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      Recruiting Technology is the Lynchpin to Solving Talent Shortages

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      Recruiting has a long reputation for being a tedious process: posting jobs individually to multiple job boards, sifting through LinkedIn profiles, sorting through stacks of resumes, and reaching out to candidates one by one to schedule interviews. But it doesn’t have to be.
      Recruiting technology can help companies find higher-quality talent faster and with less upfront investment. But many recruiters are too overwhelmed keeping up with the onslaught of hiring to take steps to get ahead.
      How We Got Here
      Companies are in a hiring crisis—but they didn’t get there overnight. Many corporate recruiting teams were first on the chopping block when economic uncertainty loomed at the start of the pandemic. With those layoffs, conversations with talent already in the recruiting pipeline went dark.
      Flash forward nine months: Business is booming in many industries, turnover is reaching record highs as the Great Resignation takes hold, and what recruiting resources do remain are stretched thin with redundant and manual tasks. That unsustainable balance has held true ever since.
      But what if the economic tides turn and the rumored recession comes to fruition? Employment experts say that high-skill fields like tech and healthcare will continue to face labor shortages, even if demand in other fields tapers off.
      Efficiency is the Answer
      Businesses won’t be the same in a post-pandemic world—and neither will recruiting. The solution is to use the current inflection point to revamp outdated recruiting processes and be better stewards of the time and resources that your organization does have.
      Investments in recruiting technology are about hiring efficiency. Nothing will ever replace a human voice extending congratulations and a verbal job offer to a selected candidate. But what recruiting technology can do is apply data intelligence to repetitive tasks—like job posting and candidate filtering—so that recruiters can focus their time and effort on connecting with high-quality candidates.
      On average, Robert Walters – the largest global staffing company – states that recruiting technology has enabled its consultants to be 68% faster at managing candidate applications. That’s a huge windfall as recruiting teams struggle to keep up with the torrid pace of hiring in today’s business environment.
      Find Better Candidates Faster With Refined Filtering
      Speed is critical to winning high-quality candidates in a tight labor market. Delays in the hiring process can mean missing out on talent that has secured other job offers in the meantime.
      Instead of manually filtering through applications—and introducing human bias into the process—recruiting technology can automatically sort candidates based on customized criteria using machine learning and data intelligence. That means that an all-star application can be at the top of the digital pile from the moment it’s submitted, and recruiters can follow up on the lead before it grows cold.
      Get More From the Data You Already Have
      Data is the modern business’s most valuable asset—and that adage applies to recruiting data, too. Yet 46% of recruiters say that they don’t have enough data to make smarter hiring decisions.
      With recruiting software solutions, recruiters aren’t left guessing if broadly focused job boards like Indeed attract higher quality candidates than association-based or industry-specific job boards. Rather than relying on self-reported data from job candidates (did they see that post on LinkedIn or was it on Monster.com?), recruiting technology can automatically pull in that data and correlate it with the applicant quality score.
      Recruiting technology can also offer real-time insights into which job postings are attracting top-quality candidates. This kind of actionable data lets recruiters adjust course in the middle of recruiting efforts and direct time and resources away from job boards that aren’t yielding results before a failed search occurs.
      Better yet, gathering and analyzing recruiting and hiring data doesn’t require adding yet another dashboard to your organization’s fleet of measurement tools. By integrating into existing business dashboards (e.g., Tableau) recruiters can not only show their value in terms of return on investment for their hiring budget, but also how recruiting efforts can ultimately contribute to the business’s bottom line.
      Redesigning the Candidate Experience
      Recruiting software doesn’t just benefit HR professionals; it can also improve the candidate experience. By automating simple tasks like follow-up communication, candidates aren’t left wondering if their applications went into a digital black hole. Moreover, accelerating the hiring process means candidates can make informed decisions when accepting offers and aren’t left wondering about what could have been.
      Tackling today’s talent shortage will require multifaceted solutions—but recruiting technology is the lynchpin. By automating administrative tasks, focusing resources on the job boards that are attracting high-quality candidates, and accelerating hiring processes, everyone wins.
      By Alex Fourlis, President at Broadbean. 
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      Less Competition, More Talent: Here’s How to Recruit in an Economic Downturn

