What our employers are telling us about recruitment in 2023

Are you job hunting this year? Looking to move into or within the for-purpose world? We’re here to give your job search a helping hand with a bit of insider information.

Recently, we surveyed the employers who advertise with us to see how they are feeling about recruiting this year and where they are looking to recruit.

Most of our advertisers are in the not-for-profit or charity space, but there are also a good number of recruitment agencies, small for-profit companies and local and national government departments. Among the top focus areas are:

In the next 12 months, our employers are thinking about recruiting for a wide range of roles from admin, HR, and comms and marketing to finance and legal and IT, right up to executive management and board level.

The challenges

While there is plenty of ambition for recruitment, there are also a few challenges faced by for-purpose employers.

A lot only have small teams and around a third of the people in charge of recruitment for their organisations are also wearing at least one other hat from the CEO to admin staff. That means that there are lots of tasks competing for their time and recruitment is just one of the things they have to think about.

Fundraising seems to be the number one challenging role to recruit for - with a shortage of experienced fundraisers in New Zealand, if you have sales or marketing experience, this could be a good for-purpose role for you

When it comes to finding the right recruit their top 3 struggles are finding people who:

So as a jobseeker what can you do to meet some of these challenges head on and improve your chances of getting hired?

Show how your values align

For many for-purpose organisations, it’s as much about organisational and team fit as it is about skills and technical experience. In your cover letter or introductory email make it clear how your values align and what you can bring in terms of power skills.

Be flexible

Be prepared to be flexible when it comes to arranging things like interview times or follow ups. The person recruiting may have limited timeframes so try and be accommodating.

Be flexible in your job search too. Don’t be put off applying for a job where your values fit perfectly, just because you don’t hit 100% of the technical skills or because you don’t know if the hours will fit. If you are unsure it’s worth phoning or emailing the recruiter with a couple of questions before you apply.

Make it easy

Many people in the for-purpose world are wearing a lot of hats. Recruitment might be just one of many tasks they are trying to fit in that day. So make it easy for them. Here are some tips for doing that:

• Clearly mark your email as an application and list the role you are applying for if there is more than one opening

• Attach any extras requested like your CV and make sure the files are clearly named

• Make sure your contact details are clear in the covering email, your cover letter or your CV

• Write a great cover letter that clearly states why you are the best fit for the role and your relevant skills

Consider your salary expectations

Charities, not-for-profit organisations and small businesses don’t usually have big budgets like the corporate world.You might need to adjust your salary expectations if you are moving from a corporate role. Think carefully about the salary range that you are comfortable with. Narrowing your search to jobs which fall within this range can reduce the time you spend on applications and interviews that aren’t realistically going to go anywhere and reduces the time for the recruiters too.  On Do Good Jobs we are proud to be committed to #showthesalary, so we hope making these visible on all our jobs listings helps make salary expectations clearer for all.

You could also consider what other perks might make a job attractive to you - many of our advertisers offer perks including flexible working, professional development and enhanced leave packages.

If you are looking for a new role, make sure to take a look at our job listings and sign up for custom job alerts…. see why below :)