Take a look at our top 3 predictions on what 2019 will hold in store for graduate and early careers recruitment.
- A variety of focused tech rather than a “one size fits all” approach
- Although this is perhaps not a new approach, 2019 should see companies increase the diversity of their tech line-up in order to create the best process for acquiring talent. The reason for this is largely due to the continuation of the active start-up sector within recruitment which is changing the way companies attract, filter, assess and interview their candidates. In 2018 a wide variety of innovative companies begun offering new ways to conduct recruitment, outside of the usual areas of innovation such as psychometric testing; for example, companies like Metaview have developed new tech to improve the way face to face interviews are conducted. These developments will surely have a positive impact on the open-minded companies that are willing to place their faith in new innovation in 2019.
- When it comes to the start of a recruitment process simplicity will be key
- Companies are already thinking about how they can make applications worthwhile for candidates. A quick win for employers will be to take up less of the applicants time by making sure the beginning of the application processes is not overly complicated or lengthy; don’t waste applicants time if they aren’t right for the role from the outset. Ultimately, 3rd year students do not have time to take part in gimmicky games and lengthy applications only to hear a no. In recent years, companies have attempted to refresh their approach and, in some cases, they have clearly taken no advice on the best way to do this. I remember when I was applying for grad schemes in January 2017 one particular company made me fill out a standard application form only to send an email back saying no one had got through and everyone would instead have to take part in an online treasure hunt in order to progress to the next stage. It’s fair to say I was annoyed, “I am trying to write three essays and start a dissertation but cheers for allowing me to think of answers to your questions for no reason at all”!
- The rejection of culture compatibility testing
- Cultural testing is a fairly new concept but, in our opinion, it won’t be sticking around. Testing for a candidates cultural fit was designed to improve graduate retention within a role, an issue that most companies face and a problem that would undoubtedly be helped by hiring people that fit in with the people already at the company. However, despite being designed with good intentions cultural testing comes at a price and that price is diversity. The corporate culture of a company will ultimately be based on the dominant demographic’s view of what that should be. As a result, using cultural tests within the process of deciding who gets a job will always limit the diversity of candidates, as people from the dominant demographic will always be more likely to “fit in”.
We think 2019 could be an exciting year for HR tech and young talent. We look forward to speaking to more forward thinking companies in 2019 and hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.