The challenging market conditions we are seeing across virtually all industry sectors are seen as grey clouds to many and a silver lining by others. It is true to say that on a daily basis the media feed us breaking news of more job losses, reduced working hours and salary freezes and/or reductions from companies in the Irish marketplace, thereby reducing government income streams and increasing welfare payments.

What is not reported on,  but is definitely bubbling beneath the surface is the increased activity in shaping and positioning the company’s workforce for the upturn.  Now,  senior management are taking time to assess the unique talent pool within their company and deciding who will be the key individuals that they will grow and develop for the next business cycle. 

If there is a lack of talent internally, then companies are definitely open to meeting and interviewing external candidates. The market dynamics are definitely in their favour, with greater availability of candidates and at a more competitive, and dare one say, realistic package expectations.

Many blogs and articles published in recent months have put forward the theory that the country is awash with talented individuals just waiting for that call to get them back into the workforce.  Our experience and day to day involvement in the market tells us that it is still a challenge to identify and recruit high performing individuals.

Companies recruiting have raised their expectations as to what the need to see from candidates in order to hire them. Interviewers are probing in greater detail to discover if the accomplishments listed on the CV reflect the candidate sitting in front of them.

If the candidate is not raising their game accordingly and able to demonstrate genuine business reasons why he/she is very suited to the role and should be interviewed for the role then it is most likely that their CV is heading for the filing cabinet with a polite thanks but no thanks letter in the post!!

If you are looking to hire talented individuals for your business or trying to identify your next role then do not hesitate to contact Talent Partners for a discreet and confidential discussion to see how we can add value to your business and/or career.

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Like the many of the people I speak to on a daily basis,  I listen to less news programmes than before and buy fewer papers. Editors are living out the maxim that bad news sells papers and all we constantly hear and see in the media is how bad things are and how much worse it is going to become.

Wouldn’t it be nice to for these editors and journalists to dare to dream again and to begin articulating what can happen when the right people come together and build businesses the right way. Let’s look at a couple of sporting examples for motivation.

(i) Shane Lowry winning the Irish Open as an amateur golfer - how does one explain that. Our economists would surely say this cannot happen but the human spirit regularly defies logic. For those who don’t know who Shane Lowry is, he just one the Irish Open as an amateur player against a field of professional golfers.

(ii) Leinster rugby – from bridesmaids or fancyboys, these guys are the real deal now with a comprehensive Heineken Cup success that very few would have predicted back in March ‘09.

(iii) A 100/1 winner in the Aintree Grand National, followed by a 33/1 winner at Irish Grand National.

The above, and many more examples of success in business, sport and other walks of life took place because people really believed, worked hard to prepare as best they could and took whatever element of luck came their way. As Gary Player said, “the more I practice the luckier I get” and that adage is true for businesses today.

Let’s get moving, lets focus on the positives and learn from the mistakes that have been made to improve performance and reap the rewards of our endeavours both individually and collectively.

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