Hiring Trends in Canada: Deciding on the Future

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1 The Robert Half Professional Employment Report About the Report The Robert Half Professional Employment Report is the first quarterly hiring survey of its size and scope to focus exclusively on professional-level hiring. The results are based on telephone interviews with more than 1,000 executives throughout Canada to determine their hiring plans for the upcoming quarter. Among those surveyed are chief financial officers (CFOs), chief information officers (CIOs), senior human resources (HR) managers, lawyers, and advertising and marketing executives. Respondents offered their views on hiring plans within their respective fields and the challenge of finding skilled professionals. The survey also measures executives confidence in their companies prospects for growth in the fourth quarter of Robert Half has been reporting employment data through its Hiring Index program since We hope the Professional Employment Report is useful and invite you to contact us for help with any of your staffing needs. For additional information, visit Key Findings A net 10 per cent of executives plan to add professional-level staff in the fourth quarter of 2012, a five-point increase over the previous quarter. Thirty-four per cent of executives said they are very confident in their organisations ability to grow in the fourth quarter, and 52 per cent said they are somewhat confident. Thirty-nine per cent of survey participants reported encountering recruiting challenges. The legal field is expected to see the most active hiring, with a net 31 per cent of lawyers planning to increase staff levels. Strong fourthquarter hiring also is expected in the sales and business development profession (net 15 per cent) and the information technology field (net 12 per cent). A net 17 per cent of executives in the professional services sector anticipate staff additions, the most of any industry. National Hiring Projections FOURTH Quarter % in staff level 3% in staff level 8 No change in staff level Source: More than 1,000 executives at Canadian companies INSIDE: Spotlight on how to read between the lines when reviewing résumés on Page 8

2 Professional-Level Hiring By Industry Top 5 Industries for Professional-Level Hiring These industries show the highest projected net increase in hiring activity for the fourth quarter of 2012: 1. Professional Services (+17%) 2. Finance, Insurance and Real Estate (+1) 3. Retail (+9%) 4. Construction (+9%) 1 5% PROJECTED Hiring By INDUSTRY All Professions 4% Finance, Insurance & Real Estate 11% 7% 1 1% Retail Transportation Construction Professional Services 3% 3% All Industries Business Services 7% 4% 4% Wholesale Manufacturing 5. Transportation (+8%) Source: More than 1,000 executives at Canadian companies Executives in the professional services industry expect the most active hiring of professional-level staff, with a net 17 per cent of hiring authorities planning to increase personnel levels, 7 points above the hiring projections for all industries. The finance, insurance and real estate industry followed, with a net 16 per cent of executives expecting to hire in the fourth quarter of

3 Recruiting Challenges Business Confidence Percentage of executives who are confident in their companies growth prospects by quarter: 4 41% 53% % 34% 37% 3 34% Challenge in finding skilled professionals Very challenging Somewhat challenging All professions Not challenging 44% % 35% 28% 31% 34% Q Q1 Q2 Q3 Q Somewhat confident Very confident 1 1 7% 13% Source: More than 1,000 executives at Canadian companies Accounting & Finance Legal Advertising & Marketing Technology Source: More than 900 executives in Canada Nearly four in 10 executives interviewed are experiencing recruiting difficulties. Thirty-nine per cent of all respondents said it is somewhat or very challenging to find skilled professionals today. Lawyers cite the hardest time finding skilled professionals: 62 per cent said it is challenging to locate experienced legal candidates. CIOs also are seeing a tight candidate supply: 52 per cent of respondents said it is either somewhat or very challenging to find skilled IT candidates today. 3

4 Hiring Trends Accounting & Finance Hiring Projections Percentage of CFOs who plan to increase or decrease staff levels: 8% 4% Source: 270 CFOs at Canadian companies Top Industries These industries show the highest projected net increase in hiring among CFOs surveyed: Finance, Insurance and Real Estate (+1) Professional Services (+7%) Manufacturing (+7%) Percentages reflect the net increase Overview Most CFOs, 90 per cent, expect to maintain their current staffing levels in accounting and finance during the fourth quarter of Six per cent of executives plan to add personnel, and 2 per cent foresee cutbacks. Companies continue to make strategic hires in areas such as payroll and accounting, to accommodate growth initiatives and prepare for new opportunities. Candidate shortages in high-demand specialties persist, and firms looking to hire are experiencing recruiting challenges: Thirty-eight per cent of CFOs reported difficulty in finding skilled financial professionals today. Despite lingering economic uncertainty, executives remain optimistic about their business potential. Eighty-six per cent of CFOs reported confidence in their firm s growth prospects for the last three months of the year, up 5 points from the previous quarter. Positions in Top Demand Staff and senior accountants Organisations are hiring experienced accountants who can manage fundamental accounting needs, including preparing financial statements, maintaining the general ledger and performing account analyses. Employers continue to prefer experienced candidates who can contribute immediately. Financial analysts Companies need analysts who can identify business opportunities and make strategic recommendations for growing profits, while containing costs. Employers seek professionals with strong communication skills, including the ability to tell the story behind financial data in terms audiences both inside and outside of finance can understand. Payroll managers Businesses rely on these professionals not only to supervise the payroll department, but also to ensure company and government reporting is done in a timely manner, while adhering to the firm s policies and control procedures. Controllers Many organisations continue to expand their controller ranks in response to business growth. Companies need hands-on controllers and assistant controllers to plan, direct and coordinate critical activities, such as compiling financial statements, interacting with outside auditors and overseeing regulatory reporting. 4

