Today’s Labor Market Requires Modern Approach To Recruiting

It’s time to adapt to changes

In June, the unemployment rate came in at 4.0 percent. With more open positions than there are people to fill them, the best candidates are usually already employed somewhere else, forcing hiring managers to source “passive talent.”

And, there’s been plenty written about how to best connect with these passive candidates. You can find hundreds of articles just on how to write a LinkedIn message that will convince one of them to engage about an open position.

But are direct messages to prospective hires really the most effective way to capture a candidate's attention? Not in this market.

It’s Time to Adapt to the Realities of Today’s Hiring Environment
 
With low unemployment rates shifting the burden for sourcing talent from applicants to recruiters and hiring managers, candidates now have the luxury of weighing their options and taking their time to find the position that best meets their goals.
 
Essentially, it’s a buyer’s market out there, and that means recruiters need to come to terms with several new realities:

 

New Recruiting Models are Changing the Game

These conditions point to a need for a new approach. This is why we are pioneering a model that uses referrals and technology to reach passive candidates.

In simple terms, we’re using candidates’ business connections to generate interest in roles they wouldn’t have otherwise considered. To do this, we’re using machine learning to identify passive candidates who are a good fit for open positions. Our “Hunt Club Influencers” are rewarded for providing introductions to these candidates. The farther the candidate progresses in the hiring process, the greater the reward.

Our idea is that if you bring together a group of well-connected executives and incentivize them for every candidate that gets interviewed, and again for every candidate that gets hired, you can extend your network. Even more appealing, you can find diverse candidates that you wouldn’t have otherwise found through an internal employee referral program.
 
In this scenario, the combination of machine learning and networking has given our clients a leg up when hiring, especially when they’re trying to fill a director, executive or niche role. For example, instead of searching for their next IT director on their own, they’re enlisting 100 CIOs identify and recruit the ideal candidate.

This is one example of how the industry is responding to changing labor market conditions.
 
While, at the end of the day, there’s nothing new about taking advantage of referrals and technology in the hiring process. What’s new is that now more and more recruiting firms are looking outside the box to come up with disruptive models that can reach passive candidates where they’re at to convince them to move on to their next career opportunity.