The job market for 2019 is looking great with many firms in Wellington hiring now or looking to increase their headcount by March. This means finding the right candidate is still challenging and employers need to ensure their employer brand is a strong as ever.

Salaries have been steady in the Wellington region over the last 6 months. Salaries did however increase 28.6% over the last 5 years.

Candidates are looking for work/life balance, career progression and some variety in project work. Of course, salaries are always an important part of the decision making process. Please see below for salary information based on some of the roles one eighty have recruited in the past 6 months. How do your salaries compare?

• Architectural Designer $ 85 000 - $90 000
• Revit/BIM tech $ 80 000 – $90 000
• Senior Architect – $100 000 – $110 000
• Revit/BIM Specialist - $65 - $80 per hour
• Project Architect – $85 000 – $100 000
• Recently registered NZ Architect – $78 000 – $88 000
• Senior Architectural Technician - $65 000 - $80 000
• Intermediate Architectural Technician - $60 000 - $65 000
• Architectural designer - $55 000 - $65 000

Attracting the best candidates in 2019

It’s well known that we have a shortage of experienced architectural candidates in Wellington and so the ball is firmly in the candidate’s court right now when it comes to choosing an employer.

As a business your brand is a very important piece of your talent attraction strategy and is often the first impression a candidate gets of you. I have no doubt you have worked hard on your brand and spent time and money on getting the right message out to the market.

Recruitment consultants work on your behalf and are often the first impression a candidate gets of your business. One of the ways you can control your brand in the job market is by working smarter with recruitment consultants.

Why is it important?

Controlling your brand in the market allows you to attract top talent and be their first choice. If you are working with too many consultants, you can give off the impression that you are desperate to fill the position.

The message potential employees are receiving about your business can be different from different consultants depending on how well the consultant knows your business. It is really important that you trust your consultant and are confident they know enough about your business to excite the right candidates and fairly represent you.

What can you do as a client to best manage your brand if you are using a recruitment consultant?

Spend the time to meet your consultant in person regularly, ideally in your place of work. So much can be picked up about your business just by the consultant spending time in it.

Talk your consultant through your company culture, values, what do you do as a team? What kind of person works well with the current team? What kind of person hasn’t worked well in the past?

Ask your consultant questions about how your business fits with candidate’s expectations.

Create an action plan with your consultant, generally if you are the one driving this you are working with the wrong consultant.

Why would you work with one recruitment consultant exclusively?

Personally, when a client works with me exclusively on a role I put all my time and energy into finding a great candidate for them. I will work day and night to make sure I find a great candidate for the role because it’s my personal brand at stake!

By working with one consultant you have one consistent message going out to candidates in the job market, top candidates want a clear and succinct explanation about the role, the business and the team they will be working with. Working with one consultant ensures that you will get the message right.

Having one point of contact for a role saves a huge amount of time and you do not have to be concerned with which candidate is working with which recruitment consultant.

Start by trialing it with one role and enjoy some excellent service and results!