Articles From the Team
Candidates Key Motivation for a Move in a Post Recession Market
The recession has had a huge impact on what one considers to be a key factor in their career.
So what are ‘post-recession’ job seekers now looking for from their next opportunity? More money? Higher level of role? Or something different…
A recent article in the Evening Standard cites that post-recession job seekers are very different to those looking for jobs before the credit crunch.
Additionally, a big name employer is no longer a priority. Instead, flexible working is now the key motivator to move on (cited by 57% of job seekers in a recent survey) with job seekers increasingly turning their backs on traditional career models post-recession.
From the in house legal perspective, we have also found this to be the case. One of the key factors that the in house lawyer of today is looking for – is flexibility! With many more options now open to them, roles that work for lawyers on both a personal as well as professional basis are preferred and one will wait for a role that gives them this mix.
Have recruiting clients adapted their requirements to account for this key factor or is the fact that they are not open to flexibility as a viable option, putting them in a less favourable position?
Most of our in-house clients has advised that when recruiting they focus on 3 main factors, in no specific order:
1. Personality/ company fit 2. Commercial acumen 3. Legal acumen
However whilst in the first instance, the client focus is not on flexibility there have been numerous instances over recent years where a client has sought to fill a role on a full time basis, yet the best fit for the role has required some flexibility in respect of their work pattern.
Our advice to our clients is to focus on who is right for the role as the right person 4 days a week will deliver much more value than someone who is perhaps not as perfect but who can be in the office 5 days a week. As it is more often at a senior level that flexibility is required, most of these individuals will do what is required to succeed – whether or not this is in the ‘standard’ 9-6.
The in-house recruitment team have written a number of articles conveying that fact that clients need to think about the ‘war for talent’ when recruiting for themselves to make sure they get who they want. A couple of examples are below:
Therefore, with business continuing to boom and more opportunities available for lawyers, job seekers can now look to shape their careers, rather than letting their careers shape them.
For more information please contact Joanne McKernan or visit our website BCL Legal.