Current Events > As a recruiter, it's crazy to see how the market is shifting

(+) Yeah! (+)

I recruit for tech. So its always been a candidates market. But now its crazier than ever before and within all jobs/industries. My coworkers are drowning. Before I left, every candidate I spoke to had 3-4 other offers. My team all quit and went to join big companies with more budget (both for themselves and also easier to close candidates). Looking online, recruiters are all talking about how theyre drowning too, how hard it is to get good people, etc. across all industries.

Im not even looking and Im doing final interviews with 6 companies (there were more but I chose to cut them down). All of which have potential for a big bump in pay. Im going to help my husband update his resume this weekend to apply, hes underpaid currently.

If you guys feel undervalued at your current companies, now is the time to jump ship. So many jobs, many remote, and not enough candidates for them. Its a candidates market and complete free for all it seems.

And no Im not talking about shitty retail/fast food jobs where they want to pay minimum wage. Fuck that lol

i don't think that applies to oil and gas lol

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I will take two jobs, please.

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hmmm... I'm in operations and just started a job but I'm probably underpaid for my title and where I live. I might pick it back up in a month, just to see.

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Yup. It's definitely back to being an employee's market in tech. At least from a support/infrastructure angle. No idea on developement

I mean the literal bare basics and being able to speak civilly = amazing apparently

berlyman101 posted...

hmmm... I'm in operations and just started a job but I'm probably underpaid for my title and where I live. I might pick it back up in a month, just to see.

Is your job remote capable? You can use filters on indeed and linkedin to find remote jobs and widen your pool. Lots of companies are desperate to get talent and willing to allow permanent work from home. And many candidates are quitting their current jobs that require them back in the office in a few months.

I mean, I'm safety but now's as good a time as any to check. >_>

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i want to change careers, just not sure to what. I've gotten some offers that double or triple my pay during the pandemic but all of them have seemed soul suckingly awful.

if the auto industry wasn't all sorts of fucked right now car sales might be fun.

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Cleo_II posted...

My team all quit and went to join big companies with more budget (both for themselves and also easier to close candidates).

As it should be.

Cleo_II posted...

If you guys feel undervalued at your current companies, now is the time to jump ship. So many jobs, many remote, and not enough candidates for them. Its a candidates market and complete free for all it seems.

On it. Well see how it goes.

Accounting/finance/pharma here.

Im planning on applying to 2-3 jobs a day just to see if anyone bites.

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Cleo_II posted...

Is your job remote capable? You can use filters on indeed and linkedin to find remote jobs and widen your pool. Lots of companies are desperate to get talent and willing to allow permanent work from home. And many candidates are quitting their current jobs that require them back in the office in a few months.

I have been since last March. It'd be nice to know I don't have to go back

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What can I even do in tech with no college degree or no tech qualifications whatsoever?

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AzNDarkSamurai posted...

What can I even do in tech with no college degree or no tech qualifications whatsoever?

customer service

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I did HR/recruiting pre pandemic and am interviewing for positions to place mentally/physically disabled individuals. Pay sucks but I don't need to make bank anymore and this sounds fulfilling.
Gonna be interesting to see how much has changed in the last year

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KILBOTz posted...

i want to change careers, just not sure to what. I've gotten some offers that double or triple my pay during the pandemic but all of them have seemed soul suckingly awful.

if the auto industry wasn't all sorts of fucked right now car sales might be fun.

What do you do? What do you want to get into?

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

Yeah my husband is in tech but at banking companies and they are very slow too. Hes looking to get into companies that do more online services. I think youre in finance right? (I may be completely wrong) There might be opportunities at tech companies for finance folks.

Looking at the recruiting Reddit I see folks saying theyre having a hard time filling roles in the marketing/sales/retail industries as well

CE_gonna_CE posted...

On it. Well see how it goes.

Accounting/finance/pharma here.

Im planning on applying to 2-3 jobs a day just to see if anyone bites.

Good luck! Another tip from me, add all your skills on LinkedIn and flag yourself as open for opportunities. Your current employer cant see it (make sure you select the option that specifies it). The more keywords on your profile the better chances of a recruiter finding you in their Boolean search.

AzNDarkSamurai posted...

What can I even do in tech with no college degree or no tech qualifications whatsoever?

