Adapting to current practices and maintaining the business development level is a must due to the evolution of new technologies, and it’s also a challenge for organization leaders nowadays. The impact of technology development and automation on how a business works is not insignificant, and the upsurge of digitization and online environment has also radically redefined the activities related to human resources. Thus, recruitment and selection techniques have changed, adapting to trends imposed by the progress of social networking and the lifestyle needs of modern generation specialists.
We can’t resist evolution, and we can’t deny the important role that the databases, software, the internet, and professional networks play in today’s business environment. Although sometimes regarded with reluctance by senior employees accustomed to traditional working methods, we can’t deny the benefits that many constant changes, performed according to trends, bring to a company. So we are living times when resumes printed on paper almost disappeared in some fields. Their place has been successfully taken by online jobs platforms or applications made through the websites of the employing companies or recruitment companies.
Recruiting Candidates in the Technology Age and the Online Generation
LinkedIn has gained force and turned from being an "addition" to the traditional resumes into a recruitment technique itself, which tends to develop more and more. Its many features make the recruiter’s work easier, as he can seek candidates by skills, foreign languages or former employing companies. Thus, if a decade ago a resume used to represent a piece of paper which aimed to summarize the candidate’s previous jobs, now their professional profiles can be easily found online. It could include a candidate’s connections and information about his field of activity if he attended certain conferences or the referrals he has from other specialists.
Moreover, the leaders of an organization need to be aware that the access to these techniques has transformed the expectations of candidates who want the recruitment process to be as fast and easy as possible. The diversity of offers from the labor market and a significant number of opportunities for experienced people are things that cause candidates to go for companies that have a recruitment process with clearly defined steps and procedures, and it’s easy to follow. So instead of choosing a job for which they must attend to five face to face interviews, candidates might choose an employer who conducts the initial interviews by telephone or online.
Feedback And the Growing Importance of the "Employer Branding" concept
Therefore, employers must direct their attention to today’s generations of specialists who are attracted to companies with a detailed plan regarding how the recruitment process is conducted. Candidates appreciate feedback regarding the hiring process and see it as an opportunity to develop themselves, but also as a way trough which a company shows gratitude for their time. Keep in mind the fact that they will not hesitate to reject an employer if they have to wait very long to find out whether they were accepted or not. Each candidate who goes to interviews should receive feedback, even if it’s just a simple email.
Moreover, the talent shortage that many fields are experiencing at the moment also forces recruiters and employers to turn their attention to the so-called "passive candidates." We’re talking about people who are not necessarily looking for a job but are open when it comes to new professional opportunities. Last but not least, besides all these trends that organizations should follow when it comes to recruitment, we should also mention that they should focus even more on maintaining and growing good employer branding.
BIA HR TEAM