It certainly has been a rollercoaster in the world of events in the last two years and as a recruiter, we have seen a turnaround from no jobs for several months after lockdown 1, with hundreds of fantastic candidates at all levels on the market; to jobs appearing globally as the restrictions eased off in different countries.

Then when the restrictions were lifted, the floodgates opened and hundreds of jobs appeared on LinkedIn, with our industry pulling together and sharing posts and recommendations to help each other back into work.  Lots of those unemployed candidates were snapped up, some back to their old jobs and some finding exciting new opportunities in a post covid industry.

But what has changed? Candidates are in control!

The number of lower-level jobs posted far exceeded the number of event professionals available for work, which highlighted how the recruitment market has flipped to a candidate-led environment.  In Summer 2021 vacancy growth surpassed the fall in unemployment, tipping the scales in favour of applicants.

Candidates were calling the shots, telling employers how many days they wanted to work at home to achieve work-life balance and what salary they were now looking for.

We had a role for a high-profile organiser, who didn’t want hybrid working.  I spent an afternoon ringing eight candidates perfect for the job, none of them even entertaining the thought of going into the office 5 days a week. All said ‘thanks but no thanks’!

In September 2021, several candidates turned down offers with great companies, because those employers under-offered on salaries. They expected candidates to accept, assuming it was the same market as 6 months before; it was not, things had changed!

Recruitment in exhibitions became cut-throat, when the reality of the exhibition recruitment market was clear – too many jobs, not enough candidates and a backlog of shows to deliver. The LinkedIn referrals had dried up, adverts online and job boards were not getting the expected response and sometimes no response at all – particularly marketeers, who were more in demand than toilet roll and pasta in Lockdown!

Some organisers were getting aggressive and trying to poach from their competitors, throwing cash at those targeted candidates with employers having to match those salaries to keep their staff.

Thankfully things have settled down in 2022, but employers do need to take a different approach.  The changes to the employment market since the pandemic have made a people-first approach to recruitment a priority for 2022. 

• Recognising the market as it is now and not comparing it to pre pandemic times. Offering the correct remuneration for candidates, which is at least 10% more than it was before the pandemic for junior roles and sometimes up to 20% more for the more in demand jobs like marketing and content producers.
• Creating a simplified hiring process – presentations should be left for a 2^ndinterview when the candidate has bought into the company and the job.
• Moving fast- It is still important to conduct a thorough process, but offer a date for 2nd interview, within days of the first
• Offering flexibility and hybrid working where possible
• Also, focusing on internal talent mobility and staff retention which could be the foundation for success for some companies.

Regarding styles of recruitment – LinkedIn and job board advertising is proving less and less successful now, as candidates often expect to be contacted rather than applying for jobs.  Although the trend seems to be towards in-house Talent Acquisition for many larger companies, we find that they tend to be generalist Recruiters / Resourcers, who don’t necessarily know the market.

Understanding the market when you are trying to entice experienced candidates to a company in this industry, is really important as understanding what an exhibition candidate is looking for in a job or company culture can make the difference between a candidate wanting to be put forward for a job or not.

It is also worth remembering that a lot of the best candidates for jobs, don’t advertise that they are looking.  A Talent Acquisition Manager won’t be able to find them on LinkedIn, so companies are missing out on the brilliant talent out there!  The really good news is that at mid and senior levels, there are still many people looking for a new career/challenge in our industry.

Liz Sinclair
Managing Director, ESP Recruitment

ESP Recruitment works in partnership with Trevor Foley, tfconnect