How will recruitment change?

I believe there are some more obvious and some less obvious changes that have, or will shortly change the way organisations recruit. Whilst there are signs of lock-down restrictions being eased and we are seeing ‘green shoots’ in terms of clients starting to recruit again, it is still near impossible to predict exactly what the short to medium term looks like in terms of the recruitment industry. I have collated some of my thoughts in this post to share these with you and to also offer help and support to anyone who would like it.

The realisation of technology in the recruitment process:

Well, this is probably one of the more obvious ones, I am now in week 8 of working from home and technology platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Skype, Zoom, etc. have been a lifeline to keep in touch with colleagues, teams as well as candidates and clients.

As an example; whereas previously I would have relied extensively on telephone calls to keep in touch with candidates, to conduct interview preparation calls, candidates and I have seen a massive benefit in using video-conferencing. We have had the ability to observe two-way body language, to be more expressive and possibly most important from the candidates perspective, the video conference has in many cases been a ‘dry run’ prior to the client interview being conducted over the same media.

The candidate talent pool:

Many organisations have been hit hard and deep by COVID-19, customers have put orders on hold, supply chains have been cut off/restricted and as a result contract/temp workers were stood down, permanent employees were furloughed. It remains unclear what the damage will be and how long it will take things to return to ‘normal’.

It is very likely that the candidate talent pool will be even more competitive than it was previously. For candidates, it will mean their CV has to be better than ever, that they are on their ‘A-game’ at interview stage and they are able to express their personality, skills, experience and behaviours with passion and energy.

For recruiters, I believe it will be more important than ever to work closely and pro-actively with candidates and clients to ensure we are matching the right candidates, with the right motivations, attitude, skills and experience to the right opportunities.

Kindness and a focus on what really matters:

The one thing that I have learnt/become more aware of as a result of this awful pandemic, is the importance of kindness. Life for me, as I’m sure it has for many of you has slowed down. I’m not in a rush to get somewhere, I have noticed more than ever the world around me, stopping to talk to strangers (observing 2m), shopping for neighbours, clapping for the NHS, all good things that I truly hope we don’t immediately lose sight of once the starting gun is fired.

So with that sentiment in mind, I would like to offer help and support to anyone who may need it. If I can help you write/update your CV, if I can spend some time with you to prepare for an interview, please feel free to connect on LinkedIn and we can go from there.

#WeAreInThisTogether

#WeAreRecruitment