5 Hiring Trends Technology Hiring Projections Percentage of CIOs who plan to increase or decrease staff levels: 1 9% 3% Source: 270 CIOs at Canadian companies Top Industries These industries show the highest projected net increase in hiring among CIOs surveyed: Finance, Insurance and Real Estate (+33%) Transportation (+31%) Professional Services (+18%) Percentages reflect the net increase 3% Overview CIOs expect an uptick in hiring in the fourth quarter of Fifteen per cent of CIOs said they plan to hire technology staff, and three per cent foresee cutbacks. The net 12 per cent projected hiring increase is six points above the previous quarter s forecast. Executives polled expressed greater difficulty in recruiting. Fifty-two per cent of technology executives said it is challenging to find skilled IT professionals today, a two-point increase from the previous quarter. Business confidence has also grown. The majority (91 per cent) of technology executives said they are somewhat or very confident in their companies growth prospects for the fourth quarter, a 7 point increase from three months ago. Fifty-four per cent rated the likelihood that their companies would be investing in IT projects a four or higher on a fivepoint scale, with five being most confident. Positions in Top Demand Network engineers As consumers continue to use wireless or wired networks that require high bandwidth for multimedia applications, companies are in need of more experienced network engineers. Those who can effectively engineer the integration of cloud computing with other new technologies and maintain a secure transfer of data to multiple locations via internal and external networks, are in high demand. Senior developers/programmer analysts Organisations are increasingly customising their web environments, resulting in greater demand for developers and programmer analysts. Candidates with excellent programming abilities and extensive experience in common languages and frameworks, such as.net, Java, PHP and mobile development, are in great demand. SharePoint 2007/2010 developers Businesses look for these professionals as a means to customise, further develop and maintain their newly acquired intranet applications. Since many client-facing web applications interface with back-end SharePoint portals and SQL databases, developers with experience in these technologies will be highly sought. Quality assurance (QA) analyst/tester Companies are looking for candidates who have expertise in developing and executing software test plans/programs, as well as identifying and facilitating issue resolution with functional and technical groups within the company. In addition to documenting test results, professionals who have excellent problem-solving skills and a keen attention to detail are in particularly strong demand. 5

6 Hiring Trends Advertising & Marketing Hiring Projections Percentage of advertising and marketing executives who plan to increase or decrease staff: 1 9% 3% 14% 7% Source: 50 advertising executives and 200 marketing executives at Canadian companies Overview A net 7 per cent of advertising and marketing executives interviewed plan to increase staff levels in the next three months of 2012, as a continued shift towards digital marketing is generating demand for professionals who support these initiatives. This is up three points from last quarter. Overall business confidence may be a factor in hiring plans: 89 per cent of advertising and marketing executives surveyed said they are either somewhat or very confident in their firms fourth-quarter growth prospects. Yet finding the right talent remains difficult: 42 per cent of executives interviewed said it s challenging to find skilled creative professionals today. Positions in Top Demand Account managers Employers seek professionals with strong interpersonal, customer service and organisational skills who can ensure ongoing and clear communication between clients and the agency, while handling multiple accounts at once. Web designers/developers As firms look to enhance their online presence, they are in need of talented professionals who have a mix of front- and back-end development skills, such as HTML, CSS and.net., a creative eye to design, and solid expertise in developing and maintaining interactive websites and/or social media pages. Brand managers Brand managers with experience researching and understanding customers behaviours and preferences, and then formulating effective marketing strategies to address these needs while differentiating the company from its competitors, are highly sought after. Graphic designers/producers Agencies and corporations continue seeking resourceful designers with extensive print production and digital static design experience. These professionals are wellversed in Adobe Creative Suite 5, and are impressively strong both conceptually and technically. 6

