4 ways that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed recruiting strategies

As employers look to rebuild their staff in the post-pandemic world, they are also tasked with catching up on the latest recruiting methods. Business changes that came out of necessity during COVID-19, like remote work and virtual interviews, have become the norm. Curious about how others have adjusted their hiring practices post-pandemic, College Recruiter asked experts, CEOs, and other industry thought leaders to weigh in on the topic. From improving employer branding to focusing on creating a passive talent pool, here’s what they had to say:

Ways that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed recruiting strategies

We now have to promote our business to applicants

The tables turned in our recruiting process when the pandemic started. Traditionally, applicants would have to make their best proposals to companies in hopes of a hire. But with the Great Resignation and plethora of online opportunities that opened up to the public, we found ourselves at the opposite end of the recruiting process. 

It tasked us with staging our company as the best it could be to attract top talent. We were always an online agency, but now, we were competing with hundreds of others for qualified applicants. COVID-19 pushed us to reassess the value of our business from an employee’s standpoint. It forced us to look at the interview process from the applicant’s perspective—a humbling experience.
—Stephan Baldwin, Founder, Assisted Living Center

Have to cast a wider candidate net

There has been a shift toward recruiting candidates across the country—rather than just in our own backyard. This approach gives our talent acquisition specialists a chance to cast a wider net, look beyond geographic boundaries, and to naturally cross paths with the best and brightest looking for a new job opportunity. 

It helps our human resources team stay hyper-focused on finding the best person for an open position, regardless of whether they live down the street or in a different time zone.
—Jessica Arias, Director of People & Culture, OnPay Payroll Services

Produced a stronger passive talent pool

Though we always made passive recruitment efforts, they were more of an afterthought than a focus. We keep a strong talent pool of candidates warm because there isn’t enough top talent to fill highly-skilled roles, and we can’t afford to wait months for the right person to come along. 

Now, we must look beyond active applicants and ensure that the talent that “isn’t looking but is interested” is kept in the loop about relevant openings. We re-engage unsuccessful candidates from past applications, send monthly recruitment newsletters, and ask employees for their referrals.
—Maximilian Wühr, CGO & Co-Founder, FINN

Increased clarity of benefits and allowances in job posts

COVID-19 helped us to look at how we were putting together our promotional material for hire. We learned, as did many, during this time that the needs of workers were changing rapidly. Many needed more flexibility, or even hybrid working situations to deal with their changing circumstances. 

While we can’t always offer jobs solely what is best for the employee, as the role needs to meet business needs as well, what we could do was make this a more clear part of what we were putting forward, highlighting what room there was for flexibility, remote working, and other needs for the employee. This way, when people are applying, they have a clear sign of what will and won’t be available because of the needs of that role. 

Of course, the job description itself is still important, but with changing trends and needs, we felt it was really important to make these allowances and benefits a really central, core part of what people would see, allowing them to know if the role was for them instantly.

—Kathy Bennett, CEO & Founder, Bennett Packaging