The writing is on the wall for the humble paper resume.
Recruitment today is a varied and dynamic field, with some companies forging ahead by employing new methods and utilizing new technology.
While others may stick to some of the tried and tested methods of old, no company is completely resistant to change. After all, any recruiter just wants to find the best candidate in the most efficient and cost-effective way they can.
Here we survey the 7 biggest hiring trends changing the recruitment game in 2019.
Whether you’re an active job seeker, or passively on the lookout for your next opportunity, it’s likely these trends will help define where your career takes its next turn.
1/ Data-driven recruiting and AI
“HR Analytics” is the future for recruitment.
With the rise of the Applicant Tracking System (ATS), the growth of intelligent recruitment platforms, and the burgeoning of hiring and performance statistics, technology is reshaping recruitment, retention, and review through predictive analytics.
There are many applications for this new technology, as covered in Forbes. The potential is enormous, from helping to better screen and source potential candidates, to directly supporting evaluation during or after the interview stage.
Data is a theme running through almost all of 2019’s biggest hiring trends. Especially in the tech sector.
2/ Personal branding
“Personal branding” has well and truly entered the English language. That’s because nowadays it’s highly relevant to everyone, and easy to do.
It’s the new normal to share your LinkedIn profile when applying for jobs, and most people would probably expect potential employers to check out their public social profiles.
The most basic level of personal branding is ensuring your social profiles don’t put off recruiters.
Beyond this, it is a distinct advantage (and relatively easy these days) to highlight your strengths and interests in a personal video, a well-designed portfolio, or in articles you’ve written and published online. These will all become more of an expectation in 2019.
3/ Social recruiting
The importance of LinkedIn for recruitment is news to nobody. But the use of Facebook in particular as a recruiting tool and job search platform is becoming widespread too, with positions listed in the ‘Jobs’ tab, promoted directly via company pages, or shared in groups.
Social recruiting is becoming increasingly important, especially with the growth of employer branding (see our next trend). With around 45% of job seekers using their phone to search for jobs, according to a 2016 study, it is now even more common for successful recruitment to begin with a positive interaction on social media.
In 2019 recruiters will look ever more at active followers and engaged customers as a potential source of talent.
4/ Employer branding
Companies are increasingly expected to sell themselves as employers, putting together expensive company culture videos, investing in impressive ‘About’ pages on their website, and offering benefits and perks to their staff to help sweeten the deal.
Social media is an important focus of investment, too, so candidates should expect to find plenty about a company’s values and culture by checking out their social profiles.
Recent research (quoted by TalentLyft) suggests that almost 80% of job seekers take steps to research company culture before applying, and a majority would turn down an offer from a company without the right values.
As companies react to such insights this year, expect to see a lot more of what a potential employer can do for you.
5/ Recruitment marketing
With the growth of ATSs and other recruitment services, marketing toward potential candidates is becoming increasingly common.
With the growing sophistication and increased level of investment in ‘employer branding’, inbound marketing should form a key part of recruitment strategies in 2019, attracting candidates with complementary values and an interest in the company’s products or services.
Research by Glassdoor has revealed that 66% of millennials expect to leave their company within three years. Employers are hoping to attract top talent searching for pastures new.
If there’s a company out there you really like, be sure to check out their Careers page and start following them on social media.
6/ Flexible working
Technology has facilitated a huge growth in flexible and remote working opportunities, and has made freelancing a lot easier than it used to be.
As the trends in flexible working look set to accelerate, you’re likely to see more positions advertised with an option to work remotely or part-time in 2019. Employers are getting used to some staff dividing their time between other projects and commitments.
7/ “Alternative” candidates
Employers have been wrestling with a “skills gap” for some time. Despite some voices to the contrary, Udemy’s 2018 report suggests the problem is real.
In 2019, this will lead to recruiters thinking a little less about skills and more about personality, focusing on harmonizing recruitment with the company’s overall strategy, and betting on potential. This is helping drive the turn to analytics and data-driven recruiting.
Be sure to make the most of your personal skills and qualities, not just your work experience and past achievements.