How Has COVD-19 Affected Your Hiring Process?
Author: Sam Bauer Published: Sept 2020
There seems to be a lot of rumors flying around when it comes to hiring in the pandemic. Which is fair, considering the world economy was thrown upside down five months ago and we still haven’t felt the full impact of this pandemic. Plenty of companies are engaging in mass hiring but the national unemployment rate is record high with an additional mass of college graduates entering the workforce. With so much up in the air, it's hard to tell anything substantial about recruitment in this economy.
One tangible effect of the virus is how many companies have switched over to online interviewing and recruitment in lieu of seeing potential candidates in person. In an article by Scott Steinberg published on CNBC, He points out the impressive statistic that 84% of recruiters have switched to remote interviewing. Of that number, more than half have shifted to using online job boards to widen their search for potential employees. Places who have resisted adapting with the internet so far, seem to have gotten the message: change or get left behind when the economy starts moving in earnest.
This isn’t to say that companies don’t value face to face interviews. But the likelihood of that screening process being used for lower level positions is dwindling. Those who have been glued to the job boards might have already noticed this change. Big corporations like Amazon, Stop & Shop, and UPS have a questionnaire applicants fill out; questions about work ethic and past habits of taking office supplies. If the vacancy, resume, and answers all check out, then the process is over. Keep that in mind when applying for jobs. If you’re looking at an executive position, I wouldn’t skip out on practice interviews. But if you are a brave soul trying to be a grocery store worker in this insane time, don’t count on an interview being part of the process.