Do You Have Anybody on Your Books? A Brief Summary of the Current Knowledge Management and Information Professional Recruitment Landscape
This is such a common question, particularly when we’re working with a new customer or introducing our services and it’s not one that I really know how to answer.
Like most recruitment firms, we have a database of candidates from our sector – in our case Knowledge Management, Research Librarians, Researchers and Information professionals that we’ve interacted with over the years. But it’s almost always the case that 99% of these people are quite happy in their current role, not actively looking and probably haven’t thought about moving for quite some time. So this means that the vast majority of the introductions that we make arise from conversations that we have with through our networks, professional associations that we work with and by maintaining engagement with what is a narrow pool of specialist Knowledge and Information professionals. When we take on an assignment we have to pitch a firm and an opportunity to a select few that we think may be interested, based on conversations we’ve had. Knowledge and information is a sector that can be best described in recruitment terms as a “candidate driven market.”
Current Market Conditions
In the past 9 months, the demand for Knowledge and Information professionals, particularly in the professional services sector, has been depressed compared to previous years - about 20% down and most hires being replacements rather than growth. I’d say the most effected area has been in the uptake of new graduates, where (and I hate to say this) opportunities have been very few and far between and will have a knock on effect in the sector later down the line. This however is changing fast with the market already starting to get busier.
Opportunities for Employers
What does all this mean? Well, for the first time in about 7 years, we are in a situation where there are multiple strong information and knowledge professionals in our network who are hitting the proverbial glass ceiling, would like the challenge of a new environment or would like to refine or develop their KM and information skills in a new area. For the first time in a long time, I’d say that we’ve entered a brief window where KM and information has become an “employers market” and in answer to the question, ‘Do you have anyone on your books?’, I can say yes!
If you are looking for or possibly considering hiring an Information or Knowledge professional to join your team, there probably hasn’t been a better time to do so. At CB Resourcing, we can help you find the following:
- Library Science or related graduates with a passion for joining the professional services sector
- Library, information and KM professionals with a couple of years experience, seeking more responsibility or to specialize
- Experienced knowledge and information hires that add considerable expertise to your department
- Highly experienced leaders that would elevate the KM and Information capabilities of a firm at operational, tactical and a strategic level.
For a conversation about the current market and your hiring needs over the next 12 months drop us a message.