Recruitment Trends in 2018 to Watch For

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“Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.” ~Stephen Hawking

Recruitment isn’t a static process. It needs to adapt to change. Companies that perform the same recruitment tactics as every other company will attract the same standard of hires and quickly get left behind by the businesses that learn and apply new strategies and techniques.

As we end the financial year and begin the new one, it is always a good idea to stay up to date on the pulse of today’s recruitment world. The following are some of the latest trends in 2018 that are worth integrating or paying attention to over the next year.

  • Applicants in Control – It’s been a long time in the making, but we are finally seeing applicants take complete control over the jobs they want, as the candidate decides where they work, not the company. One of the best examples of this is the Switch App, which allows users to “Swipe Right” if they like a job, swipe left if they do not. It’s the Tinder of job seeking ads, matching people with companies and putting control back in the hands of the applicant. That is why it is now more important than ever to prove to job seekers that you are worth working for.

 

  • Mobile Job Optimization – Even as more and more people switch to mobile for their media consumption, recruitment was one of the few areas that still seemed desktop focused. But those times are changing, and optimizing your job search and application pages for mobile has become an increasingly prominent need in the recruitment industry.

 

  • Testing 1, 2, 3 – When a company knows how to review CVs and perform effective job interviews, they are far more likely to find a great candidate. However not every company can do that and in the absence of learning, more and more businesses are using a different tactic: testing. The first step is understanding which tests best fits your role and process. Whether you need to address personality and reasoning ability through psychometric testing, expected behaviour through behavioural testing, or specific proficiencies through skills testing. These all bring that extra edge to your decision-making process to make the best-fit hire. Understanding where you want more information on candidates lets you identify what test best suits each recruitment campaign.

 

  • The Golden Rule – 78% of candidates would tell friends and family of a bad recruitment experience and 22% would actively encourage those friends and family to never apply for a role at that company! Now more than ever, it is crucial to look at the level of candidate care in your recruitment process to protect your employer brand and make sure future recruitment campaigns aren’t hampered by a poor reputation in the candidate market. Remember, it isn’t necessarily about being nice, but having open communication channels to ensure all candidates know where they stand in the process and have a clear understanding of its results in a timely manner.

All of these trends are worth paying attention to. But there is one thing to remember about trends – the winners aren’t the ones that follow the trends, but the ones that start them. That’s why it is important to always evaluate your own strategies and see what new techniques you may want to employ next.