The Changing World of Recruitment
Over the years, there have been several changes in the recruitment strategies of corporate. For many years, the recruitment process used to consist of a newspaper ad announcing vacancies, followed by shortlisting potential candidates and then asking them to take a technical test and a psychometric (personality assessment) test, culminating in a face to face interview.
With the advances in technology, the recruitment process has changed dramatically to the extent that nowadays cutting-edge HR (Human Resource) tools and software-enabled by AI (Artificial Intelligence) and Big Data methodologies allow recruiters to sift through potentially countless numbers of resumes.
In addition, the psychometric tests too have become more sophisticated to the extent that the evolution of such tests can be seen in the way manual (paper and pen) was replaced by automated (online) and which in turn has been digitized.
Indeed, now, psychometric profiling is done by combining the social media profiles and the online footprint of the candidates that are mined to form a personality profile of the potential candidates.
Personality Assessment, Technical Testing, and Face to Face Interviews
Apart from that, the technical tests are no longer one-shot affairs. Instead, there is a tendency for corporates to shortlist a fewer number of candidates and then call them for elaborate and thorough interviews.
These interviews are first conducted over the phone or Skype and depending on the results; the candidates are called for face to face interviews. Again, the face to face interview format has also undergone a change wherein the interviews are often a full day or at least half day affairs that are very rigorous and demanding for the interviewers.
Indeed, in our experience, we have attended interviews where breakfast and lunch was served and we were asked to present a PowerPoint on a given topic or case study and then required to solve the case study.
While all this can seem daunting for potential candidates, our rejoinder is that the recruitment strategies are becoming tougher due to the stakes involved.
In other words, corporates no longer want to spend their time and energy in going through dozens of shortlisted candidates and conducting the entire process for each of them. Instead, they are using technology to whittle down the list of candidates to as fine and granular fitment as possible and only then, proceed with the face to face interviews.
As we shall discuss next, this has implications for the candidates who wish to be recruited to their dream companies.
Some Tips for Potential Candidates on How to Benefit from the Changes
For instance, if you are a fresher who is looking to be placed, then you must register in any of the numerous online portals and complete your profile and upload your resume. As the discussion above indicates, you need to have as crisp as possible resumes that highlight your skill sets and underline your key strengths.
We have known contemporaries who have spent weeks on building their resumes. Next, you need to understand the importance of keyword placement in your resumes. With latest technological tools, recruiters are sent only those profiles that closely match the requirements.
The point to note here is that in an essentially busy world and a 24/7 business environment, both recruiters and you alike do not have much time to ponder.
A key aspect of the present recruitment process is that once the initial shortlist is completed and the psychometric profiling is done along with the technical tests, the last stage of the process is where time seems to hang still when compared to the frenetic and frenzied pre shortlist phase. Thus, it makes sense for you to devise a strategy for each stage of the recruitment process.
Using Social Media and Online Digital Footprint
This can take the form of using networking sites such as LinkedIn to reach out to potential recruiters. You need to outline your skills in as brief manner as possible. Apart from this, as noted earlier, chances are that recruiters would access your digital footprint and then match it to their requirements to arrive at the fitment.
So, be careful about what you post on Facebook or online and be sure that you are not revealing your personal information more than what is necessary. It helps if you study the detailed JD or Job Description so that you are aware of the minutiae or the fine print.
Another suggestion is that you prepare a compelling cover letter or a description of your profile or personal summary. Indeed, even in earlier years, recruiters had a minute or less to look at your resumes.
Now, with all the tools and parsing software, you do need to market yourself to the maximum extent possible. In addition, ensure that psychometric tests are taken with utmost seriousness. With personality fitment becoming very important, corporates need to have as close matches to their requirements as possible.