Do you have experience? My husband has no degree but has 20 years in the industry. He was always into coding and computers though

You could try some kind of desktop support job. Maybe start in customer service and move your way within a company to desktop support and climb from there. Ive talked to a candidate that started off as a level one desktop support person to a cloud systems engineer and was doing fantastic.

PoundGarden posted...

I did HR/recruiting pre pandemic and am interviewing for positions to place mentally/physically disabled individuals. Pay sucks but I don't need to make bank anymore and this sounds fulfilling.
Gonna be interesting to see how much has changed in the last year

Good luck! That seems very challenging and rewarding. Hope it works out for you

Makes me wish I did computer science.

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what are the buzzwords in your resume you need to use to get past the software used to auto-reject candidates and get the resume in front of an actual human?

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Squall28 posted...

Makes me wish I did computer science.

Thats the thing, its not just the tech industry thats gotten competitive. Seems like several other markets as well. I have recruiter friends who do business/operations and they are also in high demand. While a lot of companies got hurt by covid, others are growing and scaling so fast they need people from various industries. And many other companies are losing people to needing to have them return to an office. So if youre someone who doesnt mind or even wants to go back, there are a lot of jobs open.

Its a very strange shift

Weve been paying out huge salaries for technical architects. Its definitely a great time to move. Companies are desperate

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PatrickMahomes posted...

what are the buzzwords in your resume you need to use to get past the software used to auto-reject candidates and get the resume in front of an actual human?

I dont use software that auto rejects anyone and Im not sure thats really a thing. We do have software that might stack rank resumes based on the Boolean we use or filters. Some of the roles I worked on could have 300-500 candidates. Its humanly impossible to go through them all and also manage all my other reqs. So I use the software to rank them and go through maybe 10-20 of them as a starting point.

What you want to do is take a look at the job description youre applying to and make sure to include the buzzwords that apply to you on your resume. But only if they are skills that you could talk through during an interview.

PatrickMahomes posted...

what are the buzzwords in your resume you need to use to get past the software used to auto-reject candidates and get the resume in front of an actual human?

Robert'); DROP TABLE resumes;--

What kind of pay bump are you looking to get, Cleo?

And I'm happy in my kind of role, but once I make my money, I'd like to get into some sort of people role like some sort of sales (or firefighting). What sales like areas do you see growing a lot in the next decade?

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I am sick of working in insurance and want to flip to coding, I actually bought one of those Udemy courses last night lol. Maybe I will seek out a remote customer service desk job to start off.

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I dont even wanna change my underwear

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Drpooplol posted...

What kind of pay bump are you looking to get, Cleo?

And I'm happy in my kind of role, but once I make my money, I'd like to get into some sort of people role like some sort of sales (or firefighting). What sales like areas do you see growing a lot in the next decade?

Depending on the company Im looking at a 30-50k increase. Possibly more with equity/bonuses. My friend got herself a $50k pay bump in base salary alone and shes also getting equity. We had about the same salary too. Im interviewing with her company. Though she is a level above me but she said they pay both the same somehow. Im not too sure so well see. I just hope I land it, my other friend is also interviewing and shes incredible.

You could always do recruiting lol. Its sales and you can make a lot of money. You dont have to be an agency slave either. I havent done agency/commission based recruiting in years. Its actually really full and rewarding especially when the candidate is really excited about it.

BignutzisBack posted...

I am sick of working in insurance and want to flip to coding, I actually bought one of those Udemy courses last night lol. Maybe I will seek out a remote customer service desk job to start off.

What classes are you taking? I want to get more into analytics/machine learning myself. I think it would be a huge asset to have but Im lazy (and also a new mom so theres THAT)

yea can confirm

In tech and trying to hire someone with like 4 years of experience

Way harder than i expected
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Cleo_II posted...

What classes are you taking? I want to get more into analytics/machine learning myself. I think it would be a huge asset to have but Im lazy (and also a new mom so theres THAT)

Oh I am starting from the very beginning lol. I asked my brother for help being as he is a software engineer and he pointed me to a 58-hour course by Dr Angela Yu.


