How recruiters can benefit from a changing talent landscape

The talent landscape has shifted faster in 2020 than it has in the last five combined. Just months ago, talent shortages and unprecedented competition in the employment market were hot topics. At the time, Australian unemployment was the lowest it has been since 2011 at 5.18% and employer branding was a top priority for recruiters to attract the best talent.

But the events of 2020 have turned the job market upside down. Whole industries have been affected causing lay-offs and hiring freezes. Many businesses have been forced to close their doors and national unemployment has reached a record high of 7.62%. At the same time, the shift to remote work models has broadened the scope for companies to access skills from all over the world.

The employment market is changing and this new, candidate rich marketplace comes with new challenges. But with it, comes great opportunity. Here’s how talent and HR professionals can use the circumstances to their best advantage, delight their candidates, and provide their clients with the best talent in the market right now in order to grow and scale in 2021 and long beyond.   

Whilst having a candidate rich marketplace is beneficial for recruiters and TA managers, this also means they will need to work harder to screen the best candidates from the just good enough ones, re-evaluating transferable skills and defining their ideal profiles.

From the volatile business conditions, new skills are in demand post-pandemic such as resilience, adaptability and agility. Getting better defined on their ideal candidate profiles helps businesses save time on their recruitment processes. 

The opportunities offered by the employment market mean that organisations should be thinking critically about their workforce planning, leveraging the talent available to fulfill their needs for the future. Consider hiring with delayed start dates to secure the best candidates in the market now, when they are needed the most.

Further challenges for HR professionals right now are coming from increasing advertising costs and an overwhelming volume of applications for any opportunities advertised. HR tech tools and creative ways of getting open roles in front of the right people can help save costs and drive efficiencies.

TalentTap is a new candidate communication tool that integrates with your existing database to send out job notifications directly to candidates you have already screened. Recruiters can create their own on-demand workforce with real-time insight into their engaged candidates via a seamless, branded mobile app. 

Talent and HR leaders all over the world are experiencing a phase of talent mobilisation – which can feel stressful for some. The opportunity for recruiters however, and the impact they can have on business growth for 2021 is more promising than ever.