Recruiting Trends in 2019: Learn About Recruiting Services

Times are changing, people change, and because of this, the way companies hire is changing, too. Companies are faced with several choices that make the process more difficult than it probably should be.

What if I need new employees for a short time?
What if I’m working with a limited hiring budget?
How do we know candidates are reputable?

In short – how do I attract the best talent?

That’s where recruiting agencies enter the picture. Working with a recruiting agency can be important for both candidates and employers in the job search.

Working with a recruiter can help speed along the hiring process. But with so many recruiting agencies to choose from, how can you choose the one that will help you build a next-level team? After all, if hiring has changed, there is no doubt that recruiting has changed, too.

It’s challenging for recruiters to keep up with all the latest trends. So how do they keep up with the changing times? We sat down with HIRECLOUT’s Co-Founder and CEO Avetis Antaplyan to get some insight on some of the newest trends in tech recruiting. We talk about how HIRECLOUT‘s recruiting services are keeping up with the times to help you hire the talent you need.

LET’S DIVE RIGHT IN!

OUR FOCUS IS RELATIONSHIP-DRIVEN AND LONG-TERM

S: Many sources state that we are in a candidate-driven market, meaning that it is a great time for people to apply because there is an abundance of new jobs. At the same time, unemployment is currently at 4.3% (as of April 2019)¹, so I can imagine that the market has become extremely competitive. How has HIRECLOUT adjusted its recruiting methods to make sure that they are recruiting the best talent?

A: Unemployment is the lowest in 50+ years, but it is nearly 0% in tech. So anyone that wants a job in tech that is qualified for their position has a position. Folks that are unemployed because of layoffs or whatever reason (they resigned, etc.) will be off the market within 4 weeks. When they’re laid off, they have a job lined up within a short period of time.

For us, it’s been a candidate-driven market since 2010 or 2011 so we’re used to this, especially in Tech. One of the unique things about HIRECLOUT is that we work with some really incredible companies very few firms have access to. Even the lesser-known companies that we work with come out of industries like robotics, machine learning, drones – really very cool modern technologies. We have great clients, that’s number one I would say. We also do not focus on transactional modeling, which is about ‘let’s place as many people as possible,’ rather our focus is relationship-driven and long-term. It’s not about ‘can this guy get the job’ it’s ‘can this person grow’; rather than thinking ‘can we make a placement’ we say ‘can this person add value long term.’

I think that’s the biggest difference between us and most firms. There’s a lot of good firms out there, but I’d like to think we’re one of the few firms in LA that think this way. We are very niche and very specific. We don’t pretend we do everything in the country and as we expand, we’ll only expand to places where we feel we’re qualified.

S: Hybrid professionals are another ‘trend’ that the world of recruiting is starting to see these days. It’s much easier and cost-effective to hire a ‘jack of all trades’ candidate because employers understand that training internal staff and/or hiring multiple external candidates can get pricey. Do you see a rise in companies hiring ‘hybrid professionals?’

A: Because the market is so strong and so competitive, and people are demanding and getting high wages, it creates a lot of pressure on the individual and on the companies, absolutely. When companies flattened out in 2007 – 2009 during the recession, middle managers were mostly eliminated, so you had executives and directors, and everyone else was an individual contributor. Even CTOs, VPs, and Directors had to learn how to stay very technical and in the trenches. Everyone wears multiple hats, and there is a reason for that. Rather than having a system admin that you pay $100K, a software engineer that you pay $130K, and a QA person that you pay $100k, you can get a great DevOps person for $150k.

We see companies that need these hybrid professionals, but they’re typically smaller companies and startups. They might not have it in the title, but the job description will scream out many different things. Expectations have risen because salaries have risen. 50% of our jobs have these ‘hybrid’ or multiple hat-type environments.

STAFF AUGMENTATION HELPS WITH “ELASTICITY” NEEDS

S: Candidates have become more inclined to accept jobs that allow them flexibility, whether this means remote work, contract work, etc. As it turns out, companies are getting the hang of the ‘Flexible hiring’ trend. In fact, companies are starting to realize the cost-effectiveness of hiring temporary staff for short-term projects, specifically. Have you seen a spike in contract recruiting because of this?

A: I don’t think it’s a trend – contractors and consultants have been used for many, many years. Believe it or not, we are seeing a lot less of that now than we have in the past. But flexibility for companies is obvious – they don’t have to overthink it. They have the flexibility to hire someone [on a temporary basis], and they can do all that through a consulting firm, in this case, let’s say, HIRECLOUT. It gives the employer tremendous, what I would call “elasticity,” where they can scale up and down as they need, so rather than settling for someone average, [they] get the best but only part-time.

That could be a trend that you see more and more with companies – do you need a full-time CFO? Maybe not – CFOs are expensive. You can have a CFO come in once a week, help you with strategy, and leave [for example]. HIRECLOUT has a service called Staff Augmentation, among others, that is a great solution for situations like this – it allows companies to remain flexible in their hiring while ensuring that they are getting the best talent for their project(s).

Well, it seems like these trends are no match for Avetis and the HIRECLOUT team! Be sure to come back for the second part of our #Trending interview, where you’ll read more about how HIRECLOUT plans to stay #Trending in 2019! Can’t wait for the next installment? Get in touch with us at info@hireclout.com or give us a call at 818.882.2000.

¹ Economy At A Glance. 23 May 2019. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.ca.htm
HIRECLOUT website. www.hireclout.com

Answers edited for length and/or clarity.
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