2018 Recruitment Trends - How to Stay Ahead of the Competition

By Talentwolf

We still have a few more months left in 2018 and we’ve already seen some huge trends in recruiting. We’ve seen some game changers as sourcing quality candidates for key roles continues to be competitive across the globe. Thanks to new technologies, recruiters now have numerous tools to help them have a competitive advantage over competitors.

Here are some major trends in 2018 in the recruitment space:

 

Social Recruitment Strategies Are A Must

More and more recruiters are jumping on social media a recruitment tool. Engaging candidates on social media allows them to reach more people than ever before. There has been an increase in social media investment by recruiters in 2018 and it’ll own continue to increase in the coming years. If there’s any disconnect between the reality of what it’s like working in a company and what they’re trying to sell will be uncovered on social media. Organizations are now prioritizing strengthening their online brand via social media. Recruiters now realize that social media also provides them with access to millions of potential candidates for free.  

Talent Relationship Management Has Increased

The use of Talent Relationship Management (TRM) has increased, as recruiters now understand that the focus should be on talent rather than candidates. This goes beyond finding candidates on external talent networks or internal talent pools to find a holistic approach to engaging, identifying and building talent networks. This year, the focus on TRM will continue to be strong, with many organizations investing in the right tools and people to support this new way of finding candidates. Recruiters who use TRM tools and proactive sourcing will find more talented new hires.

TRM helps to:

  1. Job posting, resumé screening, candidate contact, skills testing, and interview scheduling
  2. Be more efficient throughout the recruitment process.
  3. Collaborate internally by using one system to manage the whole process and all interactions, keeping everyone on the same page.
  4. Source top talent before you need it, which can mean you can hire more quickly when the time comes.
  5. Create relationships with future job applicants in advance.
  6. Stay engaged online with potential new talent either through direct communications or via candidate marketing campaigns.
  7. Improve the organization’s employment brand via the messaging that potential talent receives over these interactions.
 

Mobile-Driven Application Process

Everyone has a phone these days and the tailoring the application process to be mobile friendly is vital to reaching more candidates. Many brands still lag behind candidate expectations and one of those expectations is to allow them to apply from their mobile device rather than a desktop computer. However, more and more companies are realizing this and creating mobile-enabled application processes that meet candidate expectations.  

Adaptability and Agility Over Experience

These days, companies are looking for talent that can easily adapt instead of having numerous years of experience. Companies need talent who can quickly adapt to the changing technology and economic shifts the companies faces in the future. Because of this, recruiters will need to change their strategies to look for talent that’s capable of innovation, collaboration and agility rather than years of experience.
This is the only way to build a workforce for the future! Recruiters will put more focus on soft skills like creativity, innovation, problem solving and adaptability, which can often time be the hardest to find.
  

Recruiter Review Website, Grow Your Personal Recruiter Brand

The future for recruitment seems to be digital, so making sure to adopt the latest technology in recruitment strategies will be vital to your success. That’s why you should also sign up for Talentwolf, which is a space where recruiters can enhance their personal brand and increase their online presence. As a recruiter, exposure in a competitive marketplace is vital, which is why Talentwolf will help give you an edge over the competition.

 Learn how your recruiter brand helps you win new business. Recruitment consultants can demonstrate they are the highest rated recruiter in the market, benchmark and compare themselves against other recruiters according to their Talentwolf Score.

The formula is calculated on the average of the ratings received on a variety of qualities such as Hiring Effectiveness, Communication and much more. The higher the score, the higher the recruitment consultant’s visibility is on the platform. Those recruiter profiles with the highest scores are displayed on the top of the search result. All the marketing recruitment tools are now in one place.

 Recruiters can engage with their industry directly, by showcasing their expertise by sharing a detailed description of their services, awards, blog posts, presentation videos, be able to receive messages, resumes and much more. Recruiters can rank higher on Google SEO searches with their recruiter profile, which allows job seekers and employers to find them and highlight their profile in a competitive marketplace.


