Overview
The final quarter of 2016 saw a recruitment shift towards more paralegal-based roles.
This paralegal recruitment drive was the result of a large pool of candidates across the Midlands looking to move between practice areas
More Paralegals Than Solicitors
One of the interesting recruitment dilemmas of the final quarter of 2016 was the frustrated movement of many paralegals.
In a lot of cases, paralegals have been looking to move between practice areas but have been thwarted in their hunt for a new legal role as firms are requiring relevant experience within that area.
With solicitors, there is a bit more hesitancy from candidates to make any move happen.
With a skills shortage, solicitors are only really looking to make a move to a firm where the offer is something that they cannot refuse.
From a recruiting perspective, that’s why it’s been particularly important for firms to fully display everything that’s attractive for a new role including an all round benefits package.
Senior is Trending
A pattern that’s also emerged across the Midlands in the last three months is firms recruiting for more senior roles simultaneously. I have received regular requests from firms looking for more niche-specific senior roles which are often a little bit more complex in nature to recruit for.
That’s why I’m always keen to emphasise that firms look to undertake their recruitment drive, and in particular their interview process before the Christmas holidays.
With most senior legal professionals, notice periods are regularly three to six months in duration so waiting until the New Year can vey much slow down any fluidity in the recruitment process.
Predictions
For those clients who managed to get the ball-rolling before the Christmas break, they’ve been able to give themselves an immediate head start in their overall company strategy going into 2017 and for those who have waited until the New Year, the inundation of CVs after the Christmas will put added pressure and extra time on the overall recruitment strategy.
Going into New Year I expect the recruitment drive and increased post-Christmas CV output to result in a lot of movement across the Midlands.
