That job seekers are in the cat bird seat today is without question. Eight of 10 respondents called this a candidate-driven job market. Just a year and a half ago, only two-thirds believed the market was candidate driven.

Employers have their hands full trying to staff up for the ongoing economic upsurge. Nearly half the positions they're trying to fill have been newly created; a bit more than a third are vacancies created when someone left a job.

When asked what's holding back their hiring efforts, employers said:

• Not enough talented candidates — 31 percent;
• Lack of C-Suite authorization to fill positions — 26 percent; and
• Efficiencies discovered during the recession have resulted in lower staffing needs — 14 percent.

The survey found that employers still tend to have the same old patterns in the interview/job offer process: Most say it takes two to three interviews to get an offer, and three to four weeks after the interview for the offer to be made. But now employers are finding their offers are most often rejected either because the candidate already took another job (31 percent of the time) or because the salary/benefits package wasn't suitable (26 percent).

Another emerging trend: more offers are being rejected after two weeks than in prior surveys, suggesting employers need to pick up the pace of making an offer for the right person.

MRINetwork offered the following comments from survey respondents regarding the overhaul employment mating dance:

• Employer branding is more important than ever to entice star talent. If a company appears to be disjointed in its branding, saying one thing but doing another, candidates will be turned off.
• Salary and benefit packages need to be aggressive, not simply market-competitive.
• Clients need to provide stronger offers without elongated interviewing processes. They should also  avoid involving too many internal interviewers, especially if the interviewers are not in a management role of real authority.
• Companies are doing just about anything to keep good candidates. Counteroffers are still a common reason for offers being turned down, in which most candidates receive substantially more money and a promotion from their current employer.
• Time is the enemy when recruiting exceptional talent, because these individuals have more choices. The longer the process goes on, the less likely the candidate will be around to take the offer. Clients need to speed up the hiring process because once a candidate is "in play" other recruiters will find them too.