In the good days, say 2010, you could afford to wait for the perfect candidate to show up. Not anymore. We often advise our clients, that waiting hire a good candidate could prove a bad decision, to move quickly when they interview someone that meets their requirements. What follows is an excerpt from Maine.biz magazine about the state of the employment market.

Ghosts, students and ex-convicts
Aware that they’re in high demand, more and more candidates are vanishing without a trace during the recruitment process, blowing off scheduled job ainterviews and even failing to report for their first day of work. While no one formally tracks “ghosting,” businesses report that 20% to 50% of job applicants and employees now engage in the behavior, USA Today reported in July.

Bryn Carlson, former human resources manager at Apothecary By Design in Portland, has had to deal with ghosts as part of her current work for a Boston-area pharmacy.

“That’s been one of the most frustrating things about finding employees in Massachusetts,” she says. “We’ve been understaffed there for so long, and good recruiting simply requires a ton of input and time.”

The leverage held by job applicants has already affected hiring in other ways. Some interviews that would once have been conducted in person are now being done by phone.

“Recruiters everywhere are having to move quicker now,” Carlson says. “With this tight market, you can’t always go through the full vetting process during the interview stage, involving every tier of management in the process. Companies are fighting for talent and wasted time spent on additional interviews can cost you a quality candidate.”

To read the whole article to go http://www.mainebiz.biz/article/20181210/CURRENTEDITION/312059996

Neil Whitman CPC