Latest Trends in Recruitment 2023

Introduction

Recruiting is one of the essential processes in every organization. With the job market becoming increasingly competitive, companies are constantly seeking innovative techniques to attract and retain top talent. 

It has become pertinent for recruiters and HR professionals to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and best practices in recruitment if they want to successfully attract and hire the best skills. 

With technology and the latest tools, recruiting has become more efficient and easy. But, the competition has also gone very high. From the use of AI and technology to social media to diversity and inclusion, there are many latest trends that are shaping this industry, and professionals need to stay updated.

Latest Trends in Recruitment with Examples

Here are the top 5 trends seen in recruitment in 2023:

1. Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

With the AI boom, there has been a surge in AI tools that can help streamline the hiring processes. Companies are extensively using AI to source and screen applicants at various stages in the recruiting process. Through AI, HR teams are automating repetitive tasks and getting more efficient and precise results in a time-efficient manner.

The various stages of recruiting where AI has been instrumental in saving time and effort have been:

a. Identifying potential candidates

Example: AI-powered tools can scan multiple job boards and social media platforms to identify a list of potential candidates. 

b. Screening Resumes and Applications

Example: Based on the job descriptions and certain keywords, AI can shortlist relevant resumes from thousands of applications making life much easier for the recruitment manager.

c. Video Interviews

Example: Video interviewing helps hiring managers analyze candidate responses and expressions and conclude their personality traits, communications skills, cultural fit, etc.

2. Virtual Hiring

The COVID Pandemic left a huge impact on the corporate world. While there were certain unfavorable outcomes, one of the positive impacts has been on recruiting. The need during the pandemic pushed recruitment managers to resort to remote hiring. With automation and technology, it became viable to recruit people across the world. Remote work has made it possible to find and onboard talent irrespective of their geographic locations. It has opened up new opportunities for employers and employees both. 

Although there are some challenges in communication and collaboration with remote work and remote hiring, AI and Automation are significantly being used to smooth out the processes. Physical face-to-face interviews are no more a mandate. 

Example: Among the list of companies hiring remotely are big names like Meta, Apple, Google, etc. 

3. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Over the past few years, diversity and inclusion have become increasingly significant for companies. They have realized the potential of having diverse employees from around the globe, including different genders, ages, ethnicity, etc. Some benefits of having a diverse workforce are increased motivation, improved problem-solving, healthier work culture, etc. Companies are taking steps to attract and retain top talent from all backgrounds.

Here are some of the many ways in which companies are adopting a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable approach to recruiting:

a. Language in job postings is not gender-specific anymore

b. Blind hiring, where the name, age, gender, and ethnicity are removed from the application to avoid bias

c. Diverse interviewers in the panel

4. Skills-Based Hiring

Remember how getting good grades and passing out from the top colleges was the only key to entering the corporate world and working with the best companies? It has not been long since the trend has drastically changed. With a prominent focus on skill-based hiring by organizations, educational qualification, and experience is of minor importance in the selection criteria. 

The world recognizes the importance of possessing relevant skills needed to perform tasks demanded by different roles. Job Descriptions now include skills they are looking for. The screening process, whether automated or manual, looks for keywords related to skills required for that job. After identifying the right skills, the recruitment process focuses more on analyzing the ability to apply those skills in real-life situations to solve real-world problems.

Skill-based hiring is also helping organizations build a more diverse and inclusive workforce.

Example: Some of the companies that are hiring many employees based on their skill sets are IBM, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, etc.

5. Employer Branding

With the rise of social media and other online platforms, companies, and information have become easily accessible to the masses. Also, online presence is increasingly associated with the organization’s reputation and brand image. Candidates today check out the company profile on different online platforms before applying unless it is a renowned organization like Google or Apple. 

Also, with high competition, competitive salaries, and benefits are no longer sufficient to attract and retain the top talent and best skills. Every company offers the best package. One differentiating factor is the brand image. Employees want to feel proud to be associated with their employers. The employer’s brand image also impacts its brand image.

6. Use of Social Media and online platforms in hiring

While for most of us, social media platforms are for entertainment, networking, and knowledge sharing, companies have been finding these increasingly helpful to find and attract the right talent. Just like employees are checking out company social media profiles before applying, hiring managers are giving high weightage to candidate’s social media profiles to help them shortlist the candidates. 

Another increasingly well-known use of social media platforms is to post jobs and get a pool of applicants. Few social media platforms like LinkedIn are increasingly being used as job portals and job search engines.

Many other platforms, like Instagram, Behance, etc. are serving the dual purpose of the candidate’s work portfolio. Applicants are channelizing social media to showcase their skills, especially in domains like design and UI/UX.

Thus, online platforms are now playing a crucial role in the recruitment process at different levels.

7. Candidate Experience

Earlier, we discussed how employer branding has become pivotal to attracting top talent and retaining them. Candidate experience is another sought-after trend that is highly instrumental in making top talent apply. 

Candidate experience refers to the encounter and experience that an applicant has right from applying to being hired. It includes how smooth the process is, how quick the turnaround time is, how good communication is there, etc. At every stage of recruitment, what an applicant is experiencing is leaving a mark on them. They feel more willing to work when the recruitment process is a pleasing experience. On the contrary, there is a high possibility that they back out if they do not have a positive experience during recruitment.

Also, candidate experience spreads through word of mouth. Applicants talk about their encounters, and such word-of-mouth publicity impacts others for future interaction with the company. Bad experiences can shoo the top talent away. Therefore, companies are paying increasing attention to streamlining their recruitment processes and ensuring a smooth and happy experience for applicants.

Conclusion

As this industry evolves, organizations and HR professionals will have to keep getting innovative in their ways to reach out to their potential employees and engage with them. With the AI boom, we are excited to see how it gets increasingly adapted in recruiting.