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      What You’ll Learn

      How a ‘down’ economy affects hiring strategiesWhat companies should avoid doing in rough economies (it’s probably not what you think)Advantages of recruiting in an economic downturn12 best practices to help gain a competitive advantage when the economy slows

      About this eBook

      If you’re in the hiring space, you’re probably no stranger to this shifting landscape of talent acquisition. Now, we’re facing the newest challenge in the labor market: rising inflation, fears of recession, and labor shortages. But no matter the economic climate, it’s your job to find and retain top tech talent. Discover how can you adapt your hiring strategy to successfully recruit, keep pipelines warm (and strengthen your own career) during an economic downturn. More

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      Why You Should be Recruiting Laid Off Talent (+ 3 Key Strategies) 

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      Between shrinking labor force participation due to the pandemic and the “Great Resignation,” in which almost 50 million workers left their jobs, we’ve faced a whirlwind of a labor market. Now, amid increasing inflation and labor shortages, the job market remains uncertain. Whether it’s business as usual or you’re under a hiring freeze, it’s important to think about nurturing your pipeline and recruiting laid off talent. 

      This year, numerous layoffs came as a tough blow to many tech workers thrust back into the job market. In September of this year, job cuts surged 46% with US-based employers announcing over 29,000 layoffs. 

      Surprisingly, mass layoffs are a relatively recent occurrence dating just back to the 1970s. Since then, many Americans have come to accept layoffs as an inevitable outcome of economic downturns. Workers could no longer rely on the same company to employ them for the majority of their professional careers. 

      So, let’s review key strategies for talent acquisition teams and recruiters to grow their talent pool and find top candidates despite an economic downturn. Here’s how you should approach recruiting laid off talent and stand out in this market. 

      1. Don’t let stigma influence you

      Let’s get one thing straight. Firing is typically performance-based. About 74% of US workers are considered at-will employees. This means an employer may fire them for any reason (if not illegal), or no reason, without warning, and no just cause. 

      Layoffs, on the other hand, are typically unrelated to an employee’s ability to perform a job and the quality at which they do it. Let go of biases traditionally attached to hearing someone was “let go.” Do not assume a laid off worker is ‘less than’ someone a company continued to employ. Perhaps the individual who was laid off was great at their job but the company shifted direction or the economy took an unexpected turn. 

      These days, layoffs aren’t frowned upon as they were in the past. We see an open dialogue about the state of the hiring market and people’s experiences with layoffs. An explosion of  LinkedIn posts in which people share their stories helps prove we are overcoming a taboo. 

      Rethink the connotation of a “job hopper”

      In one LinkedIn post, Rowena Millward reflected on the days in which 10 years of tenure was the average. Then, a changing world of work prompted reinvention. From the shock of having to “adapt or die,” she found success and growth in “dabbling” and making multiple career transitions. Rowena garnered over 1,000 reactions on this post — her statements resonated. We should embrace reinvention. 

      Brittany King, Senior Manager of TA-Talent Intelligence & Diversity, encourages employers and jobseekers to reject negativity around “job-hopping.” In fact, she encourages employers to see past it as a DEI practice. 

      She says, “In many cases, ‘job-hoppers’ have had more barriers than others in the workforce.” This could include health challenges, economic hardships, or transportation issues. Brittany even credits job-hopping to her own career success. “My skills are varied, my familiarity with different industries is comprehensive, and my understanding of organizational culture is robust.”

      Many of the challenges laid off talent face stem from an occurrence simply out of their control. Empathize with them and recognize how much strength it takes to bounce back and re-enter the job search post-layoff. 

      2. Be open to diverse talent 

      Reframing your mindset around particular talent opens up your recruiting to a world of hiring opportunities in places you may not have expected. 

      Layoffs trigger a mix of emotions but also present the opportunity to pivot and explore careers in areas of passion and genuine interest. As people reassess their professional lives after a layoff, many decide to pivot into new fields or industries. In the spirit of Rowena Millward, they embrace reinvention.  

      At Hired, we’ve had the pleasure of meeting numerous jobseekers who broke into the tech sector from wildly unrelated fields — such as music.

