Last year, for many companies, the recruitment landscape changed dramatically and for some came to a halt. Now, as vaccine rollouts commence and hope renews, it's promising to see that many organisations are re-focusing on hiring new people and retaining talent.
In terms of keeping good employees, in recent months there's been a big focus on increased flexibility, wellness and mental health initiatives and remote initiatives focused on maintaining company culture. We expect that this will continue in the coming months.
On the hiring side, the good news is many companies are now looking to hire. If you are active on the market or open to new opportunities here are 4 things you can expect from the recruitment process in 2021.
1.LinkedIn is the best place to get noticed
Social media continues to be a key driver in the recruitment process. The vast majority of organisations advertise job vacancies through LinkedIn and recruiters are actively using the platform to source talent and fill roles.
If you are serious about finding a new role you need to have an up to date LinkedIn profile. To stand out from the crowd add as much detail as possible regarding your professional skills and experience. It’s also useful to turn on the ‘Open for Opportunities’ function. This will let recruiters and hiring managers know you are open to new opportunities.
2. Recruitment processes are taking longer
Now more than ever, employers want to make sure they're hiring the right person. As a result, in many industries, the recruitment process is taking a bit longer in 2021 - usually 4-5 weeks, with the exception of urgent hires.
Organisations want to make sure any new hire is good company culture fit, so make sure to highlight soft skills as well as hard skills onyour CV.
There’s also more people applying for jobs which in turn lengthens the shortlisting stage of the recruitment process.
3.Move from perm roles to temp and contract
The world of work is evolving quickly and over the last 12 months we've seen a large shift from perm contracts to temp and contract jobs. This allows for greater flexibility and is a great opportunity for candidates to diversify their experience.
From an employer’s point of view, it gives me quick access to strong talent and in organisations that may have had freeze recruitment, it allows them to flex up their teams with ease.
If you’re only applying for perm roles, why not consider the contract option. Many contract and temp contracts are now being extended to perm roles after the duration of their contracts, so they can be a good first step towards a perm role.
4. Long term focus on remote
Due to on-going restrictions remote interviewing and onboarding continue to be popular, and it doesn't look like this will be changing any time soon.
Alongside the necessity to virtually recruit and interview, remote interviewing is faster for employer and employee and opens up the talent pool.
In most cases a typical interview process will look something like this:
The first-round interview is done via phone or a pre-recorded 'one-way' video
Further round interviews are then done via video call - this can vary from platforms like Zoom to more specific video interviewing software
Employers are also focusing on longer-term remote working plans and policies which opens up more opportunities for candidates outside of the main cities.
Overall jobseeker trends for 2021 are more positive than this time last year, particularly in the contract space and industries such as finance, technology, science and healthcare.