Insights into the forces shaping our industry.

We are all aware that it is a candidate driven market and apparently now it has a title, “The Great Resignation”.  There is some truth to that provided the candidate has the skills and experience required. Below are a few examples:

• Has deep technical skills
• Is an expert relative to emerging technologies
• Has proven business development or sales successes
• Has leadership skills to motivate, grow and drive teams in their respective functions.

Our clients tell us they’re having difficulty filling roles with qualified talent.  As recruiters we are seeing a trend developing where candidates have been extended an offer or are close to that stage and feel they are now in the position of power.  These candidates have stated their salary expectation and generous offers have been made at 10 – 15% above that.   Their now perceived self ‘worth’ has candidates countering at 25%, 30% and more.  6+ weeks or unlimited vacation requests have been made as well as other upgraded benefits.  Despite sharing data for comparable roles within their given electrical industry vertical, these candidates don’t  understand what their actual market value is.

Candidates need to understand how this can reflect poorly on them in a small industry where paths definitely cross. Changing initial salary expectations and benefit requests late in the interview process can cause the following:

• Pricing yourself out of the budget range of the hiring company
• Wasting your time and the company’s time interviewing for position you’re no longer financially a fit for
• Appearing greedy and only motivated by money rather than the overall opportunity itself

As recruiters in this niched space, we’re finding ourselves asking tougher questions.  This way we ensure the candidate doesn’t decide mid-process that their worth is now beyond what has been specified for the role and that they are still qualified for the position.