Blog: Changes in the market by Oliver Argles, Deverell Smith Recruitment7th November 2012

As the clocks go back and the evenings get longer we are sensing a change in the market. Gone are the days where candidates who are looking for a new job only have one option at a time. It appears that over the past month candidates who are interviewing have several options on the go at one time. Granted we are in one of the busiest times of the year for recruitment as the 6-8 week stretch between the end of September and the end of November has, in my experience, always accounted for the most action. Sometimes it may not be a good reason, as we saw after Lehman Brothers and the financial crash of 2008, but as a far more respected commentator on property wrote recently, something always happens in October.

I am not sure why this is the case. Maybe clients have got over a summer hangover (especially this year with the Olympics) and realised that they have a lot of work on and need extra staff, or it could be because candidates are coming out of the woodwork with a view to a new role in the New Year. The third theory is that Octobers APC assessments release a new crop of Surveyors into the job market and they can be looking for a new role for two main reasons. The first is because if they are working in the bigger consultancies they may find themselves in a team/department that they would rather not be in or secondly because their pay review has left them disgruntled with their current employer. However, we are not at a stage yet where candidates, especially at the more junior end of the spectrum, can move into new areas (unless of course it is an internal move). Those organisations that are hiring across all levels are looking for people who can seamlessly move into the job role, whereas there are a high proportion of candidates who are currently working in disciplines that they would prefer not to be in. Over and over again, we recruiters hear about the wish to move into the blue chip areas such as asset management, development and investment. I am not sure when this will change, most likely when the economic situation gets a lot better, which is anyone’s guess as to whether the recovery will continue to gain pace or just flat line over the next few months.

I have often been accused of being pessimistic about the market, it’s hard not to be if one takes a wider look at everything over the past few years...however, looking round at my colleagues and seeing how busy we all are, I can't help but feel that maybe we are on the road to recovery. Certainly the end of the year will have a major bearing in what the requirements are for the New Year and the amount of vacancies and activity that we see.