However, since we’re only halfway through 2012, it begs this question: how optimistic are those recruiters about the rest of the year?
A question like that can mean only one thing! That’s right, a recruiter poll!
As you might have already guessed, we conducted that poll of the Preferred Member recruiters in Top Echelon Network. As independent firm owners, these are recruiters who are in the trenches day in and day out and have their finger firmly on the pulse of both the industry and the employment marketplace.
The question that we posed to the Top Echelon Network Membership is as follows:
What are your thoughts about the second half of the year regarding the activity level in your niche?
The choice of answers that we provided is listed below, along with the percentage of recruiters who selected each one:
- I’m very optimistic—20.8%
- I’m somewhat optimistic—52.8%
- I’m decidedly neutral—15.1%
- I’m somewhat pessimistic—11.3%
- I’m very pessimistic—0.0%
Two things stand out from the results of this poll. First, the vast majority of respondents (73.6%) indicated that they are either “very optimistic” (20.8%) or “somewhat optimistic” (52.8%) about the second half of the year.
Second, nobody who participated in the poll indicated that they are “very pessimistic” about the next six months. Over 11% stated that they are “somewhat pessimistic,” but that was the extent of it.
There were also some fence-straddlers, of course, as there always are with a poll question such as this one. Approximately 15% are “decidedly neutral” about the activity level in their niche during the second half of 2012.
What about you? Are you optimistic? Pessimistic? If so, how much? How are the next six months shaping up for you and your recruiting firm?