We predict the recruitment fireworks and damp squibs of 2019

January 6th, 2019 | Industry News

When monster.com reports that the biggest job application day of the year is 27th January, with the number of applications that day being 75% above the daily average, we know we have a phenomenon on our hands. But like the dating market (where match.com reports a 42% increase in new members on their most popular day, 7 January) there’s also a tendency for job applicants, like online daters, to never take any further action (41% of dating app users never go on a date!).

The drivers for seeking a new job include:

• spending time with friends and family over Christmas and being asked how work is going
• overspending during the holidays
• doing something at the office party that you really don’t want to have to face up to in the New Year!

So how can recruitment agencies reduce the number of applicants who never follow through on their initial interest? Recruitment CRM software may be the answer. Effective recruitment software ensures active customer relationship management, which can move ‘passive’ applicants to a more active position. Because one major reason for a move is having waited for the year-end bonus, January can be more about churn than actual desire to move. Recruitment database software can be used to separate those candidates who are genuinely seeking to find a job from those who are purely acting out of boredom or embarrassment – the degree of detail of form completion, for example, is a reliable predictor of the commitment of the candidate.

Recruitment skyrockets

While it’s been a tough year for recruitment in many ways – not least Brexit worries – the total industry turnover in the past year increased by 11% on the previous year. While £30.85 billion came from temporary or contract placements, a mere £4.84 billion was delivered by permanent placements. For online recruitment software this is a significant ratio – many recruiting platforms devote a disproportionate amount of time and attention to permanent placement data whilst the most useful web-based recruitment software recognises that while ‘head-hunting’ can be prestigious and cement great relationships with clients, it’s temporary and contract placements that generate most income.

Cryptocurrency fails to lift off

While AI and cryptocurrencies were predicted to be big in recruitment in 2018, neither has made the breakthrough. Cryptocurrencies definitely failed to light the touch paper – in fact they lost 90% of their value in the last 12 months. Paradoxically, recruitment in the cryptocurrency industry has never been more active and because it’s an unregulated and largely self-taught arena, finding good candidates can be problematic. So what criteria can be used to define good candidates in such an emergent sector? Recognisable commitment to the culture of cryptocurrency is a good place to start. Understanding the developing legal and regulatory frameworks is essential. Finally, most cryptocurrency companies have belatedly recognised the need for ‘soft skills’ to create communities of support (and understanding) for their products and recruitment management software that can identify these, alongside harder skills, will serve recruiters better in this fragmented industry.