Online Recruitment

Easy to use and globally accessible, online channels are becoming increasingly popular as a support tool for recruitment. In this blog we briefly look at some of the trends and their impact on both the employer and the candidate.

Social Networks

The growth of social networking and social media has undoubtedly had an impact on the way organisations and candidates go to market. Such channels provide an opportunity for companies to display their needs, and individuals their skills, to a wide audience, through individual profiles, company pages, discussion groups, posts and of course job advertising.

LinkedIn

Unsurprisingly, the social network most focused on recruitment and career development is LinkedIn. It’s a rich source of global information for search firms and in-house recruiters alike. LinkedIn has over 347 million members in over 200 countries and territories, which equates to 1/3 of all professionals on the planet. Usage is especially high among the educated and high earners and it is in fact the only social networking site that shows higher usage among 50-64 year olds, than among those aged 18-29.

For a more in-depth analysis of LinkedIn, check out our download, “An Executive Recruitment Game Changer?”, which further studied the impact of the network on Executive Recruitment.

Shop Windows

With the competition for the best talent stepping-up, we are seeing a change in the way many online social networks are used by employers, with many viewing them as an opportunity to reach out and sell themselves to potential and future recruits. They are in essence, an organisation’s shop window. For instance, in our LinkedIn research 40% said they are using the channels to boost their employer brand – even among passive candidates. Equally 56% of graduate candidates now look at a prospective employer’s blog and social channels, to set a sense of the employer brand and ‘hear the voice’ of employers within the organisation.

Mobilisation of Technology

We have also seen a rush to harness mobile technology in the recruitment space. With prospective candidates spending so much time browsing the internet on mobile devices, such as phones and tablets, companies are modifying their recruitment process accordingly. For instance, they are designing their application forms and wider recruitment process with mobiles in mind.

Video Interviewing

YouTube, Vimeo and Vine have resulted in some companies moving towards video interviews, with a set of online automated questions used to test a candidate’s experience, verbal skills and character. While this is mostly impacting on junior roles, at the senior executive end of the spectrum we’re seeing Skype increasingly used, particularly for international assignments.

Norrie Johnston Recruitment is focused on filling senior permanent and interim executive roles, using a mix of technology plus, importantly, traditional search, employing best of breed recruiters who have real-world business experience. It argues that this combination of technology-enabled, top recruiters together with senior executive experience means the agency can provide hand-picked short lists of perfectly matched senior interim candidates within 4 days while for permanent roles the time frame from brief to short list can be as little as 21 days. For more information about Norrie Johnston Recruitment visit www.NorrieJohnstonRecruitment.com or call 01962 828 792