Quality returns to jobs market as applicants get selective

Scotland’s job market is showing signs of starting to stabilise after years of recession-fuelled unpredictability with potential employees in the oil and gas sector becoming more selective over positions to apply for, according to Scotland’s biggest recruitment platform.

The economic downturn across Scotland was characterised by rising unemployment followed by sharp rises in the number of applications received by employers for every vacant post.

However, the latest research carried out by s1jobs shows the number of applicants per role in the oil and gas sector is returning to the levels seen before the recession.

In tandem with the return to more manageable application levels, job seekers are being more selective and only applying for the roles that match their skill sets.

This is welcome news to employers who commonly had to face sifting through large volumes of applicants – with a large majority unsuitable – for each vacant position.

It also comes as latest figures from the Office of National Statistics (for February to April 2014 quarter) showed unemployment in Scotland fell by 7000 – underlining the need for employers to ensure they are putting in place smart measures to secure the best candidates.

s1jobs, which carried out the research for the first time, studied the average number of applications per vacancy each month. 

Gavin Mochan, of s1jobs, says this is not only good news for the economy, but also hugely beneficial to applicants and employers - who have both faced their own challenges in recent years.

He said: “This is another strong, positive indicator of the continued resurgence of the Scottish economy.

“The financial crises and the recession inevitably led to higher unemployment, which in turn resulted in a huge increase in the number of people looking for work.

“For applicants this meant they could be competing with dozens of other candidates, while the recruiting companies found themselves inundated and the whole process took so much longer.

Adapted from a press release David Bizley

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/exploration/27062014/quality_returns_to_jobs_market_as_applicants_get_selective/