Human Resources Blog - Spark Hire

Common Recruiting Challenges in the Digital World

While new technology such as LinkedIn and mobile sites can make a recruiter’s job easier, there are also some downsides to our heavily digital society. For every new app that comes along to help a recruiter make contact with talented professionals, there is the need to move away from longstanding recruiting practices in order to adapt properly. Some common recruiting challenges that are present in our digital-savvy society include:

Understanding when to adopt new technology and when to pass

It seems like each day there is a new piece of technology that is unveiled that may potentially help recruiters get to work. However, while some of these tools are helpful and become essential, others are simply a passing fad. The trick is to quickly be able to determine which new developments will prove useful and which won’t. Being too quick or too slow to adopt can hurt a recruiter in the long run.

Figuring out when human contact is necessary

Thanks to technology, it is easy to assign a machine or gadget to take care of tasks that humans used to have to attend to. However, this doesn’t mean that recruiting can become completely automated. An important part of successful recruiting in the 21st century is determining when face time is still necessary, and when it’s okay to let a computer take over. It’s a tricky call, but it’s one that all recruiting professionals will need to focus on.

Learning how to filter necessary information

The Internet makes it possible to have information on any number of subjects at your fingertips within a matter of seconds. However, this influx of information can quickly becoming overwhelming. A good recruiter learns how to sort through this information, gathering relevant facts while discarding unnecessary details. When you can effectively make your way through data from various surveys, platforms, and other sources, you will thrive in the field.

Understanding how to collect data

Data is more important than ever before, and an HR professional will need to learn how to gather and analyze it properly in order to tailor their efforts accordingly. When you are constantly evaluating numbers in real time, you are able to be more effective at your job. However, since having access to so much data is still a relatively new phenomenon, many recruiting companies are still struggling to organize and interpret the data that is presented to them on a regular basis.

As a recruiting professional, adopting your strategies and changing your approach based on current trends is a must. Regardless of how long you’ve been in the field, when you’re able to evolve as the field does, you’ll find success.

How have you adapted your recruiting strategy for the 21st century? 

Lauren Levine

Lauren Levine is a copywriter/blogger who contributes to a number of magazines and websites including The Frisky, USA Today, and others. She also authors her own blog called Life with Lauren. She loves cooking, anything on the E! network, and is trying to convince herself that running isn't so bad.