Educating Hiring Managers on Recruiting Trends

As we close out 2022 and look forward to a promising new year, it’s clear that the war on talent will continue for some time, despite softening within the technology sector. And to top it off, our executive management teams are rolling out their strategic plans, which inevitably includes growth and hiring a new wave of talented people.

Some companies have realigned their recruitment strategies, while others continue to fall short of the organizations hiring goals. Is it a lack of vision to execute a successful recruitment campaign or simply a lack of resources to deliver results? And how well have we prepared our front-line managers to deal with the challenges of interviewing today’s candidates? Let’s consider just a few things like the “meaning” of some words the recruiting community has become accustomed to but may still feel distressing to our management team conducting interviews.

3.4%: That’s our current national unemployment rate in the US, which basically infers most eligible candidates are gainfully employed. So how do you plan to find your next great hire and what will it take to get them interested in you?

Here are a few tips on helping managers understand the candidate landscape.

Applying: What may come to mind is “applying yourself” to be successful but in the world of recruiting the first hurdle is getting candidates to APPLY period. Spending your advertising budget on carefully marketed campaigns to attract talent, only to find a vast amount of people don’t complete your online application is disappointing. Others say, “If they can’t be bothered to fill it out, we don’t want them”. It’s okay to take a strong stance, if you’ve got a plan to overcome a lack of qualified applicants. Keep your application short, gather only what you need and don’t include assessment too early in the process.

Experience: Many would assume this relates to where people have worked or what positions they have held – Not so much. Today it tends to also focuses on the experience the candidate has during the recruiting/hiring process. With low unemployment, expect good candidates to have several options to choose from. What are you doing to ensure everyone hired, or not, feels satisfied with the way your company interacted with them and how do you become the “Employer of choice”? Online reviews have a serious impact on candidate choices, treat everyone with respect and appreciation, regardless of the final outcome.

Ghosting: Once a term referring to the spirit world, now commonly known for candidates who no-show to interviews. If it’s a reality we must come to grips with, what can you do to minimize the impact it has on managers and your hiring goals? Add in some additional steps, such as texting to confirm the day of the interview that candidates plan on attending.

Job Hopping: While the term may be self-explanatory, the expectations are not. Past generations tended to stay around 5yrs, the majority of the today’s workforce is now made up of people who see less than 2yrs as an acceptable commitment. The department of labor also estimates that by the age of 32 the average worker will already have had 7 jobs. Are your hiring managers aligned with today’s candidate pool and how to ask the right questions to identify good prospects? So many managers judge candidates based on their resume alone, take the time to meet with people, you learn so much more through conversation.

Abandonment: Lots of things may come to mind but when it involves the workforce, why are more and more employees leaving on Friday and not returning Monday? It’s a growing epidemic within certain sectors of the job market. What happened to giving notice and leaving on good terms? Statistically workers don’t leave companies, they leave managers. How can you mitigate this trend and ensure you retain good people? If you’re experiencing an increase in job abandonment, try surveying employees to find out what’s really driving attrition and how to mitigate it in the future.

As the workforce and workplace continue to evolve, we can expect these and other thing to change or have new meaning. So, if you want to attract and hire good people, start by taking a look from within before assuming it’s just a candidate problem.

Good companies and good candidates find a way to connect with each other. But it may not be enough to support your growth or attrition, that’s why having recruiting partners that understand your needs and culture are a valuable asset to any business.

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With over 20 years’ experience, ACA Talent is a leader in sourcing Great Candidates nationwide, across many industries, from C-suite to entry level roles. Find out more by clicking here to connect with our team.

As recruiters we are very familiar with the challenges on attracting great candidates. Hiring managers could use a little insight into our world too.