Cristian L. Popa Aved, CEO and co-founder of AquacultureTalent, has confirmed in an interview that quality over quantity tops employers' demand from recruiters. In line with this, the pandemic has forced a rethink of how people work and what they value, he said.
Presumably, employers have problems in terms of finding the right candidates and keeping them. So, they are looking for talents in industries such as agriculture, food service, and IT. "It is better to bring in three people that they know are going to be with them for the long term, than five people (who may not all stay)," Cristian added.
It is well known that the aquaculture sector has difficulty finding labor people. He alerted about the reasons why workers are not attracted: "It's not the easiest industry, of course. But at the same time, I don't believe that everyone knows how exciting and what possibilities are in this industry."
Above all, the recruiter suggested employers should display "how it is to work in the company. How people thrive over there, what successes they've had with their people. Fish farming is a solution that works from our perspective. The more qualified people come to the industry better the industry will be."
Employees have questioned their working conditions and, above all, their mobility because of the pandemic measures and restrictions. Now, they value more the place and the proximity/distance of their job location.
According to this, Cristian mentioned: "We've seen many Scottish who have decided to move back from the US to Scotland at the start of the pandemic. We also had a couple of Americans who decided to move back to the US. We have seen people who wanted to relocate back. And so this happened on local, national, but also international level."
When countries' borders were closed and local job applicants low, it was not easy to offer candidates from overseas. Employers and candidates had to meet in other countries to avoid pandemic restrictions. "Now, it's a little bit easier. Because traveling is possible if you're vaccinated or you do a COVID test," he stated.
Firstly, the recruiter explained: "The most important thing is to be transparent about the company culture and be very clear about the role that they are trying to recruit for. It's very important both for the company and for the candidates to do a very good due diligence on the role. And to communicate. It's very important to communicate well with potential candidates and with the actual candidates when they're already in the role."
In addition, he advised candidates "not to worry if they do not fit the role 100% because companies, and also us recruiters, are very flexible. We find the skills needed in another type of candidate, so candidates need to apply even when they are not sure. It's important to be very open about what they can do, what skills they want to develop in their personal and professional life, and at the same time, be very determined – this is one thing that we like, what our clients like, what the hiring managers in the industry like."
Finally, the recruiter, who operates in Europe and North America, stated: "I can tell you 100% that the market has been a candidate-driven market for quite a while, but today it's even more so."
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