10 recruitment trends to keep an eye on in 2023

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Jobseekers' reasons for seeking work will vary. Thus, employers will have to find ways to better attract talent and cater to their diverse needs.

There is no doubt that talent attraction and retention are some of the top-of-mind concerns plaguing employers and HR teams today. After all, employees' priorities after shifting – not only are they re-evaluating the importance of job security and business ethics, but they are also gaining higher expectations about job satisfaction and outlook.

Cue the great talent shortage, a term we have all become all-too-familiar with these past couple of years. 

In that vein, iHire recently surveyed 4,207 jobseekers (3,668) and employers (539) in the US, to take a look at how employers are recruiting and retaining top talent amid the talent shortage, and what jobseekers are on the lookout for.

While the survey was conducted in the US, HRO believes the content remains relevant to our readers in Asia. 

Here are 10 trends derived from the survey findings, which employers and HR leaders can keep an eye on in the coming year:

#1 Employers are anticipating a continued talent shortage.

For the fourth straight year, employers surveyed cited finding qualified candidates among their top hiring challenges. In 2022, close to seven in 10 said they receive too few applicants, and a similar percentage said the applicants they receive are unqualified. Furthermore, about eight in 10 anticipate the talent shortage continuing throughout the upcoming year.

#2 A gap exists between the candidate skills employers desire and the skills candidates actually possess.

While companies say they cannot easily find qualified talent, 38.5% of jobseekers believe employers have unrealistic or overly specific requirements. Additionally, a group of candidates said they have recently applied for a job even though they didn’t meet the requirements.

#3 The Great Resignation isn’t slowing down.

More than half (57.3%) of the candidates in the survey were employed and seeking a job actively or passively, suggesting that the Great Resignation may persist. Meanwhile, employers foresee difficulty retaining employees in the months to come.

[ALSO READ: 4 ways Mastercard is coping with Asia's great talent shortage]

#4 Economic uncertainties will impact hiring.

As a possible recession looms and inflation rises, candidates and employers said economic uncertainty will impact their ability to find work and hire, respectively, in the coming year. With that in mind, nearly seven in 10 jobseekers said they would be more likely to apply for a job if the ad included the position’s salary range.

#5 Job boards will remain a key tool in recruitment.

About six in 10 employers said they have increased their reliance on job boards in the past year, with a significant number using them for either "most" or "all of their hiring. Among jobseekers, six in 10 searched for work through a job board in the past year, while 66.3% said they would go to a job board first if they needed to find work immediately.

#6 Both jobseekers and employers fear "ghosting".

A little over half of the employers in the survey said they were frustrated by unresponsive applicants, while at the same time, just over four in 10 jobseekers said getting ghosted by employers was their chief job search challenge. This, it was highlighted, as placed greater importance on the need for clearer communication between both parties.

#7 Candidates still want remote work, but say it is getting harder to find.

Jobseekers are struggling to find remote work, and employers are anticipating that candidates’ preference for remote work will continue to hinder their ability to hire in the next year, per the survey.

[ALSO READ: The hirer’s guide to filling hard-to-fill roles in Malaysia]

#8 Time will be of the essence to snag top talent.

A number of candidates said they would be more likely to apply for a job if the employer shortened the time it takes to complete an application. Moreover, close to 20% mentioned “long application processes” as a top job search challenge, and 26% want optional cover letters. Therefore, employers will need to show candidates that they value their time to attract the right hires.

#9 Candidates’ reasons for searching for work will vary dramatically.

General unhappiness with one’s current role was the main reason for searching for a new job, but one in five respondents selected "Other" and wrote in their response.

Responses spanned reasons including searching for a second or part-time job, returning to the workforce after taking care of children or elderly family members, coming out of retirement, leaving a business that is closing, and needing more flexibility. As a result, employers will have to find ways to better attract these talent and cater to these needs where best suited.

[ALSO READ: Workers in Malaysia and Singapore prefer flexible work arrangements over shorter workweek]

#10 Retirees are re-entering the workforce.

About 7.5% of jobseekers said they were retired and looking for a job – a 2.9% year-over-year increase. This underscores the upward trend of "unretirement" due to declining retirement funds and the increasing cost of living, the survey noted. Related, 22.5% of candidates surveyed were finding they are overqualified for jobs.

Image / Shutterstock

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