7 Hiring Trends Legal Hiring Projections Percentage of lawyers who plan to increase or decrease staff levels: 35% 3 25% 1 5% 33% Source: 75 lawyers at law firms and 75 corporate lawyers in Canada Overview Many law firms are continuing to focus on expanding their service offerings and increasing profitability in the fourth quarter. As a result, law firms are looking to recruit lawyers who can help them grow business by securing new clients. A net 31 per cent of lawyers surveyed at law firms and corporations said they will add staff in the fourth quarter of The majority of lawyers remain optimistic about business prospects. Eight-six per cent said they are somewhat or very confident in their organisations ability to expand in the last three months of the year. Those interviewed also acknowledged difficulty in locating top candidates: 62 per cent said they thought it was somewhat or very challenging to find skilled legal professionals today. Lawyers are the positions in greatest demand for the upcoming quarter, followed by legal secretaries/assistants and paralegals. Litigation, corporate law, and labour and employment law, are cited as the areas that will experience the most growth in the next three months. In addition, restructuring/insolvency, as well as ethics and corporate governance, are strong in certain markets. Practice Areas in Top Demand Litigation A surge in corporate and commercial litigation is generating the need for associates and legal support professionals with litigation expertise, as well as skilled lawyers, JDs and law clerks who specialise in e-discovery and document review. Corporate law An increase in business activity continues to create demand for lawyers and legal support professionals with experience in a variety of matters associated with general corporate and business law. Labour and employment Lawyers and legal support professionals with employment law backgrounds are sought by companies to assist with personnel policies, compliance matters and mergers and acquisitions. 7

8 Résumés: Reading Between the Lines Spotlight: Résumés By the Numbers Average number of resumes executives receive for an open position: CFOs CIOs Advertising & Marketing Executives Lawyers Human Resources Executives All Executives Source: Robert Half survey of more than 1,000 executives in Canada. Mean Response Watching Out For Red Flags Résumé writing is a good example of the law of unintended consequences. Sometimes what s not included in a résumé or what s presented through carelessness can reveal quite a bit about a candidate. Hiring managers may not have the luxury of time to sort through dozens of résumés submitted for an open position. Here are some things to watch out for when narrowing down a selection: Sloppy overall appearance This is a fairly reliable sign that the candidate is lacking in professionalism and/ or business experience. Unexplained chronological gaps The applicant was either unemployed or deliberately trying to conceal information. Bear in mind that, depending on economic conditions, talented people may have been out of work for periods of time through no fault of their own. Static career pattern A sequence of jobs that doesn t include increasing responsibility may indicate the person wasn t deemed fit for a promotion or demonstrated a lack of ambition. Don t reject a résumé on this criterion alone. It s something to review and assess but not judge. Typos and misspellings Generally speaking, typos in cover letters and résumés may signify carelessness or a cavalier attitude. Not proofreading a résumé may be a sign a candidate isn t conscientious. Vaguely worded job summaries You want to see job summaries that not only match the title but also indicate how crucial the applicant s job is to his or her current company s success. Weasel wording Phrasing such as participated in, familiar with, and in association can indicate the applicant may not have the actual experience he or she s claiming. A sentence doesn t need to be untruthful to be misleading. Job hopping A series of many jobs held for short periods of time may signal a problem employee or a chronic job hopper. People do leave jobs for good reasons and should be prepared to tell you about it. Overemphasis on hobbies or interests outside of work An applicant with a broad array of outside interests doesn t necessarily mean an employee who isn t just as enthusiastic about his or her job. Reviewing résumés doesn t have to be daunting, but knowing what to look for can help expedite the process and hone in on the employees who clearly deserve a second look. 8

9 About the Survey Accountemps Robert Half Finance & Accounting Robert Half Management Resources Robert Half Technology The quarterly Robert Half Professional Employment Report was developed by Robert Half and conducted by an independent research firm. The study is based on more than 1,000 telephone interviews with executives from a random sample of Canadian companies across a number of industries, including more than: 270 CFOs at companies with 20 or more employees 270 CIOs at companies with 100 or more employees 150 senior HR managers at companies with 20 or more employees 75 lawyers at law firms with 20 or more employees and 75 corporate lawyers at companies with 1,000 or more employees 50 advertising executives at companies with 20 or more employees and 200 marketing executives at companies with 100 or more employees OfficeTeam Robert Half Legal The Creative Group Connect with us: About Robert Half Founded in 1948, Robert Half, the world s first and largest specialised staffing firm, is a recognised leader in professional staffing services. The company s specialised staffing divisions include Accountemps, Robert Half Finance & Accounting and Robert Half Management Resources, for temporary, full-time and senior-level project professionals, respectively, in the fields of accounting and finance; OfficeTeam, for highly skilled office and administrative support professionals; Robert Half Technology, for project and full-time technology professionals; Robert Half Legal, for project and full-time staffing of lawyers, law clerks, paralegals and legal support personnel; and The Creative Group, for interactive, design, marketing, advertising and public relations professionals. Robert Half has staffing operations in more than 350 locations worldwide. For more information about the specialised staffing and recruitment divisions of Robert Half, visit roberthalf.ca, and follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/roberthalf_can Robert Half. All trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners. RH