This is not good news.

We knew it was happening, but the numbers are horrific.

Latest research from Staffing Industry Metrics tells us exactly how many recruiters were fired in March, April and May this year.

And its ugly, ugly, ugly. But read on because I am seeing the silver linings, and so should you.

Across ANZ, 1 in 8 ‘Income Producers’ (anyone that is client, candidate, prospect facing) were axed in March, followed by 1 in 7 axed in April with a further 10% departing in May.

This equates to an average 36% of recruiters let go in 3 months.

And we have Job-keeper in Australia and Wage Subsidy in NZ keeping many more hanging on. For now.

NSW has experienced a 30% reduction in income producers in April and May, VIC has experienced a 35% reduction, and all other States experienced a reduction of between 20% to 25%

Interestingly, smaller teams of 10 or less staff are the most resilient, with some teams remaining untouched by events so far.

I don’t have the data, but I have it on good anecdotal authority that internal recruiters and talent acquisition professionals have not been spared the carnage. Many Corporates have let recruiters go in droves. (which I have to say seems very short-sighted, but what do I know about recruitment and stuff?)

Firstly, to recruiters who have lost their jobs, my commiserations and my best wishes.

I wrote this blog on sharpening your resume, and this one on how to manage your job search. I hope that helps.

But beyond that, as the market recovers ( and it will! ) let’s tap into the pool of recruiting talent. After all, was it not just 4 months ago we are all desperate to hire recruiters?

Don’t wait until you are hiring to start recruiting.

Build your pipeline. Fill the pool. Build a few new relationships.

By this I mean start your conversations now. Be transparent. “We are not hiring right now, but we will be soon, so let’s have a chat”

I can’t predict the future, but I will say this. Soon (ish) the scramble for recruiting talent will be back on. Big time.

Don’t miss the ‘recruiting talent’ bus.

For more data like this please talk to Nigel Harse from Staffing Industry Metrics

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