Let’s be honest — the world’s population keeps getting bigger, while the workforce doesn’t see similar growth in demand. In fact, in some industries, the demand gets smaller, thanks to automation. Once ten people had to fulfill specific roles. Now employers condense all those expectations into fewer positions. The recruitment industry isn’t exempt from this change.
Right now, recruiters still have clear-cut roles to fill, such as sourcing candidates and interviewing them. But recruiters already see changes happening in their field. And it’s predicted that these changes will speed up in the upcoming years.
Here’s a quick glimpse into the future of recruiting with four predictions of how this field will change over the next five to ten years.
1 – AI and Machine Learning Will Narrow The Field
The application process hasn’t changed in tangible ways up until this point. People still spend hours poring over every detail of their resume, so a recruiter can take a minute to scan over it and decide their fate. But machine learning creeps into every aspect of the business, and it can be a real asset for recruiters. Though not so much for applicants.
Right now, recruiters already use online data and analytics tools to get more info about their applicants. It results in many people having to think carefully about what they share online. But with the advent of machine learning, the whole process is being kicked into overdrive.
Machine learning is capable of processing massive amounts of data in a short time. It means recruiters can better profile their applicants based on broad avenues of data — and in less time.
It might also have the correlating effect of making people even more focused on prioritizing online privacy. They use private browsers, encrypted messaging, and other privacy tools. That is why VPN services like NordVPN (currently at 12 million users) are growing ever more popular. Will this rising trend in using privacy-oriented software affect the data analysts and recruiters? That remains to be seen.
2 – Focus Will Shift To Business Impact
A lot of responsibilities have become automated and condensed into one role already. Explaining why recruiters need to wear many hats, including ones like “marketing expert” and “data analyst.”
LinkedIn recently released a report detailing some of the metrics that recruiters currently value. The report also states which metrics will become the most value down the line. The recruiters they’d surveyed expressed that the following would be the most critical metrics:
- The quality of hire,
- The effectiveness of the sourcing channel,
- The time to hire.
The quality of hire is currently challenging to check. It indicates that recruiters will need to shift their focus to more strategic efforts. But since many tasks and data analytics become more automated, it will free up their time.
3 – Hiring Goals Could Become Less Linear
George Ander coined the term “jagged resume” in his book, The Rare Find. It describes the shift in career trajectory patterns from the simple ladder of the past to today’s latticework of pivots. Resumes aren’t a straightforward continuation from one position with set tasks to the next one down the line anymore.
Recruiters need to adapt to this new trend to source the best candidates based on their collective experiences and skills. Sticking to the old formula of trying to find a candidate that ticks a long list of specific boxes isn’t going to work. Instead, recruiters will need to adapt to a more creative and more meaningful hiring process.
4 – The Team Will See More Specialists Entering the Ring
So far, recruiters have had to do many different things and be good (or at least relatively good) at each of them. But companies are now looking to change the team dynamic by adding more specialists. Each will fulfill some impactful objectives.
These specialists will take on technical roles. It will relate to talent analytics and advanced technology in hiring. Those from fields outside of recruiting could also start making an appearance. For example, business strategists will play a role in recruiting as well. In the end, the main driving factors would be determining the most valuable hiring times and needs. And then — testing the impact of recruitment decisions.
Summary
The role of the recruiter is already changing. It might look very different in the future. Understanding it is a big step in the right direction, and recruiters can start preparing for its eventuality. Start upscaling and broadening those skills now to get ahead of the rest of the pack.