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Senior engineer, pay begins at $14 an hour
"Man I can't find anyone for this position, nobody wants to work"

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g980 posted...

yea can confirm

In tech and trying to hire someone with like 4 years of experience

Way harder than i expected

What are you looking for? And yeah its incredibly tough. I had a tough time closing folks at all levels before I left. It was very demoralizing. Our company is mid sized and doesnt pay as competitively. Almost every candidate I spoke to had multiple offers and many from the big 5 (Amazon, Apple, Google, Facebook and Microsoft). Theyre hiring like crazy and just snatching everyone up lol

BignutzisBack posted...

Oh I am starting from the very beginning lol. I asked my brother for help being as he is a software engineer and he pointed me to a 58-hour course by Dr Angela Yu.

Dang dude. Enjoy. I hated coding haha

Turtlemayor333 posted...

Senior engineer, pay begins at $14 an hour
"Man I can't find anyone for this position, nobody wants to work"

We pay senior engineers anywhere from 150-180k base plus bonuses and its not at all enough compared to bigger tech companies that are offering the same to jr/mid level candidates.

Cleo_II posted...

What are you looking for? And yeah its incredibly tough. I had a tough time closing folks at all levels before I left. It was very demoralizing. Our company is mid sized and doesnt pay as competitively. Almost every candidate I spoke to had multiple offers and many from the big 5 (Amazon, Apple, Google, Facebook and Microsoft). Theyre hiring like crazy and just snatching everyone up lol

tech product manager

And yea i just had a coworker leave for a FAANG. Supposedly got a 50% bump.

If i didnt have a new baby id probably be hunting for a big raise too
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Cleo_II posted...

You could always do recruiting lol. Its sales and you can make a lot of money. You dont have to be an agency slave either. I havent done agency/commission based recruiting in years. Its actually really full and rewarding especially when the candidate is really excited about it.

My two biggest questions when it comes to sales:

1. How stable is it/how susceptible to cyclical economic risk is it?
2. How is your work life balance?

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As a person who works in IT, this is nice to hear. Maybe it's finally time I leave this company.

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gig economy makes more $$$

this is what people are learning

working a soulless corporate job will make you so much less money than being a scalper online like that 16 year old kid, doing twitch, that site I can't name, etsy and so so much more

companies will be very slow to realize this is what is happening as most of the managers are still out of touch boomers who think you should thank them for even giving you a chance at all

and who is it doing all this? the next generations who would be the new entry level employees. they don't want these jobs

Cleo_II posted...

If you guys feel undervalued at your current companies, now is the time to jump ship. So many jobs, many remote, and not enough candidates for them. Its a candidates market and complete free for all it seems.

That's really great to know Cleo. Got my year end review coming up next month. If I don't get the promotion my boss has been dangling in front of me for the last year, I planned to start looking elsewhere. Hell I might do it anyway. Sounds like the timing is perfect.

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are those udemy/udacity/linkedin/coursera courses worth a crap? I want to get into production for an entertainment studio, like an animation or video game producer or something

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What if I have absolutely zero experience working in any sort of tech field? Are there entry level positions available where I can learn as I go?

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TommyG663513 posted...

What if I have absolutely zero experience working in any sort of tech field? Are there entry level positions available where I can learn as I go?

I got my start by moving to Seattle for a temp order processing position. you might be able to do something similar remotely now but smaller companies are more about in-person. that or customer service. you can eventually make big money as a project manager if you work towards that.

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What kind of tech do you recruit for? I'm a rising junior studying Information Systems and also thinking of going for a 1 year masters in cybersec

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AzNDarkSamurai posted...

What can I even do in tech with no college degree or no tech qualifications whatsoever?

and there's the catch

The reason there aren't enough candidates is that becoming qualified simply isn't an accessible option for most people

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berlyman101 posted...

are those udemy/udacity/linkedin/coursera courses worth a crap? I want to get into production for an entertainment studio, like an animation or video game producer or something

My brother is a software engineer and he is a big fan of Udemy

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Next year when everyone can travel again they'll be replacing everyone with Visa guest workers. My state is going through this with Cedar Point. They can't bring in foreigners to work there for peanuts like usual so they're stuck paying Americans $20 per hour this summer.

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ExtremeLuchador posted...

Next year when everyone can travel again they'll be replacing everyone with Visa guest workers. My state is going through this with Cedar Point. They can't bring in foreigners to work there for peanuts like usual so they're stuck paying Americans $20 per hour this summer.

I think damn near every park in the Cedar Fair chain is going through this. My local park, Valleyfair, is at $17/hr without foreign workers. Maybe they will up it to $20/hr soon too.

