Recruitment trends coming in hot for 2023

1. Talent communities will be more important than ever 

While availability and location may stop you from immediately placing great candidates in a job, that doesn't mean the perfect opportunity won't pop up for them later. The key is to pool these pre-vetted candidates into a talent community you can return to. Rather than start from scratch and waste your precious time when you have new listings to fill, you can simply reach out to those candidates you know are ready to work. 

To create a community, stay in touch with the candidates who have already made it clear they're keen to work for you. Software like Weirdly makes this super easy. Weirdly also helps you filter candidates further, by skill set and values,  just like Target did here. Here's a to-do list to get the ball rolling:

1. Add your unsuccessful but pre-qualified candidates into Weirdly.
2. Invite students and soon-to-be grads to join this community.
3. Invite your internal talent who may be great in a different role.
4. Incentivise your existing employees and people already in the community to invite their friends.
5. Keep the community engaged by emailing useful content and giveaways.
6. Reach out to your community regularly for experience, location and availability updates. 
7. Segment and filter your community to find pre-qualified candidates for each new role.

2. Welcome back overseas talent

Australia and New Zealand have been in dire need of extra candidates since 2020, when millions were stuck waiting at the door. Fortunately, new government regulations mean you may finally catch a break. In Australia, the government has recently decided to raise the permanent migration cap to 195,000. And in New Zealand, the temporary changes to working holiday visas will allow travellers to stay and work for 12 months or longer. This should ease the pain that industries like retail are currently feeling. Here's what you can start implementing now:

1. Design job postings for seasonal workers, highlighting what you can offer them.
2. Craft social posts to target talent before they even arrive in the country. 
3. Add a section to your careers site or social page dedicated to international talent. 

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3. Authenticity wins

If your employer has a solid reputation, your job will be a lot easier in 2023. We know what you're thinking – brand rep has always been a significant factor in the hiring process, so why is it more important now? Because even more Gen Zs are entering the job market. Having grown up with fake news while connected to everything, they're highly suspicious and incredibly tech-savvy, sniffing out inauthenticity easily. 

Just look at what happened to Facebook since the Cambridge Analytica scandal back in 2019. A once-beloved company is now struggling to fill positions. The acceptance rate for best graduates worldwide went from 85% to between 35% and 55%. Candidates could clearly smell a rat. 

To build a strong employer brand, here's a great checklist to go on with:

1. Test and measure employee brand (retention rates, employee satisfaction and reviews).
2. Develop a content strategy targeted at the ideal candidate's persona and leverage social media.
3. Be honest and transparent about company culture.
4. Accurately represent the role's day-to-day tasks and responsibilities.

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4. Slick candidate experiences are critical

Let's face it, recruiting a high volume of quality candidates has become an extreme sport. And even as labour shortages ease, there will always be competition in retail. So a seamless candidate experience will be all-important in 2023.

High-volume candidates often apply for more than one job at a time, and the employer with the shortest and most enjoyable application process will probably snaffle them. Here's a great checklist to improve your candidate experience:

1. Write a clear, on-brand job description.
2. Show transparency around the recruitment process. 
3. Build a great careers page on your company website. 

5. Give them an easy, breezy application process. 

4. Use automated messaging for essential communications. 
5. Allow candidates to schedule interviews themselves with the Weirdly self-service tool.

Let the trend be your friend

Regardless of what's trending, your objective will always be the same – attract enough great talent and move them through the tunnel fast. By keeping up to date and staying ready to pivot, you'll be a recruitment superhero no matter what the world throws at you. And now that tech supports every stage of your job, handy tools like Weirdly will be your awesome sidekick.

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