Global Hiring Slowdown: What It Means for Candidates

**Tim Elliott** (0:00)
This is the Morning Drive. Tomorrow morning, we're driving to Shagside Road for a front row seat for the future of mobility. Gonna be broadcasting from Alphatame Volvo's brand new flagship showroom on Shagside Road. It's the largest Volvo showroom in the UAE. Don't miss exclusive conversations, full episodes on Morning Drive and Luxury Brakes, our automotive podcast. You can find them on YouTube channel and the Mira Business FM platforms. That is gonna happen tomorrow. Right now, David Mackenzie is here, he's the MD of Mackenzie Jones. You know what, I had a... welcome by the way, sorry. Thank you, thank you. Good morning.
Hello.
So I always try and kind of introduce you in a particular way. I have a sheet of different superlatives.

**David Mackenzie** (0:45)
You sent me a picture of a film you were watching yesterday, War Horse.

**Tim Elliott** (0:52)
It just came up and I just thought, I'm snapping a pic of that for the War Horse himself.

**David Mackenzie** (0:57)
Did you know he did that? He's brilliant.

**Tim Elliott** (0:59)
I forgot to tell you.

**David Mackenzie** (1:00)
Made me chortle.

**Tim Elliott** (1:01)
David Mackenzie is the Dogs Back Wheels, the MD of Mackenzie Jones.

**David Mackenzie** (1:06)
I love those dogs that have those little trolleys on the back. They disable them. There's a place in Thailand where there's literally about a hundred of them. This guy rescues them.
Normally, these dogs are put down and he makes little brackets with wheels on the back, and these guys zoom around everywhere. It's just a joy.

**Tim Elliott** (1:23)
Beautiful thing to see.

**David Mackenzie** (1:24)
I love that.

**Tim Elliott** (1:25)
I used to do chariot racing of dogs like that. No, I don't mean that in a bad way, but that would be a great thing.

**David Mackenzie** (1:33)
So what? Suddenly went dark.

**Tim Elliott** (1:37)
It sounded darker now that you pointed that out, but I didn't mean it that way. But that would be, the dogs would love it.

**David Mackenzie** (1:42)
They would.

**Tim Elliott** (1:43)
I'm saying treat the dogs fantastically, as you should as an animal lover, but you know, little races with the chariots.

**David Mackenzie** (1:49)
Well, I think they do. What he does, he has this gate and they all line up on the gate, and then they open the door and they all go absolutely hell for leather down towards the beach. And it's brilliant, but they all get caught up in each other's wheels, and they get flipped over and somewhere on their back, and they have to right themselves and stuff. But you could see the look on their faces. It's just sheer joy.

**Tim Elliott** (2:09)
Yeah, absolutely.

**David Mackenzie** (2:09)
I love that.

**Tim Elliott** (2:10)
No, that's a great thing. It's nothing like seeing an animal in that moment.
What the philosophers used to call peak experience. You know that thing where you're doing absolutely nothing, and the sun shines, and you're just in that moment of, this is good.

**David Mackenzie** (2:26)
It doesn't happen that much anymore.

**Tim Elliott** (2:28)
No, I see.

**David Mackenzie** (2:28)
I think we're in a period of, and this is a nice segue.

**Tim Elliott** (2:30)
We're in our twilight.

**David Mackenzie** (2:32)
Well, I think we're in an interesting time now, aren't we? Both in terms of economy, macroeconomics, and in my industry, and recruitment as well.

**Tim Elliott** (2:40)
Well, it's a tough world out there. And that's really what we're, you sent me an article the day before yesterday, I think it was, Financial Times article, which kind of spurs the conversation today. So it's hard in the recruitment world. Are we seeing a hiring slowdown? Lots of recruiter suffering. What does it mean for candidates?

**David Mackenzie** (2:58)
Yeah.

**Tim Elliott** (2:59)
How do you feel at the moment? What's your first observation?

**David Mackenzie** (3:04)
How do I feel personally at the moment?

**Tim Elliott** (3:07)
Professionally?

**David Mackenzie** (3:08)
Yeah. I feel we're in a really interesting time now. And I think we've been here before, Tim. We've been here in 2008 We were here during COVID in 2013 as well. So it's another time in life in the UAE. I think globally, I think the recruitment businesses are going through a really difficult time at the moment. I mean, you look at some of the stats. I mean, Hayes have sold off six of their regional offices.
Denmark, I can't remember all the different ones. UAE is going to be one apparently on the radar. Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Hungary, et cetera, because they just aren't making money out of it. People like Page, who is my old company there, I think their profits are down by 90% last year.