The Hiring Process: Pre- & Post-Pandemic

The difference between the hiring process prior to the pandemic and after it is significant. Since most industries were forced into a remote-only system, this meant the hiring process needed to be remote as well. However, since the pandemic is slowly disappearing, a proper comparison of the hiring process and its shift since the beginning of 2020 is available. But what are the differences between the pre-pandemic and post-pandemic hiring processes? More Quality-Driven During the pandemic, businesses with open positions available began to experience an influx of applicants. Many people lost their jobs due to the pandemic and sought employment elsewhere. Certain industries faced significant obstacles with the nature of what their businesses entailed. Remote-only workplaces thrived more than in-person ones. However, in regard to applicants for open jobs, a large number were unqualified for the positions they were applying for. This signaled the primary end to the traditional hiring process. In-person interviews—or rather, several rounds of them—were made virtually obsolete because of safety restrictions and even location. As a result, focusing on the quality of the applicants in terms of their experiences and skills became a focal point in the hiring process. Cost Reduction The amount of money businesses spend on finding the right candidates is high. They need people who can complete tasks quickly and effectively, even in a remote or changing environment. Spending a lot of money on evaluating applications, mis-hires, or third-party recruiters decreased during 2020. Businesses started focusing on reducing the costs of their new, remote hiring processes. Such cost reductions could be applied to posting openings on the right job boards (i.e. niche job boards, boards that attracted certain types of candidates, etc), for example. Mis-hires, or bringing in a new employee only for them to leave the company shortly after, can be costly. It takes time and many resources to hire, train, and keep an employee. When the candidate isn’t the right fit, he or she may find employment elsewhere. This could be avoided with proper evaluation tools. Tools such as online technical and soft skill assessments became excellent additions to the hiring process. They have even found themselves permanently integrated into nearly all post-pandemic hiring processes. Going Digital The traditional hiring process utilized more face-to-face and individual interactions. However, the pandemic forced a change in how businesses approached hiring employees. Combined with the influx of applicants, only being able to use remote methods made it challenging for some businesses to successfully hire. They had to turn toward digital tools like video conferencing software and social media to bring candidates into the hiring process. Holding virtual interviews through sites like Zoom and GoRemote became popular, which continue to be in the post-pandemic hiring process. Social media also played a huge role in attracting candidates from all over the world. Many of these candidates were ideal for businesses but it meant they had to keep at least a somewhat remote system in place to hold on to those candidates, particularly into employment. Nonetheless, technology has played a key role in hiring and maintaining the economy, which will only grow in a post-pandemic world.