5 Obstacles Recruiters Face in 2021 (and their solutions)
Recruitment. An exciting and constantly evolving profession. Tomorrow, that's for sure: you won't recruit the same way as today. And you won't use the same methods today as you did yesterday. What has changed? Almost everything. Especially the Internet and the emergence of social, professional, and personal networks. Yesterday, you may have been alone in your niche sector. Today, the competition is fierce. Therefore, it seems interesting to look at the major difficulties recruiters encounter today when hiring. And to make it more interesting, let's find solutions to these problems!
1 - Shortage of skilled labor
Having technical knowledge is one thing, but having the interpersonal and social-emotional skills is another. What's the point of being the most experienced of all on a subject if relational skills don't follow up and nobody likes working with you?
Imagine you have a great pessimist in front of you, competent, certainly, but for whom nothing ever goes right no matter what happens? Who always sees the glass half empty even if it is 3/4 full?
Beyond the know-how, it is the social skills that are taking more and more of the step and will be more and more sought after by companies and therefore by recruiters. Moreover, what makes a person progress in the company? Technical skills or relationship and social-emotional skills? You cannot achieve one without the other.
In the IT sector, it is very common to hear recruiters talk about a shortage of skilled labor. They complain about the lack of qualified profiles for certain positions. Recruiters know that the supply and demand market in this sector is unbalanced. There is more demand than supply, meaning there are more job offers than job seekers. The bad news: engineers, developers, and other specialists in the IT sector know this too.
The result is a fierce battle in negotiating salary offers after a recruiter finds the right profile. And this also applies to candidates just out of school. They know that they are wanted and no longer hesitate to push prices up. It’s a real headache for recruiters.
Solution: if you are a recruiter in the IT sector, you know that there is no miracle solution. Learn how to build a strong network, maintain good relations with all current candidates, and learn how to expect demand. The potential new employee is king, and they know it. All you have to do is to find the right arguments to get them onboard.
2 - Capturing candidates' attention
Candidates are very volatile. When you're a recruiter, it's often difficult to get the candidates' attention. Recruiters are faced with a major problem: how to capture the attention of candidates when we have access to so much information? Although they are a great gateway to the right profiles, social networks are also an obstacle to overcome.
Solution: Today, a recruiter must become a marketer. To have a chance of attracting the best profiles, learn to speak the same language as your target while meeting your issues and aspirations. Warning: this takes time and requires a good dose of energy. But it is the hard road to take to capture the attention of candidates.
3 - Playing the game against the competition
Sourcing is not a major problem for modern-day recruiters. It is now very easy to find the right profiles as long as you master a few tools. Well, the most difficult thing is to face the competition that masters the same tools as you do. It's a race towards excellence.
Solution: To stand out from the competition, you need to learn how to maintain good relationships with existing candidates. These candidates are passive (not out for a new job yet), but they are still potential candidates. And when they want to develop their careers, they'll look to you.
4 - Recruit fast
Thanks to social networks and the Internet, information is flowing at high speed. The great difficulty a recruiter often encounters is that of timing. When a client submits a need to you, they don't expect you to take days and days to find the right profile. And when the right profile is available, you have a very small window of opportunity. It's a bit like a solar eclipse. When the perfect alignment between the Moon and the Sun is achieved, it doesn't take long.
Solution: Again, it's a matter of anticipation. If you've created a talent pool, you shouldn't have too much trouble finding the right profile. But again, timing is key. And you won't win every time.
5 - Making clients understand that recruiting takes a team effort
This is perhaps one of the biggest problems recruiters facing. Why do clients insist on asking recruiters for more and more results if they don't work as a team? Recruitment is clearly a people business. And to achieve the best result possible, a recruiter needs benchmarks. They are essential to save their time, to let them know if they are on the right or wrong track. For example, when you present a candidate's CV to your client, it is important that the employer gives you feedback on how they feel, whether it is good or bad.
Solution: During the requirement discovery phase, it is essential that you and your client work complementary. To achieve your goal, you need information such as a precise description of the job, the desired experience, and any other information that will allow you to place your points of reference throughout your search. Learning how to educate your interviewer will save you a lot of time during your search.