By J.T. O’Donnell
Time-to-fill rates have reached a 13-year high, yet hiring managers still have the same expectations and wonder why talent isn’t rushing through the doors. The joys of recruiting, right? If you’re feeling like you’re being asked to find purple squirrels, you’re not alone. In fact, any savvy recruiter is probably experiencing this. Why? We’re facing a power shift in hiring. The new employment ecosystem now places the power firmly in the hands of talent, making the job for recruiters more challenging. Here’s the good news: there are many ways we can balance out this shift and reignite our love for recruiting. However, that starts by understanding the specific reasons why the power has shifted.
3 Reasons Why the Power is in the Talent’s Hands
The Hourglass Workforce
You’ve likely heard about the impending talent gap. Many Baby Boomers will be leaving the workforce with a narrow Generation X to fill their shoes. This means an equally large Millennial workforce will be faced with filling the open positions left in the Baby Boomer’s wake. The problem? With this turnover comes a gap in talent where there are fewer qualified, experienced professionals to hire. As open positions increase and sophisticated job seekers are able to become more selective than ever, it’s up to employers to win them over with their company culture.
Culture Over Compensation
Professionals in 2015 want, and expect, to be happy at work. In fact, 96% of participants in a recent poll stated that it’s more important to love their job than it is to be paid more. They no longer want to work for companies, and instead, expect to work with them. This means that talent is looking for businesses with which they’re aligned, showcased by the fact that nearly three quarters of professionals are seeking employers whose work environment fosters a strong team and personal development. Perks are great, competitive compensation is valued, and cool office spaces are enticing, but without a compelling culture and values, an employer will be overlooked.
Candidates Are Consumers
With the boom of the digital age, consumers are changing the ways they interact with brands and make buying decisions. With 81% of consumers researching products online before making a purchase, marketers have recognized the need to earn their attention and establish credibility to increase the chances of gaining loyal customers. It doesn’t take a marketing professional to recognize that the same people who research the products companies sell are also candidates researching potential employers. Mirroring the behavior of savvy consumers who learn everything they can about a brand, sophisticated job seekers are in control of finding employers with whom they want to engage.
You won’t see sophisticated job seekers looking first at job postings, but instead, will find them reading content, watching videos, and evaluating testimonies from existing employees. If an employer doesn’t drive consideration of their positions by connecting with target candidates, they will lose talent to someone who does. Now more than ever talent has control of the companies they interact with and will require more than an open position to be compelled to apply.
Do you want to restore control to recruiting?
Come learn how to regain a balance in power and have fun doing it! Join me at #RecruitDC and I’ll focus on what you can do to find the satisfaction and success you desire as a recruiter this year.
Jeanine Tanner “J.T.” O’Donnell is the Founder & CEO of CAREEREALISM and CareerHMO. O’Donnell is a career strategist who helps American workers of all ages find greater professional satisfaction. Unlike other advisers, O’Donnell works with both individual clients and corporations, giving her access to emerging workforce trends. In addition to helping professionals, O’Donnell is experienced in company storytelling and helps companies strategize ways to reveal their talent brand to obtain top talent. With 18+ years of experience, managing, training, and coaching people of all ages on a wide variety of career topics, O’Donnell is a Nationally Syndicated Career Advice Author in 130+ Newspapers. O’Donnell is also a LinkedIn Influencer with 950K+ Followers. Follow her @jtodonnell.
The NFL draft is a recruiter’s dream. The league has a near monopoly on top talent. Nobody freezing his tail off for the Saskatchewan Rough Riders is doing so voluntarily. NFL Scouts can review and analyze every single play candidates made in games on video, as many times as they want, in super slow motion. Each player’s exact height, weight, 40 yard dash, and vertical leap is not only verified at the Combine, it’s posted all over the Web. A Left Tackle can’t pad his resume. And here’s the kicker, once a player is drafted by a team, only that team can offer him a contract. There is literally no competition for that player’s services.
Truthfully, I am sick of hearing about it. I talk to recruiters all of the time and a large majority of them say, “I never read cover letters”. I have heard, “I just don’t have time”. Maybe I am old fashioned, but let me say this, I have found some pretty darn good candidates while reading through cover letters. Recently I read a cover letter for an out of state copyrighter. No, we won’t relocate anyone for the role. He lives in Minnesota and the position is in Washington D.C. I can tell you he is one of the top candidates for the role and without a cover letter, I would have passed on him in seconds.
combining skill, effort and time in order to attract and secure top talent. While candidate engagement is a relatively new buzz word in the industry, top performing recruiters have been experts in “practicing” candidate engagement for years.
A recruiter typically has a collection of requisitions she is responsible for. In most companies, it’s usually an unmanageable number (at least to the recruiter). So in the morning, she may come in and open her ATS (applicant tracking system) and start looking at what resumes came in for what position (requisition) overnight. She’s human, so while scanning resumes, she might be distracted by her boss popping by, a tweet or a phone call. That means some resumes get the six-second glance, some get 30. There’s no guarantee of fairness — it’s absolutely impossible. And if she already has enough candidates interviewing, she might barely glance, if at all, at new resumes.
Yes, there is a drawdown, but it isn’t affecting everyone equally. 
