The Auckland Market is on the move, and loyalty is not a given like it was previously. Candidates have more choice, and people are more likely to be loyal if they feel valued and cared for by their employer. Especially after the past 2 years of significant disruption. 

What we’re seeing most commonly however, is people go wherever the money is – which is contracting (or moving overseas). We have seen many people have gone into contracting since the initial lockdowns, and this is further exacerbated by the candidate driven market. With the volume of project-based work increasing – many contractors are engaged for longer durations and higher rates which has resulted in many seasoned permanent candidates following suit. Our candidates feel that the overall pay and the variation of different projects are enough to prefer contracting to the stable Permanent work. (Although the current demand for contractors has meant that it’s almost as stable as permanent work). 

Many clients we work with have also seen this and have been open to bringing in contractors for a 6 -12 month duration to cover whilst they search for a permanent employee to join their team (which is seen as a more difficult find these days).  

To add onto the feedback above this is the same case for interviews with long 3 hour technical sessions + 2 coding exercises. This should no longer be considered a given, and there are plenty of ways that large clients in the market have made their processes more streamlined. The majority of candidates are still working full time so to find 3 hours of time to complete a technical test can deter them from wanting to proceed onto the further stages – especially when they might have 5 other opportunities lined up which are just 1 hour cultural and 1 hour technical interviews. 

We have witnessed some creative solutions to this, with some clients offering a form of compensation for these tests when they’re unavoidable (usually in the form of a fuel or food voucher) and this can go a long way to showing a candidate that you understand the weight of what you’re asking from them. 

SIF ARNARDOTTIR, SENIOR CONSULTANT from Auckland IT notes:

“Clients & hiring managers need to move away from looking at short stints on CV’s. Life happens, and people leave jobs for a number of reasons. Whilst these can be a good indicator, it often doesn’t tell the full story. We’re also finding that candidates are expecting more from a package than just salary;  flexibility on location and hours, car parks, mental and physical wellness days or allowances and opportunities to claim back time are more important than ever before.”

SUSANNA DYSON, RECRUITMENT CONSULTANT from Auckland IT notes:

“We’re still seeing candidates getting snapped up incredibly quickly. A lot of companies are reducing their interview processes and now hiring after one round. All of these interviews are taking place remotely, with only a very scarce few taking place in person. We’re also seeing international companies looking at NZ talent currently, and taking advantage of the growing lack of loyalty, due to the cost of living crisis, and rising inflation, as a means to attract them.”