I frequently hear from sourcing and recruiting professionals that Hiring Managers don't understand the current labor market, which often leads to frustrations during the recruiting process. At the in-take meeting, it's very important that you paint a clear picture so Hiring Managers understand the challenges you're likely to encounter as you source potential candidates. This way, everyone is on the same page and expectations are managed right from the beginning. Below are some pieces of data that you can use to help with this. For the purposes of this article, we used Software Developers with XML and Python skills in the San Jose metro area, but you could duplicate this exercise with any job, skill, or location.

1 - The number of other companies hiring for similar jobs

This piece of information shows your competition. Who else is currently hiring for the same type of talent that you're looking for? Are there a lot of companies? Or just a few? Knowing not only how many companies, but which companies will also help direct your conversations with Hiring Managers. Being able to tell if they are your direct industrial competition will also help you show Hiring Managers what projects these companies are working on.

Current Competition for Software Developers with XML and Python Skills in San Jose, CA

Source: WANTED Analytics

2 - The number of candidates nationally and locally that meet your requirements

Knowing how many people are in the workforce, or just graduating college with your education requirements, will affect your strategy. How you source potential candidates will also depend on where the talent is located. Are there qualified candidates in your immediate area or within a commutable distance? Or will you need to relocate the talent from another area or country? Also, if there are a small number of candidates with your skill requirements, you may want to discuss on-the-job training for new employees.

Current Candidate Pool for Software Developers with XML and Python Skills in San Jose, CA

Source: WANTED Analytics

3 - Average ad posting periods (to estimate time-to-fill)

Filling a job as fast as possible is important to Hiring Managers. However, as the Recruiter or Sourcer, you need to establish a realistic expectation of how long it may take. We collect the average posting periods for all jobs, which tells you how long similar job ads remain online. Keep in mind this isn't necessarily the time-to-fill, but you can estimate the complete time by adding the number of days in your typical interview process (how many rounds of interviews will a candidate need to go through?) and any offer negotiation time.

Average Posting Period for Software Developers with XML and Python Skills in San Jose, CA

Source: WANTED Analytics

4 - Sample profiles from networking sites and sample resumes

When you bring sample resumes or screen shots from potential candidates you can show the Hiring Manager the types of candidates that are in the workforce. If you brought in candidates that looked like these samples, would the Hiring Manager find them acceptable? This sets a realistic expectation on what skills are common in the workplace.

Resume Search for Software Developers with XML and Python Skills

5 - Hiring Scales

The Hiring Scale score may be the simplest way to explain to Hiring Managers the difficulty in the talent market. It is a score, ranging from 1 (easy to fill) to 99 (hard to fill), and gives them an overall view of current conditions. It factors all the items above, as well as salaries, unemployment, and more to calculate a score. By looking at a score on a range, you can quickly see how hard, or easy, a job may be. You can also explain if things will be more difficult in your local area than nationally, and discuss ways to overcome these challenges.

Hiring Scale for Software Developers with XML and Python Skills - San Jose, CA vs National Average

Source: WANTED Analytics

This article originally appeared on Analysis, the WANTED Analytics blog.

_______________________________________________________________________

Abby Lombardi writes for the WANTED Analytics blog, Analysis. Abby’s articles and insight have been featured on HR.com, ERE, American Staffing Association, Forbes, CNN, and Fortune. She is also the Global Marketing Director at WANTEDAnalytics, focusing on engagement with HR professionals through social media and research. When Abby isn’t researching hiring trends, she’s likely training for long-distance endurance events including marathons and triathlons.