16 Dec Private practice December (w)rap-up
We’ve nearly made it!
We’re achingly close to the end of the year having spent the last 12 months wading through lock downs, jabbing, double jabbing (triple jabbing), elbow touches, facemask face and QR code finger gymnastics. Somewhere along the line I also became a qualified handwash sommelier.
As with any December wrap up, there’s a temptation to look back at the year that was, create a greatest hits of sorts and recall the high points and the low points we all lived through. But it’s all been a bit grim really. As an alternative, I thought it might be interesting to pretend it’s March 2022 and try to predict, based on what we’re seeing now, what the recruitment landscape might look like then. So, here goes.
Firstly, and to get it out of the way, that Menulog advert with Snoop is still playing every 15 minutes on a loop. More broadly and, as we expected, January started off slow. Everyone got a good break over Christmas and then around the middle/end of the month all those lawyers who had been holding back a need to make a move, some for nearly two years, decided it was time to pop their heads up above the sand. What they found blew their hair back.
The market was beyond desperate for an influx of quality talent and through February the flow of candidates, filled with a renewed confidence, began to increase. This flow wasn’t tripped up by a surprise lock down or new high level COVID development, there were no reasons to pause for breath, just a sense that now was the time to go if you were going. People started to resign having found new roles, some discussed the salaries they’d picked up with their mates, others just described the amount of interest they’d received and the biggest game of musical chairs we’ve seen since the end of the GFC in 2009 began.
Many of our clients are clearly anxious about what the new year holds but in reality, the biggest recruitment challenge of 2021 was the understandable lack of confidence being displayed by the candidate base and the reluctance to make a move this brought with it. 2022 will of course see far more movement as the merry-go-round starts spinning again but movement is normal and movement creates opportunities for everyone.
Have a great break, relax and don’t worry, we’ll be here for you when you’re ready.
