Recruitment in the age of COVID-19

The last several months have seen a significant change in high-tech, with some industries growing at a record pace, and others contracting painfully.These are uncertain times to say the least. But the circle of life continues, and many businesses are still attracting investments and recruiting. Some are even seeing significant growth under these new conditions and looking to hire lots of new employees all at once.

But things have changed for recruiters. From remote interviews to new expectations from candidates. Here are a few tips to keep recruitment smooth and rewarding during the corona-virus outbreak:

1. Let the world know you’re recruiting
In such uncertain times, it’s up to you to take action and create certainty by making sure everyone knows you’re still around and hiring new employees. Place a banner on your website’s homepage and make multiple posts on social media. How will you ever find the right candidate if no one knows you’re hiring?

2. Ask yourself: What are candidates looking for?

With everything seemingly in flux, stability is at a high premium these days – higher than ever before. That means a candidate you might otherwise have been able to give up a current job to join your company might be far more hesitant to do so. While headhunting is still smart recruiting, you may need to redefine, or get more specific with your employee value proposition (EVP). Even if your company is on the smaller side, you need to convince candidates you can offer them stability, belonging and opportunity. Make sure you put this front and center during your first meeting.

3. Maintain a great candidate experience

One thing that hasn’t changed, or if it has it’s only increased, is the need to provide a great candidate experience. It doesn’t matter how many people you’re recruiting, with all the current challenges in the market, making sure candidates have a great experience with you and spread the word is key. That means keeping the candidate up to date, being transparent about how the process works, speaking to them as equals and finding some way to show off the company culture and atmosphere, even if candidates can’t visit you in person.

4. Prepare for the practical differences

Managing a professional, efficient recruitment process these days means preparing properly for remote recruitment. Make sure all the necessary tech is in place and functioning before you begin and see to it that you have the entire process planned out so any snags you encounter will hopefully be small ones. Prepare yourself mentally as well. Candidates are likely to feel less personal connection during remote interviews, meaning you need to come at your most personable, ready to make a good impression.

5. Adjust your expectations

You probably need to be thinking about candidates differently than you would have before the coronavirus. For example, it’s important these days that you take into account their skills and abilities to work remotely. Will they be responsible and available when you need them to be? This has suddenly become a much more important question to ask than what degree someone has. One positive change to the remote work that comes with COVID-19 however, is that you can recruit anyone from just about anywhere in the world! There’s no need to limit yourself by geography if everything has to get done from home anyway.

6. Establish a remote on-boarding plan

If your new employees still can’t physically come into work, they won’t only need to work from home, they’ll need to be onboarded from home, both personally and professionally. Prepare introductory video calls with the rest of the team and remote training sessions. Appoint someone to be responsible for onboarding so that new employees are taken care of from the very first day. These can even be accomplished by assigning each one a work buddy for a set period of time. Ask your newly-hired employee for feedback and ideas throughout the process to make sure he/she has everything necessary for successful integration into the company.

Recruitment is a subtle art in the best of times. As long as coronavirus is around (and probably well into the nearest future), recruitment is going to look a whole lot different, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. With the right planning and preparation, this could in fact be the perfect time to scoop up some of the best talents on the market. Now is also an opportunity to adopt new technologies and make your processes more efficient so you’ll be in a better position than ever when this crisis ends – and it will end.