40% of recruiters still face challenges coping with jobseekers’ counter offers: Survey

Recruiters encounter substantial obstacles during the candidate shortlisting process. (Illustration by Suneesh Kalarickal)

More than 40 percent of recruiters still have to deal with job seekers holding competing offers from other companies, indicating the continued competitiveness in the job market, according to a survey by the job portal foundit.

However, the challenges are not limited to competing offers. The main obstacle faced by 52 percent of recruiters is finding the right candidate, showcasing the ongoing struggle to hire top talent. Exploring cost-effective hiring sources and channels is a concern for 33.33 percent of recruiters, emphasising the importance of efficient resource allocation.

“In a landscape where hiring might be slower overall, certain specialised skills remain highly sought after. This scarcity places talented individuals in the enviable position of receiving multiple offers, setting off a competitive scramble among employers vying for their attention,” Sekhar Garisa, CEO of foundit, told Moneycontrol.

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Moneycontrol earlier reported that the demand for talent, especially for niche skills, is still high in both the IT and non-IT sectors. In the past, the confidence of Indian talent was driven by buoyancy in hiring; now, it is about replacement hiring.

As candidates hold this bargaining power, Garisa explained that they're able to negotiate better salaries, perks, and benefits, aiming to secure the most advantageous deal among their options. This trend persists due to a combination of market dynamics, candidate behaviour, and the persistent demand for specialised professionals despite broader hiring slowdowns.

Over 400 senior recruiters globally (approximately 300 of them from India), from various business sizes and industries, participated in the study.

Difficulty finding candidates

Recruiters face multiple challenges in candidate sourcing, as revealed by a separate survey conducted by foundit, with questions about identification issues. A significant 43 percent said they faced difficulties managing multiple sourcing platforms.

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Simultaneously, an identical percentage found irrelevant search results to be a common problem. Equally prevalent is the challenge of identifying candidates actively seeking employment, and 43 percent said there was a need to have more efficient ways to connect with this specific talent pool.

Roadblocks in shortlisting candidates

Recruiters encounter substantial obstacles during the candidate shortlisting process. Primary among these is the challenge of dealing with insufficient or incorrect candidate contact information, the hurdle ranked highest by survey respondents.

The inadequacy of educational and professional candidate information is identified as the second most prominent roadblock. The complexity of shortlisting across multiple platforms is ranked third.

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Other hurdles include difficulty in filtering candidates with the right skillset (ranked fourth) and the time-consuming nature of the shortlisting process (ranked fifth). Lastly, a lack of insights about candidates was cited as a major challenge during the shortlisting phase.