Hiring Trends in Today’s Job Market
As the economy rebounds with the end of the Coronavirus pandemic approaching, what about the current job market? While the technology world generally boasts immunity to economic downturns, is the staffing process unaffected? Companies hoping to thrive over the next few years need to understand the answers to these important questions.
What follows is a high-level overview of the latest hiring trends in the current IT job market. Leverage these insights to better inform your company’s future staffing plans. After all, a successful organization is only as good as its current talent pool.
COVID-19 Affects Employer Recruiting Efforts
According to a survey in the NACE Job Outlook Report 2021, employers’ recruiting approaches changed slightly due to the pandemic. Nearly two-thirds of the respondents forecasted no changes to their scheduled college recruiting plans. Only 11 percent expected to move their recruiting efforts to the following year.
On the other hand, the recruiting methods used changed significantly. Not surprisingly, more than 50 percent of the surveyed companies completely transitioned to virtual recruiting. In addition to recruiting new graduates, virtual interviews are also commonplace for vetting experienced candidates.
Most of the surveyed companies plan to reintroduce in-person recruiting at colleges later in 2021. Of course, these efforts largely depend on the waning of COVID-19 in the wake of mass vaccinations.
Virtual Career Fairs Grow in Popularity
With a raging pandemic, it comes as no surprise that virtual job fairs are growing in popularity. After all, it’s an approach allowing companies and candidates to meet without the current risks of in-person contact. The stats reveal this growing trend, with a NACE survey noting over 90 percent of surveyed companies attended a virtual job fair this fall.
It’s important to note virtual fairs aren’t a permanent replacement to in-person events. In fact, the same NACE survey highlighted a significant percentage of respondents commenting that virtual candidate interactions are worse than in-person.
Remote Working Widens a Company’s Candidate Pool
Still, when it comes to virtual interviews, expect companies to continue to follow this approach for some of their hiring efforts. This is largely because the remote working trend allows organizations to enjoy a wider talent pool. An increased number of candidates for an open position becomes especially helpful for certain in-demand positions, like those in cybersecurity or AI.
If your company is struggling to find IT talent in a pandemic, connect with the talented recruiters at Digital Prospectors. As one of the top technical staffing agencies in Boston, we provide the vetted candidates able to make a positive difference for you. Schedule a meeting with us soon.