Recruitment Rocks! 5 feel-good factors for current and future recruiters

There has never been a more exciting time to be part of a profession that has the power to re-energise business performance change people’s lives for the better. In the words of industry evangelist Greg Savage: ‘Recruitment rocks”. And there are a number of external factors turning up the volume on recruitment as a fist-pumping career of choice. Here are some thoughts, and five feel-good factors for current and future recruiters:

1. It’s good to feel needed
   
   Despite the ongoing economic uncertainty, finding the right staff and skills remains top of the worry list for employers in many regions and sectors. Good recruitment is a source of competitive advantage, but employers need help. Which is where the expertise of recruitment professionals with a strong handle on the candidate market comes to the fore. Employers are also looking for external support in areas such as internal skills audits, diversity and employer brand. It’s good to feel needed!
    
2. The word is out: Flexible is best!
   
   A volatile economic landscape mitigates against long-term staffing plans. Within this context, recruitment professionals are key-masters to the crucial outlet that temporary and contract workers provide. Bettina Schaller, President of the World Employment Confederation frames this contribution as follows: “Recruitment professionals provide stability in a time of massive instability”. Increasing recognition for the importance of flexible staffing solutions drives recognition for the people making it happen on a daily basis: Us!
    
3. Big change creates big opportunities
   
   The world of work is in flux, and the pace of change is getting more frantic by the day. The expectations and needs of workers are constantly evolving, technology is changing the very nature of many jobs and new working patterns have become the new norm. Navigating a shape-shifting world of work is an arduous task. Arduous but fascinating. And recruitment professionals in the front line of a shape-shifting employment landscape can seize the opportunity of helping employers and candidates make sense of this Brave New World.
    
4. We all need a little human touch
   
   Recruitment professionals are at the forefront of balancing the ying and the yang of tech and touch. In the words of LinkedIn’s Caitriona Lannen O’Brien “recruitment professionals are not just enablers, they are connectors”. Recruiters are champions of ‘human-centricity’ at a time of tech-driven omnipotence – this was a core message of the REC’s Tech-Enabled Humanity report.
    
5. Recruiters make change happen
   
   Working in recruitment is a means of moving beyond good intentions and making real change happen on issues workplace diversity and inclusion. Recruitment professionals are also at the cutting-edge of understanding how an evolving skills landscape can create new opportunities for workers and provide a source of competitive advantage for employers. This is all part of the transactional to transformative metamorphosis!

The role and remit of a 21st century recruitment and employment professionals will continue to evolve. Being clear on what this evolution looks like is at the heart of attracting great people to the industry and helping them to flourish. Let’s keep the feel-good factors flowing!