HR Connection blog

With the tightest labor market in decades, candidates are going out of their way to be better informed and strategic in their approach when exploring new job opportunities. According to a 2018 study done by Aptitude Research Partners, companies define informed candidates “as having the right information for an interview, the right skills for the job, and someone who has conducted his or her own research”.

As with most things in life, you should hope for the best but plan for the worst in the event that a valued employee leaves to join a competitor. This article contains some helpful tips to keep in mind following such a move by a key employee.

One in 68 Americans is autistic. Autism is a spectrum disorder, so many individuals only slightly differ from a "neurotypical" person. Many autistic adults have significant skills that could benefit many jobs and industries. So why hasn't this untapped group of possible employees been utilized to the best of their potential?

Candidates have the upper hand in today's job market. Unemployment under four percent means that there is a high quantity of jobs available but a lack of candidates who have the required skills. Great candidates are harder to find which increases the length of the hiring process Managers spend valuable time reviewing resumes and holding interviews—if the candidates even show up that is.

Many industries undergo transformations every few years, and talent acquisition is no exception. Rapid change followed the arrival of applicant-tracking systems in the late 1990s, and today it’s AI-enabled tools that are set to fundamentally reengineer how hiring is done. The adoption of those new tools is being driven in large part by candidates’ constantly shifting expectations. (In the 1990s, for example, companies didn’t need career sites but in the 2000s they did—and by 2012 companies that didn’t have mobile-optimized sites were in trouble.) Therefore, organizations that want to provide consistently great candidate experiences must adopt a forward-looking mindset.

In 2018, the Virginia Chamber Foundation commissioned a study titled, "Economic Impact of Amazon’s Major Corporate Headquarters in Virginia and the Washington MSA." Their findings? The total economic impact of Amazon HQ2 will be $14.2 billion in Virginia. While this is great news for the region’s economy, what does it mean to businesses already operating in the area?

  In today's world of work, candidate reputation is becoming an increasingly important factor in hiring decisions. While the resume used to reign supreme, employers can now rely on data for a more holistic view of a candidate's experience. In fact, 50% of talent professionals and hiring managers say data is the top trend impacting how they hire, according to recent research from LinkedIn. Data effectively gives hiring managers a 3D view of an applicant's background as well as insight into their personality, helping them predict hiring outcomes, increase retention, evaluate skills gaps, and build better offers.

 

Last year, my predictions for the top three recruiting trends of 2017 were new technologies including artificial intelligence (AI), a focus on workplace diversity, and talent rediscovery.