Matthew Chester, who runs the Digby Morgan team responsible for the search and selection of entry to mid level HR professionals across all industries, reports on the latest happenings in that area.

2008 is well underway and we have had an active and positive start to the year. Evidence suggests that the economic situation is having an impact on the market - particularly in the Financial Services sector where processes are significantly slower – and there is certainly more caution around with regard to taking on new, full time headcount. As a result, this has encouraged us to adopt an even more focused and pro-active approach and work even closer with our clients to address these new challenges. I’m delighted to report that this joint approach has borne fruit and success for all parties.

Talent is still the ‘buzz’ word in HR and, from both a recruitment and company perspective, finding top talent is, as ever, business critical for clients. From an industry perspective, talent management remains a key driver for many organisations and it’s those companies that are astute and recognise the value of total reward - pay, benefits, company culture and learning and development opportunities - that will retain their top talent.

For the first time in a number of years graduate recruiters are prolific in the market though there is still a shortage of strong generalists in the £30-40K salary bracket. This is again, perhaps, a reflection on the economy with a wariness amongst candidates to be moving during this time. However, one could argue that perhaps it also reflects the demand from companies for candidates to be extremely strong communicators with plenty of commercial acumen – and the fact that despite any ‘softness’ in the market, there are still many areas where astute employers looking at the longer term will simply not compromise.

With the market as it stands, we firmly believe it is a good time to be looking for new opportunities and candidates should not be put off by negative media headlines if they are ready for their next challenge.

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