CareerPlug has partnered with ZipRecruiter to explore trends, challenges, opportunities in the COVID-19 landscape, as well as share hiring best practices for business owners to put their best foot forward when it comes to attracting new talent. 

In this webinar recorded in June 2020, Clint Smith (Founder & President of CareerPlug), Natalie Morgan (Director of HR at CareerPlug), and Jodie Beals (Partnerships at ZipRecruiter) share data that sheds light on: 

• Hiring and job seeker behavior over the last few months
• Recruiting challenges through COVID-19 and how to overcome them
• Keys to success to apply to your business

Here are a few highlights from the webinar: 

How do employees and job seekers feel about returning to work? 

ZipRecruiter presented recent data that showed a rising level of optimism among employees, reporting that the majority (70%) expected to retain their jobs over the next month and (60%) were satisfied with their employers’ response to COVID-19. This data is supported by CareerPlug’s recent COVID-19 employment study, which found similar results.

We’re also seeing more jobs being posted by employers and an increase in applicant flow — further signs of stabilization and optimism in the job market. 

What can employers do to connect with candidates? 

Clint Smith shared: “People are looking to know what the compensation and benefits are upfront. If you don’t have that in your job description, I would really consider adding something in there about that […] it might be the difference between a candidate clicking on your posting or not. 

[Job seekers] are also valuing safety. They want to know how you are keeping them safe and how you’re focused on keeping customers safe. First and foremost recognize that this is important. Then, provide whatever detail you can in your job descriptions. 

The last thing is authenticity. People more than ever are craving authenticity. They want to know who they are working with and that they can trust you. A lot of people got burnt by [COVID-19] and laid off right out of the blue. It reminds me of what happened in 2008 […] it really had candidates take stock of their lives and what they really want out of work. 

This is one of the moments in our lives where we’re really open to making big changes. People are looking for connections and purpose. If you can be really clear about what your mission is, what your core values are, and what you really want to achieve as a company — even some more information about what situation you are in right now — it is going to ring true for so many candidates and be a real magnet for them to work for you.”

What can employers do now to prepare to hire? 

Natalie Morgan shared a few action items to help business owners get ready to hire when the time is right, including focusing on internal improvements like: 

• Hiring manager training or reinvigorating your hiring process
• Updating (or creating) your referral strategy to take advantage of current employees and customers
• Revising job descriptions and your careers page to enhance your employment brand

Clint Smith added, “We’re seeing some things come back and recover, but it’s still tough out there right now. Think about what you can control in the whole process and work on improving those aspects. If the pie might be a little bit smaller, what changes can you make to get a larger slice of that smaller pie? […] It’s not always about getting more applicants at the top of the funnel. A lot of times, it’s about how well are you converting these applicants to interviews and ultimately to hires.” 

ZipRecruiter Partnership

CareerPlug also announced our new partnership with ZipRecruiter. All CareerPlug clients can opt-in to a free 30-days of sponsored jobs with ZipRecruiter where they can expect to see an increase in applicant flow. 
CareerPlug users can learn more here.