The Evolution of Hiring in 2015

By Ron Stewart

The hiring landscape is evolving. This year, according to Jobvite’s 7th annual Social Recruiting Survey, 69 percent of recruiters expect to see a more competitive hiring and spending environment.The constantly widening gap between supply and demand of skilled workers, as well as continued technological advancement, are fueling this change.

The days of paper CVs and circling jobs in the local newspaper are firmly behind us; candidates are now more tech-savvy and with higher expectations than ever before. Here’s how hiring has evolved.

Social Networks are Growing

It’s no secret that both employers and candidates are using social networks to increase their online exposure. If you thought that 2014 was big for social networking, then 2015 is going to blow you away. Jobvite's research shows that 73 percent of recruiters will be investing more in social recruiting this year.

The leader of the pack for sourcing hires is clearly LinkedIn, which boasts successful hires for 79 percent of recruiters. Right now, 94 percent of recruiters are using LinkedIn as part of their social hiring strategy, followed by 66 percent on Facebook.

We’re Going Mobile

Not everyone in the hiring world has clocked onto this trend yet, but 43 percent of job seekers, according to Jobvite, use a mobile device for their job searches and this figure continues to rise. In contrast, 59 percent of recruiters do not have mobile-friendly career sites.

Savvy hiring managers will have realised that their mobile recruiting behaviours need to be adjusted by making their websites mobile-friendly and by mobile optimising job ads to satisfy the large pool of job hunters who prefer to use this medium. This in turn will increase the amount of applicants and therefore give employers a wider base of candidates to screen.

Talent Branding is on Trend

It’s not only candidates who need to impress employers; in 2015 candidates are looking to be wowed by companies too. Talent branding refers to the promotion of the company image, often across social platforms, showing that the organisation has a great company culture.

Making a good impression through talent branding is essential: research from LinkedIn revealed that costs per hire can be reduced by 50 percent and turnover rates lowered by 28 percent as a result of strong talent branding. Marketing a company in this way is shown to increase the quality of applicants and the final hire.

Looking to the Passives

While active candidates (those actively seeking employment) have traditionally been the focus of hiring managers, 2015 is seeing an increased emphasis on the sourcing of passive candidates (those who are not looking but are open to speaking to a recruiter). A massive 75 percent of professionals, according to LinkedIn, come under the label of ‘‘passive.’’

On LinkedIn alone, 63 percent of members are not actively looking for employment but admit that they would be interested in hearing about new job opportunities. However, only 61 percent of companies are recruiting passive candidates, so there’s plenty of scope for this hiring method to expand as we move through 2015.

Top Quality Hires

Global recruiting leaders have cited quality of hire as a top priority for 2015, in the LinkedIn survey. The expansion into sourcing passive candidates is one way in which this is being achieved.

The quality of hire is also viewed as a valuable metric for measuring an HR and recruiting team’s performance. Job boards and social professional networks are the preferred platforms for sourcing quality candidates. All good leaders know that hiring the top talent is a surefire way to boost company success.

Hiring trends are evolving at a rapid pace. In the face of the current skills shortages, employers are still demanding quality hires and this is making hiring increasingly competitive. These five hiring trends are changing how we hire this year and in the future.