by Gail McManus
7. September 2009 12:43
We’ve just been through the first week in September, the month that traditionally starts off one of the busiest periods in the recruitment cycle,
and three things have happened that make me feel optimistic.
· Middle
Eastern clients have started to recruit for the first time in
eight months
· A number of roles put on hold twelve months ago
have revived and
· Candidates are already failing to make interviews because they are too busy
The last one is an irritation, but a familiar irritation and just one
more sign that the war for talent is
heating up.
But I think the others are also good indicators of a swing in mood. The calls from the Middle East are telling.
It’s Ramadan and there is no frothy hiring here but a quiet level of
demand from serious investors who
want to add some serious skills to their investment teams.
And the revived roles also show a change in mood. These were all roles
that were put on hold whilst our clients took
stock of the situation at the end of last year. But they now feel secure
enough to re-start recruitment
programmes that add something to their business.
In conversations with them, their attention has shifted from the short term to the medium term
and they’re now planning for the future.
They’ve decided which additional skills they need in-house to be
successful and are investing in people now, ahead of the need.
Interestingly, despite the desire to recruit, we’ve not seen any wide spread optimism in the
private equity businesses that we work with. It’s more like a determined realism to be profitable
over the longer term, holding on to the portfolio for longer and waiting until
prices are right for new opportunities. They’re still sitting out the short
term but with enough confidence to get
in shape for the future.
RSS