During the last months, because of a lockdown, we had to adjust to the quick and unexpected changes and a new reality. Our lives started to look different from our jobs. We put on hold many things recently, but companies looking for employees and people seeking for occupation can’t wait any longer. Online headhunting isn’t as simple as it would appear at first sight. The inability to speak face to face with a potential candidate and is limited to the cameras or phones could be challenging sometimes. That’s why we give you our best tips and tricks to make this process easier.

What COVID-19 changed in our work world?

Many companies decided to operate fully remotely so that they were able to keep their continuity. The pandemic urges us to rethink our opinions about the importance of telework - this kind of work is sometimes regarded as easier and undemanding. But, the necessity to balance professional and personal life, lack of interpersonal relations limited only to video conferences for some of us could occur more back-breaking than we imagined. That strong experience probably permanently alters the world of work. Now, when we slowly coming back to our workplaces, the hybrid work model is more and more popular. Smaller groups in offices systematically exchange with the rest of employees working remotely at the same time. It appears as a compromise among restrictions and old habits.

We are used to the conventional recruitment process in person, but the pandemic forces us to change our well-known ways and look closer at new or less often chosen solutions. The majority of recruiter activities have to be brought forward to the internet, which firstly may be received as a constraint. Seeking a software engineer on dedicated websites is nothing new, however, job ads on social media have become more and more popular these days. They could be used as a complement or as a main approach - the biggest advantage of considering this solution is increasing the possibility to find a candidate quicker and make contact effortlessly.

How to be a great recruiter during a pandemic?

The new reality is challenging both for recruiters and their business customers and candidates. For this reason, you should try to even look after areas like clear boundaries between personal and professional life, good relations and information management, and last but not least being understanding. Some of these points may sound clichéd to you, but in a stressful situation, we could easily forget about them.

1. Personal and professional life

Working from home may occur its toughness in different ways - maybe have you found difficulty in systematic work or you suffer from a lack of motivation? Or maybe you have started work more and more and now you are hardly leaving your desk? We hope that you are the lucky one who didn’t feel any change, but if not we have some advice that should make your work-life balance so much better. First - make a schedule. What are your goals? What do you want to achieve during this week/month? At what time do you want to want to start and finish your work? Map out the breaks. After all, you will be able to point to things you have finished or required to take more time. This simple thing can change everything - the „to do” list and clear working hours allow you to plan your day better and be more productive.

2. Relations and information management

The first message is crucial - what information will be included and how its overall reception will influence later conversation. You should mention things like the name of the company, potential salary, and requirements. Candidates appreciate personalized messages and confidence that this offer was prepared specially for them. Also, you should have in your mind the balance - do not call the candidate several times a day but also do not ignore messages from them. Even if the person that you talked to weren’t hired - send them feedback and try to remember about them during later recruitment processes.

3. Be understanding for yourself and the others

When information about COVID-19 reaches us ceaselessly we can feel overwhelmed and experience a phenomenon called information overload - make use only of reliable sources to reduce this feeling and, at a pinch, be able to manage it. The new situation affects also your business partners, potential candidates, and co-workers. Increasing the feeling of insecurity could be tough, so try to mitigate it by giving as clear a message as possible and taking care of the quality of relationships with your business clients. Some people prefer contact through e-mail and have things in writing or face to face calls. Ask which solution fits better for them.

What tools simplify the recruitment process?

The variety of applications and programs for HR is huge, but it doesn’t mean that you have to use all of them. Test, check, try, and choose which are the best for you. However, when we experience rapid changes we want to start with foolproof tools and don’t give over more time for choosing. Below we share with our favourites.

ATS and CRM

ATS is an abbreviation for the applicant tracking system. The software collect and sort resumes - the best matched to the requirements are highlighted for the recruiter. Also, it helps with creating application forms and the base of candidates. It’s a great timesaver - the possibility of keyword research, organized resumes are easier to check than thousands of e-mails clogged your inbox. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is similar to ATS but focused on the business client when ATS mass on relations with the candidates. If you are interested in this kind of solution you could try out HubSpot - we guarantee you that missing out on the potential employee will be so much harder.

Video recruitment

Video interviewing platforms are an alternative for personal meetings that may occur stymied. Apart from the first connotation with a simple conversation between candidate and recruiter these platforms have many more advantages. For example, as a recruiter, you can record your questions and candidates will send their recorded answers - thanks to the fact you will be able to watch these short films over and over again to choose the best person for the job. Furthermore, there is one more benefit for the two sides - everyone could choose the most suitable time for themselves.

Get it right!

More complex recruitment processes could demand additional help. Trello is a virtual kanban board. If you used to have it in your office, this could be a great alternative. It enables creating boards and pipelines which makes everything uncluttered. The whole team can use one board, so everyone stays up-to-date if you actualize it regularly.

Changes are coming?

Our predictions One we can say for sure - changes are happening now. It’s not only because of COVID-19 - it accelerates them, but they have been in the air for some time. Companies started to look favourably at fully remote employees after positive experiences with remote recruitment and work - it’s an opportunity for people living in different cities, countries, and even continents (but then remember about team agreements - rules obligatory for co-workers). Trust in employees increases - a lot of them will not come back to the office or will be there from time to time. Corporations noticed that people working from home still are diligent and professional. They decided to bring on „remote only” mode because more valuable than the person behind the desk is their efficiency at work.

Even though the labour market seems inimical, IT still needs new people. Software engineers, IT specialists, and software testers will be urgently wanted. More remotely work equals more sensitive data online requiring better protection - specialists in this area also will be welcomed. The pandemic time puts us to the test but also shows many new opportunities and unexpected ways of growing our carriers and developing skills.