      Paula Muldoon used Hired to land a role as a Senior Software Engineer. When we asked her to share her story with us, Paula explained she made a transition into tech from a classical music career. Paula said, “I turned 30 and wanted to earn more money and have a better quality of life. I knew a few developers and they seemed to be really happy and since I could retrain quickly, software seemed like a good option. And turns out I love it!” 

      A successful Makers Academy bootcamp grad, Paula took a bold leap and an unconventional route to make her big career move. Her story serves as a reminder to be open-minded about non-traditional talent or those with second careers.

      Read more stories about candidates who successfully pivoted their careers: 

      In Hired’s panel discussion, “An Insider’s Guide to Hiring in Tech,” our CTO Dave Walters joined TA leaders to discuss improving the recruiting experience for jobseekers and better practices for sourcing talent.

      Panelist John Beard, Director of Corporate & Technical Recruiting at One Medical, made notable points on expanding candidate pipelines with non-traditional talent. 

      “Look for those non-traditional avenues to become a Software Engineer. Look at the bootcamps and at earlier-in-career talent…If you’re an organization specifically looking for the traditional pedigree of Software Engineers from a traditional college education and program, you’re going to miss out on a lot of great Engineers. There are a lot of great self-taught Engineers. There are a lot of great bootcamp Engineers. I’ve hired a lot of great Engineers in their second careers. You can attract them and leverage them on your team, but you have to be open to it.”

      Related: Partner Roundup: Coding Bootcamps & Non-Traditional Tech Education 

      Defining talent based on pedigree is a disservice to your team and puts unnecessary limitations on your recruiting, so look beyond labels and hire for skills.

      Urging companies to prioritize equitable hiring, Hired’s CEO Josh Brenner, explained in the 2022 State of Wage Inequality report, “When competition is high, it benefits organizations to consistently identify non-traditional talent. It creates more robust pipelines of candidates with new ideas to drive businesses forward.”

      Pro Tip: You can add bootcamps to your search criteria on the Hired platform. Or you can work with our events team to create a coding challenge. They’ll help you connect with one or more of our bootcamp partners to co-host and co-promote a challenge or other event. 

      3. Offer what’s important to jobseekers

      To attract the right talent, provide what jobseekers want. In our 2022 State of Tech Salaries report, we explored what tech professionals seek in their roles and job offers. The top perks tech workers would trade for a higher salary/offer are:

      Flexible work schedulePhysical health benefits Paid time off   

      To be successful in recruiting laid off talent amid such volatile economic times, offer flexibility and practical benefits, such as health insurance and 401K retirement matching. These trade-offs are a sharp contrast to findings from the 2021 report, in which more candidates would accept a lower salary for company stock or equity. 

      Perhaps, this reflected a desire for stability as employees assessed what their careers meant in the midst of a pandemic. Employees likely wanted to feel connected to the business and its future growth.  

      Beyond what employers can tangibly offer, tech professionals weigh company values as important too. Again, referencing John Beard, we realize the importance of attracting tech workers who want work aligned with their values:

      “What a company does is increasingly important for engineers who can take their talent to just about any industry. The mission and what the company does really matters. This means concentrating on finding those missionaries as opposed to the mercenaries, who are just looking to maximize their earning potential.”

      Presenting what your company has to offer in values helps you identify the candidates who share your organization’s vision. 

      Is your culture represented well in your employer brand?

      For guidance, download our eBook written for scaling startups, Want to Boost Responses from Candidates? Add Your UVP in Strategic Recruitment Messaging. Work for a large enterprise corporation? Here’s Losing Top Candidates to Unicorns and FAANG Companies? How to Stop It.

      Don’t get us wrong — a competitive salary is essential! However, it loses some of its charm when the fear of getting laid off down the line is present. 

      Perhaps the candidates’ desire to join companies who do meaningful work and the candidates’ willingness to trade salary for benefits enhancing quality of life ultimately reflects their search for security and trust in their jobs. Make candidates feel safe. 

      When recruiting laid off talent, be transparent  

      Does your company offer professional development opportunities? Do they offer tuition reimbursement? What about PTO and family planning/maternity/paternity benefits? Be prepared to tell candidates all about it. Openly share them early in the process. Let them know you want to be supportive by investing in their future — not making them uncertain about it.

