The pandemic made some people lose their jobs. Some were laid off temporarily or permanently. Others chose to quit and find remote jobs instead because of their fear of getting Covid-19. But if there is one thing for sure, there is currently an abundance of talents in different industries currently looking for good-paying jobs. But even with the great number of talented applicants in the market, recruiters face unique challenges brought about by the pandemic. These include the following.
Social Distancing and Shelter-in-place Measures
Everyone is encouraged to stay within a safe distance from each other to minimize the spread of the virus. This caused many companies to skip the traditional hiring and application process. With more people staying indoors, offline job hiring and recruitment strategies are no longer enough to attract the best talents.
It becomes a must that you step up your online recruitment game. First, you need to know where your potential candidates are and what they do when they go online. Chances are that they are:
- Researching potential companies they plan on applying for
- Using social media sites to connect with other professionals
- Using different platforms or employment websites to find jobs
- Using Google search to find companies hiring new local or remote employees
- Looking for other people already enrolled in online courses to boost their knowledge and skills
- On online forums and groups to learn more about a company they are applying for
Now that you know what potential applicants are doing online, it is time to plan your next step. Applicants are using search engines to look for both local and remote companies needing new staff. It only makes sense to start improving your website and optimizing it for local search.
Most job seekers are on social media sites, especially on LinkedIn. This is considered the best networking site for professionals. You can use this website to build your network, join an industry group, and find some of the most talented individuals in your industry worldwide.
You can also try joining employment platforms and post your job listings. This way, you can receive numerous applications and screen the applicants before you even invite them over to your office. Posting your job listings online allows you to harness world-class talents and form a remote team so you can accommodate talents looking for remote jobs.
Digitizing Recruitment Process
Most company employees are now working from home. If you plan on recruiting remote workers, it becomes a must that you digitize your recruitment process the soonest time possible. There may be an increase of applicants wanting remote jobs but know that you are not the only one needing the best talents for their brand.
You can start digitizing your recruitment process by posting on different online job sites, your own website, and social media sites. Investing in the right applicant scheduling software will make it easier for you to schedule online applicants and avoid wasting precious resources.
Since online interviews are the preferred method of both applicants and companies these days, it becomes a must that recruiters have the right tools and equipment ready to assess applicants who passed the initial screening. Make sure to test the equipment and internet connection regularly especially before each interview. The kinds of tools a recruiter needs will depend on the recruitment process.
For instance, if you are to hire an editor for your company’s blog website, you can use apps that allow screen-sharing features. This way, you can give them temporary access to your website, provide them with instructions they are to follow during the assessment, and they can share their screen with you while working on the project. This allows you to check if they are really as competent as they claim they are in the initial interview.
There is also this growing trend where recruiters make use of AI solutions as part of their candidate screening. This allows you to screen large numbers of candidates at the same time. You can use even an AI to ask your applicants’ certain behavioral questions to check not just their skills and competencies but their attitudes as well.
Expensive Hiring Costs
Some companies had to cut down costs to support their business during the pandemic. Others had to find other recruitment tools to support their brand while some resorted to saying goodbye to recruitment agencies. As more businesses resort to in-house recruiting, their HR managers had to step up their game and focus on doing all recruitment tasks once more.
The good news is, you can switch to free tools and single recruitment software that already has every feature you need. Eliminating paid tools, investing in multi-featured software, and taking advantage of free tools on the internet helps you accomplish your tasks without sacrificing the quality of your recruitment process. Remember that your goal is to find the right talents which you can only do by impressing them with your recruitment process.
These are but three recruitment challenges recruiters are currently facing mid-pandemic. Thankfully, you can turn to technology and use these challenges to improve your recruitment process. Invest in the right tools and leverage on free innovations for a more stress-free recruiting experience.