     

 

Contract Work Is On The Rise

More than 50% of the workforce dreams of self-employment and if given the chance, would want contract work. Because of this, more organizations are realizing flexibility is key to hiring top talent. Thing like working remotely is important to many candidates and companies are now more willing to permit it than ever. Companies are also offering more contract work, allowing employees to work on their own terms. In the next few years, it’s estimated that 50% of the workforce will be freelancer or contract employees. Recruiters now have to look for contract and freelance talent.  

AI Will Impact The Workforce

Many recruiters and HR teams are realizing the impact AI will have on their workforces, incorporating new tools into their strategies. Bots and AI will greatly impact how people work and the skills required. In the future, employees will redistribute workloads across portfolios of talent bots. Recruiters will have to utilize AI efforts to entice high-performing employees.  

Chatbot

Chatbots already have a big presence in the recruitment space. Providing a great experience to your candidates is absolutely vital and is one of the biggest trends we’re seeing adopted by recruitment agencies. The most obvious quick win with great experience is to eliminate the ‘Downtime’ between a candidate submitting a CV and the recruiter getting back to them. Chatbots can make this process almost instantaneous for the candidates, pushing them along the hiring cycle quicker, making both the candidate and client happy.

A quick turnaround when finding a job, and a high volume of qualified candidates to interview is a positive result for both parties. Some basic Chatbots that you can set-up yourself can offer a great platform to create an easy to use FAQ section, for roles and your business.
  

Some of the Popular Industry Chatbots

Job Pal
  • Answer FAQs 24/7
  • Qualify candidates
  • Schedule interviews
  • ATS/HTM Integration
  • Onboarding
RecruitmentBot
  • Job Search – Allows candidates to find jobs that suit them
  • Candidates can apply and upload their CV
  • Candidate Screening
  • Marketing
  • Events
Robo Recruiter
  • PALS – This reaches out to your database of contacts and aims to get up-to-date information on candidates and their availability.
  • JOBVET – This aims to qualify candidates by asking questions about their suitability for the role.
My Ally
  • Co-ordination of interviews
  • Automated interview feedback collection
  • Pipeline management and candidate prioritization
Ari
  • TextRecruit – Message multiple candidates at once
  • Onboarding
  • Collaborate with others on projects
  • 3 Features – TextRecruit, JobChat & TextHR. Encourages application from text

Tips Before you Invest in a Chatbot:

  1. Only choose one which integrates with your current systems. If you invest in a Chatbot which doesn’t work with the way you operate, it’ll create more work for you. To avoid this, you should choose one which integrates with your calendar/candidate management system as this will save you time on admin tasks.
  2. You will need to set up the questions you want it to ask. If it can’t qualify your candidates for you, then you need to consider whether it’ll be useful in your business.
  3. Whilst you will have 24/7 responses to frequently asked questions, be aware that for a lot of them, some human interaction will be needed.
 

Tech Savvy Candidates

These days, everyone has the latest and greatest when it comes to tech devices. Many times, they even have better systems than at work, making them dread having to use archaic systems they’re forced to use during the workweek. Candidates want to more technologically up-to-date devices at work, so it’s important that a company offers this. Recruiters are now forced to sell the fact that companies are tech-savvy and forward thinking in order to attract top-tier talent.  

HR/Recruitment Tech Startups Will Increase

HR departments and recruiters will have more new point solutions to help them acquire the best talent. The future will see lots of API ecosystems that will combine things like AI, scientific research, gamification and new technology that will help make the recruitment process more efficient and effective.  

The Demand For Augmented and Virtual Reality

As augmented and virtual reality continues to gain popularity, candidate attraction will see innovation with things like VR workplace experiences, Assessments and even interactive job advertisements. Utilizing these technologies will be essential in the future.  

People Analytics Decisions

Analytics and data are always useful to see what works and what doesn’t for organizations. Now recruiters and HR departments are realizing the power of data in talent acquisition, so expect to see an increase in funding and resources for people analytic teams this year and the years to come. Having robust analytics that measures the effectiveness of talent acquisition is something more recruiters will rely on.