Today’s Job Market – Cornerstone

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So, how’s the job market? As a professional recruiter with 19 offices in Asia and 70 offices worldwide, this is a question I get asked all the time.

 

Many business leaders also share their perceptions of the talent market with me with words like tight, flat, robust, competitive, and so on. However, the war for talent requires much more than a single word description. To me, today’s job market can be summed up in three ways: It’s competitive; there are choices; and truths and many half-truths abound.

It’s Competitive

 

In today’s world, without competitive advantage it’s difficult for any business to lead the pack. It stands to reason that employers should be on the lookout for special leaders – men and women who can provide the  spark needed to give their company that competitive advantage. And the reverse is true: leaders are looking for the special companies that they can resonate with –where they can have an impact.

 

Both prospective employers and the leaders they are searching for have become VERY selective. It has come to the point that finding the perfect match resembles finding the proverbial needle in the haystack.

 

In the short to mid-term, employers need to keep in mind that it’s a candidate market right now…so plan accordingly.

There Are Choices

 

Some companies are downsizing, it is true. But even in these turbulent times many more companies see opportunities to expand. Since the talent pool for many industries is finite, employers are having to work much harder to attract the right talent at the mid-to-upper level management ranks because those individuals are now well-employed and in demand. And THEY KNOW It.

 

They know they have choices in their fields or in related industries. This means companies have to be creative to attract them, without the help of the buoyant economies of yesteryear. It’s a fact that the China / Asia economic situation is no longer experiencing the world-leading growth of 5 years ago. This means that most companies have to do more with less and budgets are tight.Therefore,employers have to be innovative: they have to figure out creative ways besides monetary incentives to make their organization more attractive than their competition’s.

Truths & Half-Truths Abound

It troubles me to talk about this but it’s apparently become a new reality in our culture. It’s a problem that both recruiters and employers have to deal with: lying. Some candidates either have become so desperate or are so lacking in moral integrity that making bogus claims to get ahead has become disturbingly common. Research shows the percentage of people who lie on resumes now exceeds 50%.

We have recently been involved in two situations in which potential candidates for fairly senior-level positions falsified their credentials or health conditions.Thankfully we caught these candidates out to protect our clients.

The point I’m trying to make to employers is: be careful. As an expert partner in the search process, Cornerstone International Group understands completely the significant costs of inappropriate hires. We understand the value of hiring success and the potentially catastrophic cost of failure.

CORNERSTONE INTERNATIONAL GROUP – We Promote Healthier Businesses and Lives.

The competition for qualified leaders is fierce: the best candidates could be across town or across the globe. With our 70 offices worldwide, 19 of them in Asia and 7 in China, and our depth of experience across industries as well as geographies, Cornerstone Executive Search consultants will bring you the best, wherever they may be.We have the know – how to help clients identify, recruit and retain top leaders. Search is what we do: we know the business, and we take the time to know your business. Find out more about our award winning executive search service at www.cornerstone-group.com or email simon-wan@cornerstone-group.com

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