Recruitment and Careers News

It feels like now, more than ever, Legal recruitment is a particularly scrappy and competitive market to be in. In the last few months, myself and my colleagues at The Eventus Recruitment Group have seen all sorts of things happen in throughout the lifecycle of filling a vacancy. From candidates being offered tens of thousands of pounds to stay with their current employer; to clients offering candidates above and beyond what they would normally offer to an employee. So, here I explore some trends to be aware of when recruiting or job searching.

Candidate-short market

Legal Recruitment always has, and will always be, candidate led. There are many more jobs out there than there are qualified people for those jobs. As such, when a candidate does consider making a job move, there is a very good chance that they are working with multiple recruitment consultants. Each will guide their candidate into different sorts of opportunities. If you are that candidate, I strongly advise that you make an informed decision on the sort of recruitment consultant that you would like to represent you. Absolutely make sure that they do not take the ‘spray and pray’ approach and send your CV everywhere at the click of a button. Rather, tell your recruitment consultant that you are happy for them to represent you anonymously. And that you will give your express written consent to send your CV to a law firm on a case-by-case basis. This means that you oversee the process, and it doesn’t make you look desperate to move roles. Not all recruitment consultants are the same.

If you are an employer and are looking for the next great candidate to join your team, really do consider making some reasonable adjustments to what you want. It might not be that you will find the fully STEP qualified Private Client Solicitor that you have asked for. But you may be able to find an incredibly talented Private Client Solicitor who hopes to become STEP qualified, for example. In a market such as this, ask for your recruitment consultant to really consult with you. Ask them for guidance and market knowledge, they should be able to guide you on this, too.

Re-evaluation of benefits

There has been a significant shift in the way that people appreciate their work, especially due to the pandemic. People can work from home, and some people continue to work from home. There are so many reasons for this, and most of them are sincere and reasonable. This is not a call to employers to offer fully remote working. However, do take the time to consider why some of your employees may want the opportunity to work from home every now and then. For your employees that really value the chance to work from home, bear in mind that if you do not allow it, there isn’t much that may stop them from beginning to look elsewhere for a role that will allow them that.

Multiple interviews, multiple offers

Following on from Legal Recruitment being a candidate short market, it makes sense that the candidates you are interviewing will be interviewing at different law firms, too. This is where recruitment can get messy. With multiple interviews come multiple offers. The last thing I want for my candidates and clients is for everyone being involved in a ‘bidding war’ over who can pay the most for a candidate. Do not be surprised, whether you are the candidate or the client when you are faced with multiple offers to consider.

Take the time to make an informed decision on: why you considered moving roles; what you want from the next role; and which of the offers can give you that. If you are working with a good recruitment consultant, they will help you and give you the space to make your own decision, not force you into one because they want to make a quick profit from you. I have no problem with organising visits for my candidates to go and visit the law firms to help make a better-informed decision, for example. At the end of the day, if you are looking to make a job move, the decision ought to be yours, and yours alone. It’s a big decision, so don’t let others, whether that be a recruitment consultant, a potential future employer, or even your neighbour Doris sway you!

Counter offers

So, there has been an offer made to a candidate and now is the time for a candidate to hand their notice in. A good recruitment consultant will inform you at the start of the recruitment process to expect a counteroffer from your current employer. As we’ve gone over, it’s a candidate short market. It is much cheaper for your current employer to throw some more money your way (or promise you the world), than it will be to have you leave and find a new you.

The rise of the counter offer

Over the past few months, the counteroffer has become more and more prominent. It isn’t just “We’ll match your salary” anymore. It’s much more of a “we’ll give you multiple thousands of pounds more to stay with us”. Some employers are panicked and are pulling out all the stops.

If you are a client who has made an offer to a candidate, please don’t just give the candidate a small increase of money. It will get surpassed, and then some. Don’t “um and ah” over offering a candidate and drag it out over days. It isn’t flattering the candidate, either.

If you are a candidate who has handed their notice in and you are given a counteroffer, ask yourself why didn’t your employer give you a pay rise in the first place? Why did it take you making the effort to leave your role before they showed you how much you were worth to them? As I’ve said, it isn’t unusual to get a counteroffer, it happens to everyone. Say you take the pay rise, what more will your employer expect of you now that they are paying you more?

We have a useful guide all about the counteroffer. Click here to read it

In sum

Recruitment isn’t an easy process, and particularly now, employers really do need to go the extra mile; to attract the very best and to retain their talent. Think of your recruitment process as something fluid and tangible, rather than something rigid and unmoving. By doing so: you will soon gain a greater understanding of your market; what you need to offer; and where you are falling short.

Written by Erin McKnight, Legal Recruitment Consultant for the South Home Counties.