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2021 Recruitment Trends

Posted On: Oct 6, 2021

2020 was one of the most challenging years in our recent history. The pandemic ended up accelerating changes that were already underway in the workplace. And, its impact on recruiting sector cannot be underestimated.   Whether it's the rise of AI or companies learning to immerse themselves in the remote work landscape, the industry speculates that the changes we've seen in the past 12 months are here to stay. However, now is the time for human resources teams to prepare for 2021 recruitment trends! Knowing which trends are popular is essential for achieving the goals and objectives that lie ahead.   This article examines the most current and relevant smart recruiting trends that you should keep an eye on.  

Recruitment trends

As we look to 2020, we can't help but take everything we've learned past year and apply those lessons to our analysis of 2021 recruitment trends:  

Inbound Recruiting

At times, recruiting a new candidate for a specific position is a complicated task. So, to solve this issue, organizations have bet on the term called “Inbound Recruiting”. Inbound recruiting is similar to the Inbound Marketing strategy. However, the main focus of recruiting is to attract candidates who are really interested in the position offered.   The Inbound Recruiting follows the strategic steps of Inbound Marketing, digital marketing strategies used to involve specific groups of candidates, both active and passive. One of the great objectives of Inbound Recruiting is to get involved and build relationships with potential candidates, facilitating communication and giving greater visibility to the brand proposal.   Recruitment is no longer a one-way path; it is a two-way context that must be implemented if you want to hire good professionals who share the same philosophy and way of working that your company preaches.  

AI-based hiring

In recent years, advances in technologies such as Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence have helped companies to do more with less.  This technology has made the recruitment and selection process more agile and assertive, allowing the analysis of different data on experience, competence, and skills to identify the best profile for the position.   For instance, we can mention the usage of AI chatbots or virtual assistants in selection processes. These AI-enabled bots enable interaction with the candidate in various stages, such as screening, scheduling interviews, clarifying doubts about the process. This way, by letting tools handle the most tedious tasks, the recruiters can spend more time passively searching and building relationships with top talent.   Furthermore, another benefit of working with these technologies is that it helps to eliminate prejudices and level the origins of each candidate.  

Social Media Recruitment

As recruiters go further, the logical step is to go where your potential candidates are, and most of them are already on social media. With the increased use of mobile devices and interactions on the go, the recruiting trends in 2021 are that recruiters will increasingly attract users' attention on social media platforms like Linkedin or Twitter.   That's why, in 2021, you'll see more use of recruiting hashtags and engaging content, including videos, as part of recruiting marketing. Moreover, you will also see more organizations encouraging employees to share their winning content to attract new employees and increase their recruiting influence.  

Interpersonal skills

According to a LinkedIn study, 89% of bad hires generally lack personal skills such as creativity, persuasion, teamwork, collaboration, adaptability, and time management. But identifying these skills has traditionally been a challenge, which is why recruiters are looking to revamp their assessment processes as demand grows.   Today, recruiters will be increasingly interested in learning from the candidate's body language and word choice, as well as past behavior patterns, teamwork dynamics, ethical dilemmas, conflict resolution, and other similar factors.   Another soft skill that is gaining increasing prominence is candidates' ability to build large networks across multiple industries and sectors. Digital platforms allow employees to extend the reach of any company message through their networks, providing a significant competitive advantage in sales, recruiting, fundraising, and overall reach.  

People Analytics

People Analytics is also a methodology that has been one of the HR trends for some years. But, even so, the Human Resources area was not able to go deeper and benefit from this methodology. According to Harvard Business Review, investment in Big Data is high, but only 5% of it goes to the HR area.   Still, People Analytics proves increasingly essential. In 2021, it will be necessary to pay attention to the personalization of people management; looking at the data and making them help decision-making processes in line with the real needs of the company and its employees.  

Wrapping Up

Whether you are a recruiter, collaborator, or business owner, being aware of these changes is extremely important. The transformation in the selection process which we are experiencing today will most likely no longer be as they were few years ago.   Although, all these changes are happening very quickly, many of them are positive and helps to build a lighter and more human selection process, at a distance. People from different parts of the country can connect in one click and talk without pressure and without having to travel long distances, adding knowledge and building companies full of talent and diversity is the new norm. These changes are here to stay.