The world of recruiting is changing almost as quickly as technology is. But what is driving the change? From a low unemployment rate coupled with an increase of competitors and business in general to rapid-changing technology. These are the leading change agents. Currently, we’re in a candidate-driven market. As recruiters, we need to be creative in our approach to attract top talent. Listed below are 5 Current Trends in Recruiting.
#1: Employer branding
An employer brand is what drives candidates to apply, it’s the company’s reputation. SHRM posted a great article a couple of years back, indicating that candidates look to an employer’s culture when deciding to take a job. As an employer, what are you offering that is going to attract the right talent to help achieve your objectives? It’s important to accurately represent what candidates can expect, learn or gain from accepting a position. Take a data-driven approach to find out what candidates in your market or area are looking for. Then, focus on the positives that your company has to offer. Don’t forget to sell them!
#2: Candidate Experience
What does it feel like from a candidate’s perspective to go through the application process? How long does it take? How is feedback provided – are you giving feedback? It’s important to understand that not only is the candidate a prospective employee, but also a prospective, or existing customer. Read more about this idea to see how Virgin Media tackled an annual loss of $5M due to a poor candidate experience in their recruiting process. If you haven’t already, have a quick read about the Common Mistakes Hiring Managers Make, Too Often.
#3: Candidate Relationship Management
A well-thought out Candidate Relationship Management strategy will encourage engagement with both current and future candidates. Since before Social Media, networking has always been an important task for anyone looking to advance their career or business. Hiring managers need to prioritize building a relationship to foster two-way communication with applicants. Utilize an Applicant Tracking System to see where you’re at with each candidate. An ATS can automate communications with applicants and make it easier to build a rapport, as well as increase talent pools. Proper communication between hiring managers and candidates will lead to a reduced risk of “ghosting”.
#4: Social & Mobile Recruiting
Social Media has been a useful tool to broadcast a message – or job opportunity – to a wide audience. It has also become much more than this. Recruiters and hiring managers can proactively search for candidates and begin to build relationships with them. Social Media networks provide a more casual approach to the hiring process but allows for a better connection and more fluid communication. Social Media is one of the most popular current trends in recruiting.
#5: Automation Tools
A great example of an automation tool in the recruitment process are ‘text bots’ that will further encourage candidate engagement. These are able to answer basic questions along the recruitment process. A company can set parameters and basic responses to common questions. These systems work with an existing ATS and work to find, attract, engage and nurture candidates. Automation tools are available to answer questions after hours. Simply put, they free up time for the recruiter or hiring manger to focus on building better relationships with candidates. They reduce the amount of time it takes to find the right candidate.
These 5 Common Trends in Recruiting are the most common that we’ve seen. Our friends over at Career Edge have also discovered others. Read about hem here.
