Smarten up, Recruiters Tell Employers in Tough Job Market

Employers will have to start communicating better and offering more flexibility if they hope to attract op talent in a tight job market.

WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, February 8, 2007 – Employers will need to be more flexible and more communicative if they hope to attract top executive and professional talent in a "candidates' market". That's what recruiters are saying in a new survey entitled Recruiters in 2007: What lies ahead for headhunters and executive search firms.

Asked what the top challenge they expect to face in 2007, the majority of recruiters identified finding qualified candidates to fill available positions. This is good news for people looking for new career challenges, but it is bad news for employers who must compete for a small pool of highly-qualified talent.

Asked what one thing employers can do to benefit more from recruitment services, recruiters said, "Be more responsive." In particular, they lamented insufficient information about positions and the desired candidates, making it difficult to identify the right candidate, and a lack of feedback on candidates they present, making it difficult to make improve their selections on subsequent efforts.

"Employers are going to have to provide better information about what they are looking for if they want to fill their most important vacancies," said Esther Barzel of The Online recruiters Directory, the sponsor of the survey. "Recruiters are giving some excellent advice. This report should mandatory reading for every employer."

Recruiters also identified the need for companies to offer more than just salary to prospective executives and professionals, citing corporate "culture", as well as flexible hours and work environments.

The survey drew a 10% response rate from the members of The Online Recruiters Directory. The questions were open-ended, and as such this represents a qualitative review rather than a data-driven study.

The Online Recruiters Directory is a listing engine for recruiters, headhunters and staffing firms across the United States. The database is searchable by location and by sector. The complete report can be downloaded at http://www.onlinerecruitersdirectory.com . Recruiters can join the Online Recruiters Directory at http://www.onlinerecruitersdirectory.com/select_membership_plan.php

Please see also previous release: Recruiters Predict Hot Jobs for 2007