Talent Acquisition

Recruiting During Recession: 5 Fatal Mistakes To Avoid

Recession is an unfortunate, but natural part of the economic cycle. One of the sectors first affected by economic downturns is recruitment.

When an economy slows down, companies are often forced to implement cost-cutting measures to maintain profitability or keep the business afloat. One of the first actions usually taken is stopping active recruitment. Mass layoffs frequently follow, creating a new labor market, where unemployment soars while the number of open vacancies dwindles. This is called an employer-driven market.

This has been the case in the post-COVID economy. High inflation, rising interest rates, and other factors have caused global growth to slow down, with prospects still seeming uncertain.

HR and talent acquisition teams face a lot of uncertainty and a whole new set of challenges brought on by a slow labor market. Teams get downsized, but results are still expected when recruitment needs arise.

How can you navigate the challenging landscape of recruitment in an economic downturn or a full-on recession? We have compiled a 5-point list of things to avoid, so your company can succeed and emerge as a winner out of even the most challenging times.

When many companies are downsizing, the labor market becomes flooded with qualified candidates, creating an opportunity to secure rare talent that might otherwise be unavailable.

1. Stop Building Your Talent Pipeline And Employer Brand

A common mistake companies make during an economic downturn is stopping all their recruitment and marketing activities altogether.

By doing so, your company might miss out on some genuine diamonds in the open market. When many companies are downsizing, the labor market becomes flooded with qualified candidates, creating an opportunity to secure rare talent that might otherwise be unavailable. Candidates see companies that recruit during hard times as reliable and attractive employers. Hiring during a recession can also increase the new hires’ commitment to your company.

Even when active recruitments are on hold, talent acquisition teams should uphold proactive measures to establish and maintain a healthy talent pipeline. Having an up-to-date talent pool is one of the best ways to reduce cost per hire. Employer-driven market is also an opportunistic chance to grow your talent pipeline, due to the sheer volume of active job seekers.

When budgets tighten, it is all too enticing to achieve savings by stopping or reducing recruitment marketing activities. The value of top-of-mind awareness is something marketers have known for decades, and it should be applied to building your employer brand too. A true top-of-mind can be achieved only by constant communication and marketing.

Recessionary periods provide companies investing in building their employer brand with an opportunity to stand out. Even though more and more companies are realizing the value of investing in employer branding during a bad economy, you can maximize your visibility and see reduced costs on marketing platforms due to lower demand and competition.

2. Don’t Adapt Your Recruitment Process For High Candidate Volumes

The shift from a candidate-driven market to an employer-driven market leads to new challenges and pain points for recruiting teams.

When companies experience a prolonged employee shortage, recruitment processes are optimized to maximize reach and volume. Job ads are tinkered with to make them appeal to a broader audience and incentives are a must to attract top talent. A lot of time is allocated to sourcing candidates when traditional job ads don’t deliver the desired results.

In an employer-driven market, priorities shift. With a surplus of job seekers and qualified candidates compared to available positions, application volumes skyrocket. Recruiters and hiring managers need to adapt by crafting more targeted job ads so they attract only applicants that fit the search criteria. More time is required for application screening, candidate communication, and interviews.

Failing to adapt your recruitment process to an employer-driven market can lead to longer lead times, increased hiring costs, and a rise in dissatisfied candidates.

Recruiter greeting a candidate. Candidate experience is always the key, especially during economic downturn with less open positions.

3. Assume High Application Volumes Equals High Quality Candidates

While we have highlighted the potential gains of higher application volumes during low points of the economic cycle, it might have its downsides (as most things do).

A high number of applications received doesn’t necessarily correlate to more candidates at the final stages of your recruitment. Hence it is important to monitor your recruitment in real time to analyze if you are attracting the right candidates and whether the recruitment can be filled. This allows you to make the necessary tweaks and changes promptly, saving you time and money.

Hiring over-qualified candidates might lead to you looking for a replacement hire sooner than expected.

4. Don’t Account For Person-Job Fit With Overqualified Candidate

While it’s true that more top talents are let go by struggling companies during a recession, you still need to do your due diligence. Hiring a senior-level professional just because they are available might not always work out.

Careful screening and interviewing are crucial in identifying the best fit for your needs and organization even in an oversaturated job market. Are the candidates motivated? Are they truly interested in working for you? Is the position in question something they are satisfied with long-term? Are they a cultural fit in addition to their matching skills?

A tough economic environment leads to job seekers lowering their requirements. Once the job market heats up, the “settlers” might be eager to jump boats at the first sight of greener pastures. Hiring over-qualified candidates might lead to you looking for a replacement hire sooner than expected. And there are no guarantees that there will be a cornucopia of qualified candidates once the time arrives.

Maybe that junior-level candidate might have been the right choice after all…

People have long memories, and oversaturated job markets don’t last forever.

5. Fall back on old habits – Ignoring Candidate Experience

Companies at large finally awoke to the importance of communication and candidate experience during a period of talent shortage. Once the job market cooled off and the workforce availability turned into a surplus, candidates have reported the old recruitment horror stories raising their ugly heads once more: ghosting, radio silence, long and over-complicated recruitment processes to name a few.

It is easy to forget about candidate engagement when each active recruitment receives hundreds, if not thousands, of applications. But that is when the true worth of your organization is measured in candidates’ eyes. People have long memories, and oversaturated job markets don’t last forever.

Delivering exceptional candidate experiences every single time is the best employer branding.