In cooperation with the Centre of Human Resources Information Systems and Monster, the University of Bamberg has developed a Empirical company study on the 2019 recruiting trends. The top 1000 companies and top 300 IT companies were asked about their recruitment practices. In total, over 3,300 candidates provided information in the study. We have summarised 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 looking for candidates when a vacancy is difficult to fill. In the IT sector, almost all companies make use of active sourcing in this case. This allows recruiters to search specifically for the right specialists. This type of direct approach to candidates makes particular sense for IT companies that are reliant on well-trained staff. In general, however, it makes sense for all companies that have difficulties filling vacancies. Because only with "post and Pray" is by no means enough. Latent candidates make up 30 to 50 per cent of the employee market and would be prepared 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 CV, published on various professional networks, enables recruiters to pre-select candidates. By directly addressing right potentials, latent candidates in particular are addressed.

Other reasons for publishing profiles are for candidates to build up work networks and exchange professional information. Networking in particular and staying in contact can help to fill positions in the future.

GENERATION OF NEW HIRES FROM THE COMPANY'S PERSPECTIVE

3/4 of new hires in the IT sector are created via recruiting channels.

1/4 of new hires in the IT sector are generated via active sourcing. This share has increased by 5.7 percentage points compared to 2018. We believe that this trend will continue to increase in the future.

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

7 out of 10 top 1,000 companies and 8 out of 10 IT companies are positive about the use of social media channels for recruiting. Nevertheless, 9 out of 10 companies are still of the opinion that recruiters need to acquire new skills through this method. A broad knowledge of the technical functions and communicative conditions in different networks is definitely part of doing the job properly. Furthermore, companies should not underestimate the time that an employee has to spend on social recruiting.

The use of social media for recruitment is also viewed positively by candidates: 7 out of 10 candidates think this is a good thing. In addition, more than half of candidates believe that companies are expected to look for job adverts on social platforms.

We conclude from this that candidates like it when companies utilise the potential of Web 2.0 and are active where their target group is. Companies thus show that they are taking a step towards the applicants. These companies are also moving with the times and suggesting that they are modern, which positions them as an attractive employer.

WHICH SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS DO COMPANIES USE FOR RECRUITING?

XING is the business network that most companies use to publish job adverts. In addition, the majority of the top 1,000 companies use Facebook for image advertising, whereas XING is also often used by IT companies for this purpose. In general, however, LinkedIn is also on the rise, especially for networking, and is also not wrong for active sourcing!

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 1,000 companies for publishing job adverts and image advertising, with usage of both more than doubling.

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

The active sourcing trends show that XING, LinkedIn and Facebook, in that order, are the channels most frequently used by candidates to search for job advertisements and further information about the company. Career networks therefore 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, but the use of Instagram for information and job searches is increasing among candidates. Scientists nevertheless expect that searches via Instagram and Snapchat will continue to increase 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 consider the cost-benefit ratio of active sourcing to be positive, which can be explained by the fact that companies reach candidates through active sourcing that they would not reach through normal recruiting. Almost 2 in 10 candidates have changed their position due to a direct approach, even though they were not actively looking for a new job. 36.4 per cent of candidates have applied to a company as a result of active sourcing that they would not otherwise have considered.

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 poorer light after repeated enquiries. 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 particularly annoyed if the contact requests are standardised without any personal reference. However, you can easily counteract this 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 contacted in order to avoid duplication when writing to them.