With the market growing at its present rate, the need for more qualified professionals is on the rise. It’s not uncommon for businesses to recruit new team members to fill key positions. Speaking of recruitment, there are a number of interesting trends developing in the market. In this blog, we’re going to review some of the top trends to watch out for and how they are affecting your own recruitment process.

Focus on Skills

In the old days, degrees and certifications were considered among the most important factors to take into consideration when choosing the right candidate for a position. While these factors are still among the many to be reviewed, the focus on today’s recruitment process has shifted more towards skills and expertise.

One in three recruitment managers now searches for candidates with the right set of skills rather than those with broad abilities. It is much better to invest in a team member that knows exactly how to fulfil his or her duties rather than train new personnel to meet specific needs.

The education landscape is responding to the increasing demand for specialists. Today’s programs and courses are designed to be more specific. MBAs are no longer covering broad subjects and instead focus on specific skills, such as international marketing and supply chain management. This means businesses – including your business – can find reliable, specialised people more effectively.

The Use of Big Data

It is also worth noting that a CV or a resume is no longer the sole source of information about a candidate. Aside from one-on-one interviews, recruitment managers can now find more information on candidates by going through their online presence. The use of cloud computing – with solutions such as XCD HR helping companies streamline their recruitment process – is also in line with this new trend.

There is a big debate surrounding whether this is ethical. Going through personal posts to gain more knowledge on a potential candidate is both good and bad. There are a lot of things to learn about a person and their online presence, but there are also constraints about how such information can be mined.

Some companies even go as far as asking for social media passwords. This is definitely crossing a line and has been the source of debate for a while. It is much better to review the information that is publicly available if big data must be integrated into the recruitment process.

Biometrics

One last interesting trend to watch out for is the use of biometrics. Biometric CV is still considered the future of recruitment. It contains a lot more information, including sleep patterns and how candidates respond to stress.

Biometric CV doesn’t formally exist on the market just yet, but a lot of companies and research firms are pushing for its use. We already have smartwatches and wearables tracking these metrics; it’s just a matter of compiling the data for recruitment processes.

All of these trends will shape the future of recruitment. It won’t be long before they become the mainstream methods used by recruitment managers across the country.