It's no time to be too picky

Employers need to wake up to the realities of today's labour market and stop being so picky about who they hire, say recruitment specialists.

Colleen Getley, managing director of Getleys, says the problem is particularly bad when it comes to hiring immigrants.

"We've still very much got a kiwi mentality of recruiting kiwis. We have a lot of immigrants applying for roles who are very well qualified but we know that our clients will say 'don't even send them our way'."

If English is not the jobseeker's first language then they're really going to have an uphill battle.

"If they are in roles in which they are interfacing with business to business, or business to public and they require good communication skills, then an employer will go for someone who has a better understanding of English."

The director of Status Recruitment, Craig Shutt, also finds that some New Zealand employers will not consider hiring any immigrants.

"There will be some employers that won't look at immigrants. I guess they have that mindset and that's probably the biggest issue of them all at the moment because we've got so many immigrants coming into the country."

Shutt says the mindset of traditional kiwi employers needs a bit of an update.

"Employers probably in general need to be a little more open minded in looking at the immigrant market and probably being a little bit more flexible on qualifications and concentrating more on the key work experience. Employers are still being quite picky in terms of qualifications, in terms of background."

One of the main sectors where Shutt finds picky employers is with chartered accountants. Even though immigrants may be fully qualified, they are not the first pick.

"Someone with commercial accounting experience from overseas could probably quite easily transfer into a chartered accounting practice in New Zealand with a little investment in training. But they're often seen as a last resort. If they [employers] looked a little bit outside the square and invested in some training then it could work out."

But Shutt understands why organisations may be reluctant to hire immigrants.

"Some employers have been burned by people using jobs as stepping stones. Employers might have become a bit more picky in terms of that market and looking at the risk involved in not wanting to bring someone onboard and have them leave six months later."

The culture of an organisation also has a strong influence on whether an immigrant could be hired.

"There is a reason why good firms have grown good cultures in that they are very fussy about the people they bring on board. So some firms continue to be very fussy."

If employers are too picky about who they are looking to hire, Shutt says they need to be reminded of the changes that have happened in the job market and just how hard people are to find.

"Perhaps someone's recruiting now but this is the first time in four years that they've had to recruit. The market's changed a lot and they've probably read it in the paper but they actually don't have a full grasp on, 'well hey the market has changed so we probably need to change our sights. We need to open up on where we're going to be looking a little bit more'."

The days of being able to stick an ad in the paper and interview the ideal candidate five days later is now quite rare, Shutt says.

"I try to understand the reasons why they are being picky or choosy and a little bit closed in terms of the spec that they're looking for.

"If I think that someone's wishes are unrealistic, I'll tell them. If there's a candidate that I think, 'hey this is not what I described but it's worth a go,' then I don't have any qualms about actively marketing them to employers and letting them know why I think they'd be suitable."

Employers are also fussy about New Zealand work experience. Particularly when it comes to recent graduates. Shutt says employers are overlooking a legitimate talent pool which could deliver long-term rewards if employers took a chance.

"If you bring a graduate through and offer good training, then the longer term benefits for an employer can be good as well.

"That investment in time and training can, at the other end, bring good reward. It can take a bit of time, but it can make them loyal to the firm if you've got good retention tools in place."

Getley says New Zealand companies are picky because they simply can't afford to take those chances.

"We've got a country full of small to medium size business and therefore those businesses don't want to make mistakes. They haven't got the ability to recruit somebody who they think might be 40-50 per cent there because their requirement on a daily basis is much higher."

The employment laws also contribute to organisations being nervous about who they hire, Getley says.

"In New Zealand you need to have a very good reason for letting someone go. It's much harder to let someone go than to employ the right person.

"I know it's set in place to be helpful to employees but people are not prepared to take risks. If they're not a complete match then you don't feel comfortable in recruiting them."

For employers who don't want to commit and hire someone they are unsure of, there is a workaround.

"You can't really try before you buy. We do find that clients will employ a temp through us while they are looking for a permanent person and occasionally that temp will be the person that they decide to take on permanently. But then again they need to be seen to be giving everybody an opportunity. But yeah, that's really a common way of working through that."

Getley says that employers who are not finding exactly who they want need to keep in mind the current climate.

"Employers need to become more aware that it is a candidate tight market and good people are going very quickly. So clients who are doing two, three, or four interviews are missing out because good candidates have got two or three positions to choose from."

Even secretaries are demanding more money, so employers can't afford to be picky when it comes to cash.

"Some employers are finding it difficult to get their head around the fact that receptionists or lower secretarial roles are offering quite good money. So they may be picky between paying an extra couple thousand dollars a year. And because they're not prepared to go that way they're loosing the opportunity of a good candidate."

Candidates with certain skills are not available in the job market.

"Employers are not taking into account that it is a candidate short market and a lot of those skills just won't be available. Or if they are available they may not be available in the right personality traits that they're looking for."

If an employer sees a candidate they think they like, Getley encourages them to act fast and not let them get away.

"I think employers don't understand that they have to move very quickly. We could interview somebody in the morning and they have to be out there on an interview with the client that afternoon or the next day."