Ipswich Job Survey

Pure Resourcing Solutions has carried out a survey across East Anglia to over 4,000 employees asking their thoughts on the recession and how it is affecting their jobs. An astonishing 75% of respondents felt that employers were taking advantage of the recession and using it as an excuse to make cut backs. 

Whilst this may or may not be true, Pure has found the downturn in the economic climate has meant that certain companies have inevitably had to make people redundant. This has resulted in a general re-structuring of their organisations. In some cases this has lead to businesses having to recruit higher level candidates to take on positions which incorporate a wider and more diverse range of skills.   

What this means for candidates is that those displaying a flexible range of skills in their CV may actually have a better chance in today’s climate.

Jodie Abbott, Manager of Pure’s Ipswich office comments:

“I have worked with several companies on their re-structuring and ensuring that we find the perfect candidate for these new roles. This can be a challenge as employees are expected to have specialist knowledge of an area but also be able to adapt and take on other areas of business expertise. Interestingly, we have also found in more than half of the placements we have worked on, the clients have paid higher salaries for their new recruits, suggesting that these roles are not governed by a specific salary bracket, but by finding the right person to fill these evolving positions.”

The survey also showed that in spite of the downturn in the economy, 60% feel their job is secure in the current climate, however the same amount also felt that morale had been badly affected; with 52% expected a pay freeze in the next 6 months.

Interestingly, the survey also showed how open people were to change their jobs, in spite of the current economic climate. 75% saying they would consider applying for a new position in this current climate. Reasons for doing so were a better career move (44%) and to improve their work life balance (23%), 21% said it was because they felt their job was unsecure and only 12% would move for better pay.    

Jodie adds:

“The fact that people are still looking for their next career move is a very positive sign. Yes we have more candidates on our books than this time last year and redundancies have played a part in this, but in fact the majority of our candidates are actually in employment looking for something new. It’s increasingly important to research the position and company before making the move, there’s a lot less opportunity out there if for some reason it doesn’t work out. Its also now a client-centric market so candidates need to do all they can to stand out in the marketplace – tailor your CV to each position and company and spend longer preparing for interview ensuring you have specific examples of work relevant to the position. We spend a lot of time at Pure, listening to the client and briefing the candidate to ensure that when in interviews our candidates are fully prepared giving them the best chance of success – in a competitive market, it’s the small details and showing you have made that extra effort that can often make the difference.”