4 Ways the Pandemic has Changed Recruitment

COVID has changed recruitment dramatically and forever. Face to face meetings have reduced, but shorter video conversations have increased from a base line of almost zero to a position where they are almost usurping phone calls. Much of the change has been positive, but not all. Here are 4 ways I see the pandemic having changed recruitment

1)     Technology is trying to take over.

I am a huge supporter of great technology. I have 3 PC monitors. I couldn’t live with fewer than two. If I must work on a laptop, I go about 20% as fast as I do when in the office. I have the best phone systems and the fastest wifi available. I constantly assess the productivity apps out there. Calendly changed my life.

However, what I absolutely do not subscribe to is technology which is trying to do the job of a recruiter. And there is a lot out there.

“Our technology will tell you who is best for your roles by using AI and or analysing the words on a CV”

“Our automated bot will ask your candidates questions and tell you who to put forward”

NONSENSE.

Technology might aid me in looking at areas in a CV quicker, but don’t make decisions for me. When recruiters start working, they think what makes them good is their patter, their chat, their hard work. When recruiters get really good, they realise that what makes them good is their interpersonal skill and ability to assess someone for nuances that no technology could pick up. How they greet you, how they interact with you when you talk about how you had a brilliant pizza last night. How succinct they are. Do they have empathy? Soft skills. These are the skills you need to understand to really match someone with someone hiring. You could have all the skills on paper and the hiring manager not like you at all or have 70% of the skills and all the soft skills and the hiring manager love you.

Technology can’t judge that.

2)     Relationships, Relationships, Relationships

When I worked in big corporates the staff turnover was mind blowing. In one company we had 100 employees. 1 year after I left, they had replaced over 70. With that turnover it’s impossible for those people to build proper relationships which last. And relationships are what are most important. And when I mean relationships, I don’t mean you have pestered that person on and off for a few years. Now more than ever post pandemic, it’s important to get your network close, as you might not be seeing them as frequently in person. A good relationship in recruitment is someone who can call you up for advice on something which has nothing to do with you or your agency. A good relationship is sending someone a quick note on WhatsApp as you thought about them this morning due to xyz. It’s not hammering them when they are at work asking if they are hiring.

3)     Cold Calling should be dead.

Recruitment used to be cold calling with the aim of getting meetings with clients, going to see them in person in their office and then pestering them until they gave you some business. Then you got your chance.

But those people are not in their offices much anymore, so how can you contact them? If you have their mobile, you could get them on that (very personal if there nothing in it for them) or well…what do you do?

Sadly, I still see “cold calling masterclasses” being advertised. People hate making the calls and people hate receiving them.

As a result, I see the boutique recruitment firms taking more and more of a market share in years ahead. They/we don’t have the people to cold call so we build relationships with candidates who become clients. We run events. We do nice things, not nasty cold calls.

Refreshing has never made a cold call, and never will.

4)     LinkedIn is at the core of everything

Whilst we do things to protect our business from LinkedIn falling over and leaving us high and dry, the reality is that now LinkedIn is king. It’s getting better and better and we are always getting better and better at using it to headhunt and build searches. We used to use job boards to advertise our roles, but it’s only LinkedIn now. How long until you can properly video call through it? Not long I suspect.

In summary. The past is the past. Recruitment is something which always needs to change and adapt. It wasn’t long ago that people looked for roles in the FT on a Thursday and faxed their CVs to agencies or companies direct. We move on. It’s great. 

#recruitment #hr #hiring #jobs #covid