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TommyG663513 posted...

I think damn near every park in the Cedar Fair chain is going through this. My local park, Valleyfair, is at $17/hr without foreign workers. Maybe they will up it to $20/hr soon too.

You still have to live in their smelly barracks though.

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All the places with good pay have prohibitive home prices, at least in my field

Make double but pay triple for rent

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BlazinBlue88 posted...

That's really great to know Cleo. Got my year end review coming up next month. If I don't get the promotion my boss has been dangling in front of me for the last year, I planned to start looking elsewhere. Hell I might do it anyway. Sounds like the timing is perfect.

I say go for it! That way you have a back up. And if anything, if you get a good offer it may push your current company to bump your pay or offer you a better position.

I extended an offer to a data analyst that bumped his pay like $60k. Thought I had that one in the bag, it was like $40k more than he asked me for but I wanted to make sure he got market rate and he severely underpriced himself. Sure enough his company came back with a manager offer. Less money but it was a move he wanted so he took it. Oh and fully remote while ours wasnt.

g980 posted...

tech product manager

And yea i just had a coworker leave for a FAANG. Supposedly got a 50% bump.

If i didnt have a new baby id probably be hunting for a big raise too

Yeah TPMs are pretty tough to fill these days. Were in the same boat with having a new baby. Not ideal timing but I wasnt looking and cant turn down the opportunities if it means that much more money. Plus I was not wanting to go back to my company anyway

Drpooplol posted...

My two biggest questions when it comes to sales:

1. How stable is it/how susceptible to cyclical economic risk is it?
2. How is your work life balance?

If youre versatile enough as a recruiter, your skills can translate to filling jobs wherever in whatever industry. Companies are always hiring. Sure we might get replaced by bots some day but for now humans are needed and were also there to advise the hiring teams and consult with them on their strategies.

Work life balance depends on if youre agency or if youre in house. Agency is heavily commission based so you have to grind a lot. But it teaches you to be self sufficient and very scrappy, you can make a ton of money. In house is much more stable and generally a healthier work life balance which is why I went that route. I make great money and rarely work more than 40 hours.

berlyman101 posted...

are those udemy/udacity/linkedin/coursera courses worth a crap? I want to get into production for an entertainment studio, like an animation or video game producer or something

Its great to pick up new skills but getting into animation/video games is very competitive and its likely not enough.

TommyG663513 posted...

What if I have absolutely zero experience working in any sort of tech field? Are there entry level positions available where I can learn as I go?

Im not the best source to suggest things but Id say as I mentioned earlier, you can try going from customer service to desktop support or maybe also QA to software development. But you need some coding skills for that. No tech job is going to completely train you from scratch but theres a lot you can do for yourself to learn skills. My husband took coding classes at the local community college for example.

Doe posted...

What kind of tech do you recruit for? I'm a rising junior studying Information Systems and also thinking of going for a 1 year masters in cybersec

Mainly software engineers, but the last year Ive been doing more data scientists/analysts. My friend at work does IT and security. Thats a very tough market, you will have a crap ton of opportunities when youve graduated.

Also I want to point out, you dont need tech jobs to work at tech companies. They are growing rapidly but they need finance, marketing, sales, people operations, coordinators, admins, etc.

One of the guys on my team started off in retail and joined us as a coordinator. Then rose to recruiter by shadowing us and learning. Now moved on to a new company and got a $50k pay bump. And hes a junior recruiter!

So you guys can always look for recruiting coordinator gigs. You just schedule interviews and stuff. Its a grind but you can shadow other recruiters and grow into that role for more money.

@Cleo_II
Any specific I could do to help my odds for a remote job?

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I work in a mortgage processing company and I specifically use their old ass legacy systems to do all sorts of processing but I have no idea how these skills would progress to somewhere else that would be any better.

I nearly moved to some mortgage start up and they offered higher pay but they also wanted me to work late and I thought nah not worth it.

So dunno what to do really. I feel very stagnant and the pay isn't great here but it's a very easy job and I can work from home half of the time and it's scary to risk losing that. I'd love to work for an IT company or in IT but I have no idea where to go from here. I'm tempted to look into coding but I dunno if I have the right mind or work ethic for it. I just wanna do a job, go home and be done with it.

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