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I always try to be open-minded when interviewing. We rarely judge a book by its cover at Tiger, and when it comes to interviews, we won’t judge a candidate by the tenure on their CV until we’ve met them in person and understood their story. This approach has never been more important as, post-recession, we continue to see a steady decrease in tenure and a steady increase in market movement.
Clients will often instruct us to only send candidates whose experience reflects a minimum of three years in their current role and/or no visible fluctuation in CVs. They want to see staying power, commitment and loyalty. While I agree with the theory that previous experience often dictates future behaviour, in today’s unpredictable market is it ever that black and white? Unfortunately, some of our clients have missed out on some seriously great talent simply because they’ve refused to look outside the square.
Aside from redundancy – which isn't necessarily always performance-related – candidates are choosing to move sooner rather than later for a whole host of reasons. Of course as Recruitment Consultants, we pre-screen and thoroughly interview all of the candidates we work with. Usually, our sixth sense (once we’ve dug a little deeper) leads us to truly understand a candidate’s motives for moving on. I’ve often found that some of my favourite and most exceptional candidates don't have the template-CV my clients dream about. Some of the below reasons for leaving are more valid than you might think:
Salary increase
When comparing the rate of salary increases to the rise in property prices or the cost of living, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to me that candidates should want to increase their earning potential. And when candidates usually see a 10% uplift on their base salary compared to the average annual salary increase of 3% when they stay put, is it any wonder that salary is a common reason for wanting to move on?
Flexible working
Flexible working is now a popular benefit offered by employers who are focusing increasingly on improving the health and wellbeing of their employees. As a result, many more candidates are striving to balance an all-encompassing and challenging role with a more comfortable work-life routine. Whether this means working remotely from home and cutting out the stressful commute, or adjusting their core hours to work around family time, flexibility at work is now considered a fair and reasonable expectation.
Travel
It’s not just the gap year generation who have explored the world on exciting adventures. Increasingly, we’re seeing candidates in their late 20s, 30s and 40s taking time out to travel or live abroad. Clients are often scared off by applicants’ travelling jaunts but, in my view, these make the most well-rounded, switched-on and resilient candidates.
Progression
Although the statistics are mixed on whether we’re job-hopping more now than before, in my experience candidates – particularly millennials – are less troubled by longevity and more concerned with progression opportunities.
There’s no denying that as technology and working trends evolve with ever-increasing strides, the world of work sluggishly attempts to keep pace. It is the pioneers among our clients – and those who embrace candidates’ entrepreneurial spirits – who will reap the benefits.
VICTORIA LINDFIELD
Director – Head of Permanent Division
Victoria Lindfield has a wealth of secretarial recruitment experience, having joined the industry in 2007. With a solid understanding of the City and specialising predominantly within Investment Banking and finance, Professional Services and FTSE companies, Victoria gained solid experience recruiting permanent support staff at all levels, including very senior and high profile, Board level EA hires. Since joining Tiger Recruitment, where Victoria manages the Permanent division and supports the team with training and development, Victoria continues to focus on building a strong reputation in the market as being a focused, well respected and professional secretarial recruiter.
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