A changing market

Redundancies, mine closures, hiring freezes, unemployment rising;the mining market has turned quickly from a candidate short market to returning power to the employers. Working in recruitment I have seen this change first hand.

My clients have gone from hiring someone that may have had 80% of the skills required of the job, to now being able to hold out for someone that is 100% what they are looking for. With more candidates available in the market, my clients are now able to look toward candidates based in Australia rather than further afield, reducing hiring costs and increasing the speed of their on-boarding process.

Whilst this might sound like "doom and gloom" don't be put off, there are many benefits that aren't initially apparent, such as more focus on your long term career rather than "filling a gap", greater attention is being paid to cultural fit and salaries are becoming more realistic and sustainable.

To help you find the right role, even in this changing market here are some tips that, from experience, will help you secure your new role.

· Be flexible, we all have our list of "ideal conditions", if you are prepared to negotiate this will place you ahead of many.

· Salary - I'm not implying you need to take a drop but you need to understand that you might not get a $15 - 20k pay rise. Don't forget that your career is about long term investment not short term return.

· Location - With this market sometimes we need to go where the work is and that may mean relocating, by being flexible with where you can live you will have more opportunities available to you.

· Career advancement - Don't get me wrong; we all need to keep progressing our careers but you may need to look at taking a step sideways into company that will provide long-term career growth instead of looking for that next jump straight away.

The job market is changing and everyone needs to understand how these changes may affect your next career move and the opportunities that are available to you.