{"id":54003,"date":"2021-07-19T19:08:33","date_gmt":"2021-07-20T02:08:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.creativecircle.com\/?p=54003"},"modified":"2021-07-19T19:08:33","modified_gmt":"2021-07-20T02:08:33","slug":"the-summer-hiring-boom-of-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.creativecircle.com\/blog\/the-summer-hiring-boom-of-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"The Summer Hiring Boom of 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"

To say that the job market is \ud83d\udd25 may be understating it.<\/p>\n

We are in the throes of one of the most competitive and complex labor markets that we have ever witnessed \u2014 with an influx of open roles \u2014 but only a limited pool of candidates to fill them.<\/p>\n

A sign of the times? Signing bonuses \u2014 usually the provenance of privileged white-collar professionals and professional athletes \u2014 are suddenly becoming common, particularly in the healthcare, food service, manufacturing, and logistics industries. You know the boom is booming when truck drivers, pizza delivery folks, office cleaners, and warehouse workers, not just bankers and consultants, are being offered signing bonuses of hundreds and even thousands of dollars. According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal<\/em><\/a>, \u201cnearly 20% of all jobs posted on job search site ZipRecruiter<\/a> in June offer a signing bonus, up from 2% of jobs advertised on the job search site in March.\u201d<\/p>\n

We spoke to Alexa Kornemann, a Creative Circle Senior Account Executive for NYC and the tristate area, about her take on what\u2019s going on. \u201cA lot of companies furloughed and laid folks off and didn\u2019t anticipate things would come back as \u2018quickly\u2019 and are rushing to fill those slots. Clients are returning, and organizations need to staff up quickly because businesses are getting overloaded.” She added, “it’s unclear if this will be ongoing or is special to this year, but what we do know is that this is an exceptionally candidate-driven market.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re in the market for talent with highly sought-after skills, you need to act swiftly, interview smart, and be competitive with offers.<\/p>\n

Here are a few key things Kornemann is recommending to her clients:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. WFH flexibility<\/h3>\n

After working remotely for the last 18 months, many candidates have changed their lifestyle and are only looking for remote or VERY flexible in-office working options. If you\u2019re open to someone working remotely or giving them the option to come into the office only as necessary, you will increase your candidate pool.<\/p>\n

2. Consolidate\/limit interviews<\/h3>\n

Interviews are necessary, particularly for full-time\/long-term freelance roles; however, consider this fair warning that candidates could find other opportunities in the time it takes to schedule an interview. If possible, limit rounds and offer panel interviews with multiple teammates.<\/p>\n

3. Nix the test<\/h3>\n

Candidates should have enough work in their portfolio to judge if they will be a good fit for your team. If not, request additional samples. A candidate’s time to complete a test (even paid) will risk them locking in another offer.<\/p>\n

4. Full-time > freelance<\/h3>\n

A direct full-time role will outweigh a long-term freelance or freelance to a possible full-time position for most candidates. If you have the option to hire directly, we highly recommend you go that route.<\/p>\n

5. Focus on transferrable skills<\/h3>\n

If you\u2019re looking for an animator for your luxury beauty line and find one with all the capabilities from a tech and creative perspective but worked in high-end auto, not beauty \u2014 aim to be more flexible if the skills are good. An animator (or designer, copywriter, etc.) can adapt to brand guidelines. Auto luxury can easily translate to beauty luxury.<\/p>\n

6. Competitive compensation<\/h3>\n

Offer what a candidate is targeting or more. It’s a candidate’s market, and aside from the role needing to be the right career move, the offer needs to be appropriate and aligned with experience and candidate skills \u2014 which can be via monetary compensation (base, bonus, stock), additional company perks, and work location flexibility. Many companies are offering all three.<\/p>\n

If you are looking to fill open roles at your company but are having limited success, ask yourself:<\/strong><\/p>\n