The University of Bamberg, in collaboration with the Centre of Human Resources Information Systems and Monster, has developed a empirical company study on the Recruiting Trends 2019. The top 1000 companies and top 300 IT companies were surveyed on application practices. In total, over 3,300 candidates provided information in the study. We have compiled the most important findings of the Active Sourcing Trends from our perspective for you and recommend how you can do better in 2020.

WHEN COMPANIES USE ACTIVE SOURCING TO FIND CANDIDATES

8 out of 10 top 1,000 companies are actively searching for candidates when the vacancy is difficult to fill. In the IT industry, almost all companies make use of active sourcing in this case. This allows HR managers to search for the right specialists in a targeted manner. This type of direct approach to candidates makes sense, especially for IT companies that rely on well-trained personnel. In general, however, it makes sense for all companies that have difficulties filling positions. Because only with "Post and Pray" is by no means enough. Latently searching candidates make up 30 to 50 percent of the employee market and would be willing to give up their current position for a better job. But: They are not looking for you, they want to be found!

WHY DO CANDIDATES PUBLISH THEIR PROFILES?

The main reason why candidates have a public online profile on career networks is the hope of being approached directly by attractive companies. The second reason given by candidates is the presentation of their professional career.

SOCIAL RECRUITING & ACTIVE SOURCING STUDY 2019 - UNIVERSITY OF BAMBERG

Accordingly, active sourcing should be one of the most suitable tools for many companies looking for suitable employees. The virtual resume, published on various professional networks, allows recruiters to make a pre-selection. By directly addressing right potentials, especially the latently searching candidates are addressed.

Other reasons for publishing profiles are for candidates to build up work networks and exchange professional information. Particularly through networking and by staying in contact, jobs can be filled in the future.

GENERATION OF NEW HIRES FROM THE COMPANY'S POINT OF VIEW

3/4 of new hires in the IT industry are created through recruiting channels.

1/4 of new hires in the IT industry are generated via active sourcing. The share of active sourcing has increased by 5.7 percentage points compared to 2018, and we believe this trend will continue to grow in the future.

recruiting via social media is largely viewed positively by companies and customers

7 out of 10 top 1,000 companies, as well as 8 out of 10 IT companies, are positive about using social media channels for recruiting. Nevertheless, 9 out of 10 companies still believe that recruiters need to acquire new skills through this method. A broad knowledge of the technical functions and communicative realities in different networks are definitely part of doing the job right. In addition, the time that an employee has to spend on social recruiting should not be underestimated by companies.

The use of social media for recruitment is also viewed positively by candidates: 7 out of 10 candidates think this is good. In addition, more than half of the candidates believe that it is expected from the company side to look for job advertisements on social platforms.

We conclude that candidates like it when companies exploit the potential of Web 2.0 and are active where their target group is. Companies thus show that they are taking a step toward candidates. In addition, these companies move with the times and suggest being modern, which positions them as an attractive employer.

WHICH SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS DO COMPANIES USE IN RECRUITING?

For publishing job advertisements, XING is the business network that most companies use. In addition, a large proportion of the top 1,000 companies use Facebook for image advertising, whereas XING is often used by IT companies for this purpose as well. In general, however, LinkedIn is also on the rise, especially for networking, and it's not wrong for active sourcing either!

In general, the use of all new social media channels has increased compared to 2018. For example, Instagram is used by the majority of the top 1,000th companies for publishing job ads and image promotion, with usage more than doubling for both.

WHICH SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS DO CANDIDATES USE TO SEARCH FOR JOB ADS & JOB INFORMATION?

The active sourcing trends show that XING, LinkedIn, and Facebook are the most frequently used by candidates for searching for job postings and further information about the company, in that order. Accordingly, career networks remain the most frequently used channels for obtaining information and searching for jobs among social media channels.

Searches via new social media channels are rather low, yet the use of Instagram for information and job search among candidates is increasing. Researchers nevertheless expect that searches via Instagram and Snapchat will continue to rise in the future. This is due to the existing trend of use in other areas.

OPPORTUNITIES & RISKS OF ACTIVE SOURCING 2020

Active sourcing offers opportunities for both companies and candidates.4 out of 10 top 1,000 companies and 7 out of 10 IT companies find the cost-benefit ratio of active sourcing to be positive.This can be justified by the fact that companies reach candidates through active sourcing that they would not reach through normal recruiting. For example, nearly 2 out of 10 candidates have changed positions because of direct approach, even though they were not actively looking for a new job. 36.4 percent of candidates have applied to a company they would not have otherwise considered because of active sourcing.

Nevertheless, there are also risks in active sourcing. For example, one in ten candidates is annoyed by too many direct approaches and sees the company in a worse light when it receives multiple inquiries. In Generation Z, however, this only applies to one in twenty candidates. There can be various reasons for a reaction like this. 7 out of 10 candidates are especially annoyed when the contact requests are standardized, without personal reference. However, this can easily be counteracted by adding some information about the person to the cover letter and calling them by name. In addition, a list should be kept of who has already been solicited to avoid duplication in the cover letter.