Sharon Davies outlines the death of the CV, why social recommendations will be critical and the possibilities of augmented reality recruitment, and more, as she looks ahead to recruiting in 2017
Recruitment is an ever changing market. Think back a few years when it wasn’t uncommon for ads to include only a postal address, or for the truly technologically advanced, a fax number. Nowadays it’s a given that all applicants have access to email, and many organisations have taken the process online completely, using candidate management systems to streamline their recruitment. We are seeing a rise in the popularity of Skype interviews, video resumes and other advances that weren’t even possible 10 years ago.
So, where to next? Here are our top four picks for the future of recruiting:
- The death of the CV and the cover letter
We are already seeing a move toward alternative resumes, such as
YouTube videos,
interactive websites and infographics. In an effort to stand out from the crowd, candidates will continue to push the boundaries and raise the bar. Our pick is that candidates will develop their online presence to a point in which it replaces their CV.
Instead of sending in a three-page document, you’ll be directed to their website, where they will use a variety of tools to display their skills. Want to see their web design skills? Follow the links to sites they built. Want to get an idea of their personality and ambition? Watch their introductory video.
With the game lines changing, the challenge will be finding the balance between organisations who want to be able to assess all applicants the same way, and creative candidates who want to stand out from the crowd.
- Social recommendations
People use online recommendations to help decide on which restaurants to eat at, hotels to stay at, and which real estate agents to hire.
It’s not a great leap to imagine using social recommendations to decide where you want to work. Websites such as
glassdoor.com which give an inside look at jobs and companies will become increasingly popular, less anonymous and more transparent.
By jumping online and searching for reviews, candidates can quickly figure out what the mood is like within your company.
Use it to your advantage. Organisations can point candidates to their reviews which outline great reputation, work conditions, and benefits. This transparency means organisations need to be more aware than ever of their employer brand and this includes the recruitment process. If you treat candidates who apply with you poorly, the world will soon know!
- Augmented-reality recruitment
Technologies such as smartphones have already revolutionised the way people communicate and interact with the world. Augmented Reality (AR) is set to be the next big advance. It may seem pie in the sky but AR is already reality, with Google Glasses and other devices coming out.
When applied to recruitment, imagine walking past a business and seeing the vacancies they have available. Great for targeting candidates in a specific geographic location. You could arrange with universities to display information about your graduate programs outside campus.
Candidates could augment their paper CVs so when you view them you see the candidate explaining their resume point by point and highlighting the key areas of interest.
You could conduct virtual interviews or assessments in which candidates can share their vision with you as they work on a problem or project to display their skill. Take the technology a step further and you would no longer have to rely on candidates answers to behavioural-based interview questions – simply set up a virtual reality experience and see exactly how they would behave in a given situation.
- No more “jobs”
Traditional 9-5 full time roles will become more outdated over the next decade as freelancing becomes far more commonplace and people seek to achieve more flexibility in their working lives.
People won’t be hired by one company to do one role. Instead, they’ll make themselves available to multiple organisations and roles they can apply their skills to. As a result, more people will take on part-time work, or work in a more project-based manner. Businesses will have to structure their businesses accordingly so they can still capture this nomadic type of professional talent.
This flexible working environment is already leading to online innovations, with sites like
airtasker.com set up to activate this fluid workforce.
Some of these changes are likely to happen faster than others and to transform the way we recruit today. Ensure that you are ready for these advances by following these five principles: be open to change, enhance your online presence, stay informed, keep up to date with tech, and talk to recruitment experts.
About the author
This article references talking points from Talent Propeller’s eBook, “The Future of Recruiting: Our Predictions”, which can be downloaded in full here. Sharon Davies is the founding director of Talent Propeller, an innovative, online recruitment solutions provider operating across Australia and New Zealand. Talent Propeller has a focus on harnessing technology, developed in-house, to help identify and hook top talent.
