Like many industries, recruitment is changing. Largely driven by technological advancements, demographic shifts, and emerging markets, this evolution has meant that recruiters need to constantly adapt and refine their hiring techniques to stay at the top of the pack. The recruitment techniques that worked yesterday likely won’t work tomorrow, especially given that the workforce is now primarily made up of Millennial and Gen Y workers. Attracting these generations requires new recruitment techniques, and new skills to be successful.
So, what can recruiters do to keep up with these changes? This article will explore how you can stay at the top of your recruitment game.
First, let’s look at some recruitment trends you should pay attention to going into 2020.
Important recruitment trends for 2020
Keeping up with changes in recruitment means that you need to be aware of emerging trends. Pay attention to industry publications, and your own team’s experiences, to help you identify and react to important recruitment changes.
Looking forward to 2020, here are some recruiting trends you should be aware of:
- The job market is candidate-driven. Demand is higher than supply for many skilled professions, making it a seller’s market for job seekers. That means that emphasis should be placed on building lasting relationships with candidates, and focusing on a recruitment experience that creates happy and loyal applicants and employees. Referrals and word-of-mouth are also the keys to success in this changing recruitment landscape.
- Data is king. Technological innovation has led to a treasure trove of recruitment data that can be mined to find and attract top talent. Recruiters should be jumping into the world of data and analytics with both feet, and their recruitment tech stack should be up to the challenge.
- Recruitment marketing is the key to success. Hiring teams need to think like marketers to efficiently find, attract, and hire top talent. That means understanding talent personas, and using inbound marketing tactics to streamline where and how you promote your positions to the right people.
- There’s going to be new job titles that don’t exist yet. Recruiters will constantly be trying to fill new positions and skills gaps that might not even exist today. It’s imperative that hiring teams stay on top of industry trends, and have an open mind for what type of people are best for these new positions.
- Candidates don’t always follow career ladders anymore. A to B to C career ladders are quickly becoming a thing of the past. Instead, it’s not uncommon for professionals to have multiple jobs or careers within their working life time. That means that recruiters need to pivot from the old way of looking at career progression, and understand how blended careers can benefit their company.
- Collaborative hiring is important. Recruitment experience and hiring for culture are both leading trends in hiring today. Collaborative hiring is one way to ensure that your chosen candidate is a great fit for your company. This will have a positive impact on retention and performance down the line.
- You need a clear, established hiring process. The best talent is off the market within a matter of days. That means that a fast, efficient, and repeatable hiring process that consistently achieves the desired results is critical to snatching up the best candidates when they’re available.
- A great recruitment experience wins top talent. How you treat you candidates, and how they perceive your company during the hiring process is incredibly important to winning top talent, and establishing a positive employer brand. This is accomplished by providing a great recruitment experience. More on this later.
But it’s not enough to be aware of the fact that recruitment is changing. Recruiters also need to constantly reflect on their own skills and abilities, and continuously evolve their capabilities. Being a good recruiter is a blend of professional and personal skills that are used daily to achieve success.
How to be a good recruiter
Becoming (and staying) an effective recruiter largely comes down to having the right hard and soft skills for the job. As the recruitment industry changes, so too do these skill requirements.
Here’s a list of the top 10 personal and professional skills that you’ll need to stay at the top of the recruiter pack going forward:
- Great communications.
- Sales abilities.
- A data-driven mentality.
- Multitasking.
- Body language reading.
- Networking.
- Tech savviness.
- Time management.
- Confidence.
- A friendly demeanor.
Don’t worry too much if you’re missing a few of those skills right now. Personal development is important for any profession, but is particularly necessary for recruiters who need to constantly evolve with changes in the industry. Each of the above recruitment skills contributes to one of the most important emerging trends in recruitment: the recruitment experience.
How to create a fun recruitment experience
A great recruitment experience can have positive ripple effects throughout your entire hiring process, and a negative one can harm you company's reputation.
Great recruitment experiences are built by having a thorough and efficient hiring process in place, and highly skilled recruiters who will ensure that each interaction with the candidate is a positive one. If you’re looking to improve your recruitment experience, try some of these techniques:
- Have fun. Make each phase of the recruitment experience a fun one. Don’t be afraid to think outside of the box to showcase your team and culture.
- Keep things moving. Don’t drag your feet or waste the candidate’s time. Keep the process flowing, and inform your candidate about how long the process should take.
- Provide regular updates. Keep the lines of communication open. Long periods of radio silence will only serve to hurt your employer brand, and will run the risk of the candidate forgetting about you altogether.
- Give them a taste of your culture. Instead of one or two people interviewing the candidate and making a decision, invite that person to your office to experience your culture first hand. Give them a taste of what it would be like to work there, and let them make the decision as to whether it’s a good fit.
- Be respectful. Job seeking is difficult and stressful. Always treat candidates with respect, value their time, and use fair screening processes.
- Be available. Always ensure that someone on your team is there to answer questions or respond to messages from your candidates. Most candidates will want some kind of human connection when applying for a position, so you should strive to give them one. This can be as simple as replying to emails promptly, or using chatbots to ensure queries can be answered at any time.
- Set a good example. A great recruitment experience needs a champion - someone who will advocate for the process, and push for everyone in the organization to jump on board. If that’s you, or your recruitment team, then you should be leading by example and live your positive experience every day.
- Create a unique “welcome” program. A recruitment experience doesn’t end when the job offer is sent. It extends to welcoming and onboarding the candidate to the team. Try coming up with a fun way to announce to the candidate that they’ve been hired. Get the team involved, and show the new hire that everyone is excited for them to come aboard.
A positive recruitment experience ties directly into your employer brand, which is one of your main weapons for attracting qualified candidates to your company.
How to build and live your employer brand
Developing an employer brand on paper is one thing, but living it day to day is quite another. It’s easy to create a web page that talks about how great you are, but if your company doesn’t live up to the hype, then new hires may feel like they made the wrong decision to join your team.
Employer branding is more than messaging. It’s a company-wide commitment to a set of values, culture, and a way of life that is influenced by every employee. Building an employer brand starts with telling the world who you are, and what you value. Living it requires an ongoing effort.
Here are some tips on how your company can live their employer brand:
- Live what you say, and say what you live.
- Continuously evaluate and improve.
- Showcase your culture in the recruitment experience.
- Ensure your staff buys into the vision.
- Differentiate yourself from the competition.
- Hire for cultural fit, and nurture that commitment.
- Create a killer onboarding program.
- Don’t forget about learning and development.
- Communicate internally - often.
- Create an employee advocate committee.
- Build this commitment to the team into your recruitment experience.
Recruitment is changing. And that means that recruiters and companies need to change with it. Evolving your personal and professional skills to keep up with these trends, and emphasizing a great company culture and recruitment experience will be the key to your success in 2020 and beyond. Remember: live your employer brand, and make it one that appeals to your employees and target candidates. That way, you can’t fail.
