Employees open to being sought out for job offers

Finding a new job isn’t always easy, but it seems that workers across the country are coming around to the idea of being headhunted by organisations. While the digital domain might make job seeking easier, it has also made the situation more complex in various different ways, recruiting agency Hudson has found.

The recruiter’s Hiring Report: The State of Hiring in Australia 2015 illustrates that three-quarters of people are open to the idea of being approached about jobs. However, many companies are finding it tough to find and attract the right talent for their needs.

“Best practice hiring is far from a digital-only approach,” said Hudson Executive General Manager Dean Davidson.

“Social media channels are growing rapidly however their effectiveness as a sourcing channel is still to be proven.”

A multi-strategy approach is therefore favoured by many companies, with 34 per cent admitting to using recruitment specialists, while 31 per cent choose to access personal networks. Internal referral schemes and headhunting also ranked highly on the survey.

One factor that often has an impact on people’s willingness to seek a new job is consumer confidence. After all, if they are optimistic about the world around them, they are more likely to want to make big decisions that will have an effect on their lives.

The latest ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence Index for the week ending January 24 posted a decline of 0.4 per cent from the previous week, although the reading remains above its long term average.

Nevertheless, the household finances compared to a year ago sub-index experienced a rise of 5.1 per cent, which more than compensated for declines witnessed over the past fortnight.

Firms hoping to expand their workforce and attract new talent could find it is worthwhile to have HR management software at their disposal.