      Be sure to keep candidates informed throughout the process. Be upfront about what you’re looking for too as you build trust. Candidates want stability more than ever. Your honest communication about where the company was, is, and will go can help provide that. Share numbers and details to paint a clear picture of your organization. Sell them on why the candidate should begin the next chapter of their career with your team. 

      Go find new talent for your pipeline by recruiting laid off talent

      Do you need better alignment with your hiring teams? Check out our research on What Happens when TA & Hiring Managers Unite. Or if you’re simply spread thin these days, Hired Technical Sourcer offers short or long-term help shortlisting, communicating, and screening technical talent. 

      We also offer opportunities for candidates to showcase their engineering skills and for employers to asynchronously evaluate them using Hired Assessments. 

      Ready to learn more about how Hired supports talent acquisition and recruitment? See how it works for employers with a demo and set up a trial.  More

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      5 Tips for Managers to Maximize Interviews and Secure the Best Talent 

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      Businesses are currently battling a candidate-driven jobs market when searching for talent. There are more jobs than job seekers, so it’s more important than ever for managers and HR professionals to ensure they’re maximizing interviews to secure the best talent.  And with unemployment rates lowering to 3.7% in Q1 2022, the lowest rate since 1974, but a recession on the horizon now, is the time for businesses to ensure they’re streamlining their hiring processes to ensure they secure the best talent going into unfavorable economic conditions. Below, we outline five top tips for businesses to make the most out of the hiring process.
      1. Don’t get stuck on the must-haves
      It is highly unlikely jobseekers will have every skill and level of experience desired for a job role, so it’s important to remain flexible when reviewing candidates. Having two different lists of candidate requirements on the job advert, one for ‘essential skills’ and another for ‘desirable skills’, ensures the best talent isn’t intimidated out of applying due to a lengthy job requirement list where they may not meet every criterion. It’s important to remember although a professional may not have the level of experience desired, their key skills may be useful within their role and will allow them to be trained to the level required – so keep an open mind.
      2. Take time to prepare
      As much as the candidate needs to prepare for an interview, it’s also important when hiring to go into the conversation with all the facts. Ensure before the interview you have reviewed the candidate’s CV and any other documentation they may have provided to get a well-rounded view of their experience before you meet them in person. It’s also a good idea to look at their LinkedIn profile to see if they have been active in any recent discussions that you may wish to bring up in the interview. This will allow you to really get a feel for their personality and how they will integrate into the culture of your business.
      3. Plan out the interview
      It’s a good idea to plan questions prior to the interview. This ensures the right questions are being asked, allowing you to find out everything essential you need to know about the candidate. To make things fair, it’s important you use the same questions for each person you interview.
      Additionally, planning the interview in advance will help get the information you need quickly, saving time and resources, and reducing the need for second interviews and follow-up calls. Being as efficient as possible and cutting out unnecessary stages in the recruitment process can be a make or break when securing talent in the current market. It’s also important to factor in a relevant task that a professional may be required to complete to ensure the interview process gets a well-rounded view of the candidate and their suitability for the role – this may need to be done at a second interview, and similarly to the questions, to keep things fair the same task should be given to all candidates. Also, think about your interview panel – having a diverse panel can help to ensure you are limiting unconscious biases from the process.
      4. Allow time for questions
      Once you’ve asked all the questions you want to be answered, it may feel as though the interview is now complete. However, not allowing the interviewee to ask questions can mean essential pieces of information slip through the cracks. Not only will the questions asked by the interviewee give you a feel for their level of interest in the role and business, but it will also allow you to gain an understanding from the candidate’s point of view, meaning you can streamline your hiring process by providing the correct information and asking the right questions in the future.
      5. Don’t hang around
      Because of the candidate-driven market, it’s important to act quickly if you are interested in a candidate! While you need to take the time and consider if someone is the best match for your business, as the market is moving so quickly, talent is being snapped up fast, so consider if there are ways your hiring process can be streamlined to reduce the time taken to offer a job. If you’re taking the time to discuss a potential hire with every member of your team, the candidate may have already taken another offer, so always communicate your interest in a timely fashion. This could involve setting a transparent timeframe that you will give the candidate feedback, as this may make them more likely to wait before accepting another offer.
      By Claire Harvey, Managing Director of UK Network, Reed.
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      How to Effectively Respond to Candidates’ Final Interview Questions

