/16/53015/recruitment-freezes-starting-to-thaw-cbi-survey-reveals.html

lemonjelly

You're in a positive mood today!

How many of these will be seasonal jobs is what I'm wondering...?

StevieJ

lemonjelly wrote: »

You're in a positive mood today!

How many of these will be seasonal jobs is what I'm wondering...?

Yes, strange how it is the same report as Mystic has started with a headline of

A rise next year? You'll be lucky, warn bosses

My bottle is half full I suppose

PasturesNew

I'm thinking about getting a "proper job" in January, just to stop me becoming too odd and hermit-like.

In 2008 I had applied for a couple and they were always pulled either before interview or (in one annoying case) 2 hours after I'd been offered a job and accepted it ... which is a major reason I stopped bothering to look because the agencies were all telling me the same thing: that employers just weren't making up their minds and were just interviewing "in case" they got projects approved. Now, call me mad, but I didn't see the point in spending all my time looking for jobs, getting interviews, spending most of a day getting ready for (and to) an interview, just because they weren't sure what they were up to. So I didn't.

lemonjelly

PasturesNew wrote: »

I'm thinking about getting a "proper job" in January, just to stop me becoming too odd and hermit-like.

In 2008 I had applied for a couple and they were always pulled either before interview or (in one annoying case) 2 hours after I'd been offered a job and accepted it ... which is a major reason I stopped bothering to look because the agencies were all telling me the same thing: that employers just weren't making up their minds and were just interviewing "in case" they got projects approved. Now, call me mad, but I didn't see the point in spending all my time looking for jobs, getting interviews, spending most of a day getting ready for (and to) an interview, just because they weren't sure what they were up to. So I didn't.

Agree with all this PN.

A couple of years ago it really started to get to me. Hey, I'm no high flying city boy or anything, but I am a hard worker, & am relatively intelligent (I think).

In between jobs, whilst applying for a variety of roles, I found myself increasingly frustrated by how job applicants are percieved by potential employers. There is a big thing with not even replying to applications - not even as a courtesy (I'm sure this could be done by email at least). I've had interviews where the previous applicant was allowed 45 minutes to give a 10 minute presentation. They stopped me at 5 mins saying it was dragging on (NB the other applicant already worked there. I stood my ground & advised them that I was halfway through my 10 min application, & that my interview was an hour late as they had over-run, not me, as I'd had to wait outside the interview room, & could see the other applicants powerpoint going along for ages. Shockingly, I didn't get the job. Even more shockingly, they re-advertised 4 months later, as their chosen employee quit!) I've experienced considerable delays in awaiting responses. I've seen examples where the employer in question advertised anumber of vacancies, & has tested several hundred, & interviews over 200 just to fill 6 posts! How can that be objective? Or time efficient? I also had an employer advertise posts, & when I rang up for an update/feedback, was told "we had so many internal applicants we decided not to include external applicants in the selection process".

Do these people lack manners completely? Do they have no perception of how this is playing with people's lives?

I think in some ways it is a very sad indictment of how people are reduced to "tools" in our capitalist system. That worries me.

baileysbattlebus

PasturesNew wrote: »

I'm thinking about getting a "proper job" in January, just to stop me becoming too odd and hermit-like.

In 2008 I had applied for a couple and they were always pulled either before interview or (in one annoying case) 2 hours after I'd been offered a job and accepted it ... which is a major reason I stopped bothering to look because the agencies were all telling me the same thing: that employers just weren't making up their minds and were just interviewing "in case" they got projects approved. Now, call me mad, but I didn't see the point in spending all my time looking for jobs, getting interviews, spending most of a day getting ready for (and to) an interview, just because they weren't sure what they were up to. So I didn't.

My daughter is a recruitment consultant and your experience pretty much describes what was happening to her towards the end of last year and most of this year.

She would get a vacancy in, source candidates, get interviews lined up, only to be told that the vacancy had been pulled or put on hold - or worse the company would make an offer and then withdraw it - frustrating for her and the candidates.

The last couple of months have been different - more jobs coming in and the candidates are actually being offered and the offers are not being withdrawn. So things do seem to be improving a bit (for her and her candidates anyway). She recruits for the insurance market - not general recruitment.

Wookster

PasturesNew wrote: »

which is a major reason I stopped bothering to look because the agencies were all telling me the same thing: that employers just weren't making up their minds and were just interviewing "in case" they got projects approved.

It is quite draining when that happens.

I've had two jobs 'disappear' in the last 4 weeks, I would just stop job hunting as it takes up so much energy but I need to do something as I'm getting bored with winter approaching.

No evidence of a recruitment thaw at all, despite what stevie thinks.

StevieJ

Wookster wrote: »

It is quite draining when that happens.

I've had two jobs 'disappear' in the last 4 weeks, I would just stop job hunting as it takes up so much energy but I need to do something as I'm getting bored with winter approaching.

No evidence of a recruitment thaw at all, despite what stevie thinks.

Correction, what the CBI and employers think hope that helped.