Has the market moved or changed and are you looking for a unicorn?

You’ve just received a resignation. 

Your heart sinks, there is nothing you can do to keep the incumbent and you need to find a replacement, or do you?

Gone are the days of getting out the old job description, rehashing it a little and going out to the market. Because if you do just that, you may be looking for a unicorn.

The job seeker market has moved and its nothing like we’ve seen before, we are talent short, there just doesn’t seem to be anyone there anymore, or is there?

I’m not talking ‘round hole square peg’ by any stretch of the imagination but simply reviewing the wish list of desirable and essential skills. Do you really think that wish list is really valid anymore?

So why not look at your current employees, can you rework the job description so that you look at the tasks that need to be done, look to see if some of those tasks can be undertaken within the business. ‘Rejig’ some team tasks, this may do great things for your team’s morale and also contribute to upskilling them. As a result, out pops a new job description which will appeal to a broader range of people and won’t be so industry specific.

In a talent short market, we need to ensure we appeal to a wider range of people, keep the funnel wide as they say, capture a broad range of people. Only then, as we proceed with the recruitment process do we narrow it down and the ideal job seekers can shine.

So, keep your roles broad, review your essentials and desirables, look to see what tasks can be completed internally, run a thorough recruitment process and in turn you will find your unicorn.