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      The seismic shift during the last two years has turned the labor market on its head. Today, there is a near record of ~11.2 million jobs available, with almost two job openings for every unemployed American. And with the constantly shifting landscape, companies continue to face high employee turnover and difficulty acquiring quality talent to fill open roles. Sixty-nine percent of recruiters believe attracting and hiring talent will be difficult for the remainder of the year, per the latest data from Employ Inc.’s latest Quarterly Insights Report.
      To overcome this challenge, it’s key to determine whether the role aligns with the expectations and preferences of job seekers. One of the best ways to find out is during the interview process. By opening the interview floor to questions from a job candidate, you have the opportunity to better understand what is important to them and make authentic connections in a highly competitive hiring environment. In the past six months, 72% of recruiters have encountered candidates who have, at one time, received multiple offers at the same time.
      “What motivates you [Recruiter or Hiring Manager] to stay on the team at your organization?”
      Job seekers know what they are looking for in their next position and want to be satisfied with their future employment. In fact, new research shows that 32% of workers would quit a job without having another one lined up if they don’t feel content or fulfilled with their job. Answering this question truthfully will help the candidate determine whether or not your organization is a good culture fit. Especially since 21% of job seekers cited poor company culture as the top reason for leaving a job in the last 12 months. Another thing to consider is welcoming the candidate to ask that same question to others. The different perspectives of your hiring team can help the candidate really understand the organization and how it might align with their values.
      “What has the company implemented to help drive improvement in the organization?”
      While this question is broad, your answer can help your organization stand out. Tie this answer to the initiatives implemented to build your company culture or improve the well-being of employees, such as mental health benefits, strong work-life balance, and flexible work arrangements, among others. Per Employ data, poor company culture is one of the top reasons employers switch jobs. You might also pull an example from how the organization was faced with a challenge, made a change, and was ultimately able to overcome that obstacle. In addition to a strong culture, reinforcing how your team solves problems collaboratively can really help improve the candidate’s understanding of why they would want to join your team.
      “How has the organization been performing against goals this year?”
      Job seekers want to know whether an organization is setting and achieving its goals. This is especially important for roles where reaching individual goals correlates with salaries, as compensation continues to be a driving factor in today’s hiring climate. Per Employ’s latest data, 42% of recruiters found making adjustments to compensation and total rewards to be the most helpful strategy in overcoming the tight labor market. That’s why it’s crucial to leave interviewees with a clear understanding of compensation, how attainable the goals are, and whether the organization has successfully achieved them.
      “What is [Hiring Manager’s] leadership style?”
      Misalignment on leadership styles can cause significant workplace issues and future career paths. That’s why job seekers need to understand their potential manager’s leadership style and for you to know how candidates like to receive direction and feedback. Answering this question with transparency is critical. Otherwise, you risk hiring a new employee who may not mesh well with the team. Employ data found that nearly one-third of workers who left their job after 90 days claim unsatisfactory company leadership as the primary rationale for departing.
      “Do you have any concerns about recommending me for this position?”
      If you have concerns about gaps in skills or experience, take the time to explain why those are important to the position and allow them to respond. The candidate’s response to the feedback can also signal how well they handle critical feedback and if they’re willing to grow in the areas they’re lacking. Pay attention to what experiences they highlight to help reduce your potential concerns. The conversation surrounding this question could ultimately make, or break, your decision to move forward with a candidate or their decision to accept the job.
      Overcome Hiring Challenges with the Right Technology
      Before an interview even takes place, sourcing the right talent for open roles is crucial. However, our data reveals the biggest challenge for over half of recruiters is finding and hiring quality candidates, while 62% said improving quality-of-hire is their top priority. In today’s tight labor market, recruiters must adapt their tactics and processes to identify the best possible candidates, which can be accomplished by investing in intelligent talent acquisition technologies to meet hiring goals.
      When determining the best solution for the needs of your talent acquisition (TA) team, ensure the technology has extensive experience in delivering recruiting results within your specific industry and business size. Identify solutions that go beyond applicant tracking and integrate a wide range of capabilities to support your hiring goals, including recruiting AI and automation, employee referral tools, analytics, and more. With these solutions, organizations will have everything needed to identify the best candidates for every job opening and the opportunity to dig even deeper during the interview process.
      Corey Berkey serves as Senior Vice President, People & Talent, at Employ Inc. 
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      8 Ways to Hire Faster & Build a Better Employer Brand

