Candidate Career Drivers In A Changed Employment Landscape

Employees facing a new landscape have pivoted their career drivers with the market as they search for their next opportunity. In a world saturated with contract and part-time options, SEEK data has highlighted that employees have turned their attention away from the sole singular focus being predominately salary. Now concentrating on securing permanent and stable roles, career progression within organisations and ranking personal and professional growth as top priorities as they look to the market for their next career move.

There has been a shift away from salary being the main attraction to a role and towards two other drivers capturing the candidate market: job security as well as stability with future career progression. Candidates are often influenced by potential prospects both their own and the company’s. Most candidates want to understand if an organisation is well positioned for the future, as this signals their career path options and stability over the next years to come.

According to recent SEEK data “The majority of candidates (84%) rated the type of work—for instance part time or full time—as a high priority when sizing up a role. Baby Boomers and females were more likely to rank this as important. And this has been a more prominent trend in the job market since the onset of COVID.

According to recent LinkedIn hiring statistics the number one reason people change jobs is career opportunity. Candidates are analysing the sizes of departments and staffing capacities and envisioning where their next career move would be within the company. Taking a forward-looking approach much like a real-life game of chess, where candidates are already strategising how to best position themselves for their next move and how-to problem solve in an uncertain environment.

There has been an influx of candidates now open to taking a step back or a lateral move to facilitate their career goals years down the track to get into new financial services industries or gain exposure to new challenges within the business. They are drawn to businesses that illustrate that there is potential to move and progress within the organisation as their career develops which then affords the confidence to make a move to a new company within this modern landscape. They are also looking to both hiring managers and their recruiters to provide case studies and examples within the organisation where past and current employees have progressed their careers and have been afforded other opportunities as the individual employee has expanded their skills and experience. And the reward of hard work from staff members can be tangibly demonstrated to potential new hires.

Candidates are looking for roles where they can have a seat at the table, and a cross pollination with key business leaders throughout the organisation. Surrounded by industry experts where the employee can gain access to insights and a true feedback loop that propels both personal and professional growth.

I recently had a candidate who said he took a role to gain “the most intensive crash course from industry mentors he’s ever experienced”. He was looking to come up the curve quickly and knew that with an obliterated social calendar during Melbourne’s most recent lockdown he could look at the challenge as a career accelerant. A chance to come out the other side having had the chance to play the game with industry winners who were able to challenge and push him to be better.

The right circle of influence raises the bar, helping us set new loftier expectations of ourselves. Oftentimes we do not know what we’re capable of until we’re surrounded by industry leaders who demonstrate how high the bar can be raised time and time again.

I cannot count the number of times candidates reiterate that salary is not their main driver in their consideration of future roles. While it is an important factor, more often than not they will ask me about the culture of management within the organisation, the openness of industry leaders to share ideas and collaborate as a team which illustrates that how accessible their managers will be is a key driver of their decision making. Top candidates are looking for both personal and professional development and they are searching out industry mentors to help facilitate that growth.

Companies looking to secure top talent can also achieve this by enticing candidates with other benefits like a companywide learning and development budget. These types of work perks would only further attract individuals who are in alignment with an organisation’s goals and as Simon Sinek would say playing the Infinite Game to achieve long lasting success.

In conclusion, companies looking to capture an audience of top talent can only benefit from understanding the paradigm shifts in the mentality of candidates. Knowing that they are now being propelled by different key drivers since COVID, as they look to secure their next role. And these new-found considerations could also benefit those employers who may have their own budgetary restrictions and constraints around hiring top talent in a novel financial landscape. Recognising that their organisations can still attract desired candidates by focusing on offering future employees a view of stability, and the opportunity to grow both personally and professionally in the years to come.

Kaizen Recruitment specialises financial services recruitment across funds management, wealth management, superannuation, investment consulting and insurance. We are based in Melbourne and Sydney. For assistance or further information please telephone our office at +61 3 9095 7157 or submit an online form.

Like what you see?

Please feel welcome to join
Kaizen Recruitment’s mailing list

SUBSCRIBE