Is Anyone Hiring?
Dear Friends,
The past couple of months have been surreal and marked by uncertainty. The coronavirus outbreak has disrupted nearly every aspect of day-to-day life across the world including the economy. I have spoken to hundreds of executives and entrepreneurs during this time, and everyone asks me the same question:
Is anyone hiring?
The answer is yes. This might be surprising. While it is true many industries and people are suffering, it is also true that some industries need workers—in some cases, a LOT of workers and right now. Many are even offering extra pay, hiring bonuses, or other incentives.
What industries?
Here are four fields that are currently hiring in many areas of the country:
Healthcare. As hospitals and clinics across the country prepare to be overloaded, many are increasing staff in key areas.
Warehousing and Logistics. Goods delivery companies—from giants like Amazon to your local pet store—are seeing huge increases in demand.
Grocery Stores and Pharmacies. With everybody eating at home—and many avoiding public areas—grocery and related stores (liquor) are busier than ever. Many are ramping up curbside pickup or delivery options and need more employees to fulfill orders.
IT Support. With so much of the workforce suddenly beginning to work from home, businesses across the country are struggling to meet the IT needs of their new telecommuters.
Since we are an executive retained search where most of our assignments are compensation packages of $200,000 and up, the follow-up question is:
Are companies still hiring executives or leaders?
Although many of our searches have gone on hold, we continue to see hiring at the executive ranks. I personally have spoken to many leaders expressing their desire to upgrade talent and attract in key people they would likely not of been able to attract before the virus. Historically, I’ve witnessed companies who take advantage of market conditions during downturns (2002, 2008) and make key strategic hires during these times.
I would also add that our situation at Z3Talent is similar to many of our friends and contacts who are also in executive search and who I have been speaking to on a weekly basis.
Moving Forward:
We feel a clear responsibility to help our customers, friends, and everyone in our orbit navigate the difficulties that lie ahead with the resources that are at our disposal.
We have shifted our focus to areas where we can help businesses and candidates the most, such as keeping existing talent, helping companies maintain a healthy candidate pipeline in preparation for the inevitable upswing, upgrading talent where appropriate, recruitment branding, and attracting in key talent that might be available now that wasn’t available 2 months ago.
Any feedback or questions please let me know.
Thanks,
Steve