Opportunity a plenty but only for the very bestPosted about 1 year ago by Nick Boulton

2022 promised a lot for the tech industry as a whole, but instead of landing in a straightforward post-pandemic world of recovery and growth, technology companies were first confronted by a war on talent, “the great resignation”, soaring employment costs and outrageous salary demands.

After many successfully navigated their way through stormy waters, they faced high inflation rates, an ongoing energy crisis, financial volatility, and declining consumer confidence which weighs heavily on any business trying to forecast a financial outlook with any certainty.

The result?

A tightening of the purse strings creating more uncertainty and the dreaded word whispered in the corridors of management, redundancies.

But from a recruitment perspective, what on paper could have looked like a disastrous year turned into an incredibly successful and profitable one. 

The market has consistently been short of candidates, overladen with jobs, meaning the value of a recruiter was heightened as the scramble to secure talent was at fever pitch. Salaries spiralled out of control, counter offers hit new highs, candidates were dripping in offers and unless you’d been hiding under a rock for the last 18 months, you couldn’t help but be successful as a recruiter. 

This was a breath of fresh air after the tumultuous time the pandemic had on the recruitment world. The glut of opportunity was welcomed with open arms by every recruiter, but it also somewhat blurred the lines of reality in what a normal recruitment market looks like.

What is normal? How do you approach a market that you have never seen before? The trappings of a boom recruitment market can mean you forget how to do the basics of this job and what is required to be successful. Unless you are on top of your game as a recruiter, you are going to struggle... big time.

This reality check has been a long time coming! The recruitment industry has been transformed; work from home, flexible hours and a host of positive changes have been introduced. But don’t kid yourselves, this is still a result driven industry that will happily gobble you up if you are not doing what you are fundamentally in the job for.

- Pull jobs on

- Make placements

- Hit your target

There is no ambiguity. In tough times you are either hitting target or not. And despite the challenging market and the reported mass redundancies by the infamous FAANG companies unemployment remains low.

The challenges to overcome this year:

Unsustainable salaries

These levels of salaries are impossible to sustain. The microtrend of foreign direct investment companies from the notorious FAANG group offering packages way above market salary rates has meant that candidates have an inflated sense of worth. But then again, you could argue if you can get that salary, you are worth that level, right? 

Over the next 12 months, I believe they will settle back down to £5k-10k below what they have been. This will allow smaller tech firms to take advantage of a previously outpriced market.

Recruitment value

Recruiters need to be offering far more than just a transactional service. For years I have championed that the best recruiters must offer a total talent solution, act as a strategic advisor, and take a broader view of a client’s talent needs. If they haven’t already, clients will begin to choose recruiters that think about the work that needs to be done rather than just the body that needs to be hired immediately. This was already valued pre-COVID but is valued now more than ever before. What people really want in times such as these is information and advice to make important business decisions, which is where recruiters will prove their worth. 

Building a continuous talent pool

With a general lack of job seekers, a recent decline in vacancies and increasing job board prices, recruiters will need to widen their search for talented candidates. The best recruiters have always had one eye on building a talent pool with candidates they have vetted and kept in touch with over the years.

Now is the time to revisit your database regularly and check in with your entire network. Continue to grow your audience on LinkedIn and expand your reach through referrals and regular blogs. The stronger those approaches get, the less reliant on a single source, such as job boards, will be. 

Fundamentally the technology sector remains strong and ultimately will overcome any adverse condition to remain a driver of economic growth in the future. Technology is more embedded in our lives than ever and unless you are constantly innovating, you will fall behind. 

2023 holds a lot of opportunity but only for the best recruitment business with the top recruiters.