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      What You’ll Learn

      How to fill positions more efficiently through tools, templates, and moreThe partnership making hires an average of 11 days fasterThe strategy that took an offer acceptance rate from 60% to 88%

      About this eBook, 8 Ways to Hire Faster & Build a Better Employer Brand

      In a panel discussion led by Hired CTO Dave Walters, talent leaders from Gem, Tanium, NBCUniversal, and One Medical shared their thoughts on trends and best practices for optimizing the candidate experience.

      They reviewed how to improve the hiring process by strengthening the experience and by extension, the employer brand. Now, we are covering eight of their strategies to consistently help their teams fill tech and sales jobs efficiently. Use them to take action with your recruiting goals! More

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      Navigating Market Uncertainty: The State of Tech Hiring (VIDEO)

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      Watch this webinar-on-demand to hear in-depth analyses of the hiring market today, based on the 2022 State of Tech Salaries data report. Listen to meaningful conversations regarding hiring strategies, including the structure of compensation packages, flexible working models, and other talent initiatives.

      Hear from:

      Hired CEO Josh BrennerVP & GM, Employer Solutions for General Assembly Catie BrandHead of People, Virtru, Conley (Henderson) McIntyre and Director, Talent Acquisition, Markforged, Bryan Robinson.

      Download this collaborative panel discussion to discover: 

      Salary trends by role and years of experienceChanges in industry benchmarks such as average time-to-hireKey opportunities to win over top tech talent efficientlyImpact of global remote on tech talent hiring More

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      How Smart Companies are Solving Post-Lockdown Working (4 New Trends)

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      From ‘swarm teams’ to the metaverse, innovative ideas take on the challenges of the new world of work…

      In late 2021, Professor Lynda Gratton of the London Business School asked 150 executives from companies around the world for their take on the biggest challenge currently facing businesses. The answer came back loud and clear: “retaining people,” closely followed by “recruiting people.”

      It picked up on a problem destined to grow. The Great Resignation, the result of lockdown-fuelled dissatisfaction with our jobs was first. Then it was followed by the Great Reshuffle, as workers leapt from job to job in search of fulfillment. As we entered post-lockdown working, how would companies evolve?

      In May this year, the UK’s Office for National Statistics revealed that there were more job vacancies than unemployed people in the country for the first time since records began. The marketplace has since begun to settle, but a July survey of 1,100 US professionals showed that 31 percent were planning to quit within the next 12 months. In other words, employers still need to focus hard on hiring and keeping the best talent.

      Post-Lockdown Working at Home vs In-office

      According to Josh Brenner, CEO of Hired, the largest AI-driven recruitment marketplace for tech workers, what is most likely to attract and retain employees is the offer of flexible working. In a recent Hired survey, less than two percent of respondents wanted a full, five-day return to the office.

      “We’ve seen really high rates of attrition when companies have forced people back to the office for a full five-day schedule,” he says.

      With that comes the need to make the best of hybrid work, potentially across disparate geographies. In order to retain employees, companies also need to work harder to engage them. They need to help them feel aligned with the organization’s values, Brenner believes.

      “When we hear about companies losing high numbers of staff, a lot of it is because employees feel disconnected. They lack a solid understanding of where the company’s going, and how their work  bubbles up and contributes to goals.”

      Throw in the need to prepare for a fast-changing world – technologically, geo-politically – and you have a cluster of problems for companies to solve in post-lockdown working. Those that do so most effectively stand to gain a competitive advantage – so what are the most innovative trending ideas? 

      In WIRED’s report, readers learn about the:

      AI company that has done away with managers marketing company making a four-day week pay dividends professional services company using the metaverse to engage its workforcerise of a new C-suite role that’s re-shaping business… More