Since the start of the new financial year we have definitely identified some consistent trends in the Midlands HR recruitment market. Whilst we have seen an increase in job numbers across both permanent and interim markets, processes seem to be moving slower than normal. Some have put this down to the General Election– we definitely saw a nervousness in the market place on the run up to this. Whilst things have started to pick up, we are anticipating that companies may look at hiring more Interim contractors whilst the market stabilises, rather than focusing on permanent appointments.
Another key trend we are currently seeing is the increasing presence of big corporates in the Midlands – especially in Birmingham. With HSBC and HS2 opening offices in the city we are sure that other businesses will follow suit. The demand for London calibre talent who are Midlands based is high – this means many companies are willing to pay big to secure these types of people. Great news for the Midlands recruitment market in general!
Lastly, we are also seeing the rise in requests for generalist HR professionals with a ‘twist’ – businesses purely wanting a HR generalist seems to be a thing of the past. More frequently we are seeing our clients wanting a Head of HR or Business Partner who has a strong understanding within Reward or can manage an OD project with credibility. Our advice to any generalist candidates who are active on the job market is to highlight a specialism when updating their CVs, it makes a huge difference!