Top 4 Recruitment Firm Trends You Need to Know

LinkedIn 2013 Global Recruiting Trends 1
Top 4 Recruitment Firm Trends
You Need to Know
US Snapshot
©2013 LinkedIn Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
2013 Global
Recruiting Trends

The US Recruitment Firm Landscape at a Glance
1
4 most important trends shaping the future of recruitment firms
2
3
4
Recruitment market is heating up, especially in the United States
Social professional networks are increasingly driving quality of hire
Firms must close the passive talent “capabilities gap” to stay competitive
Context and content in marketing are more important than ever
LinkedIn has conducted its 3rd Annual Global Recruiting Trends survey in 12 countries.
We surveyed over 1,500 recruitment firm leaders to capture their thoughts on what keeps them up at night, trends in
the recruitment industry, and key sources for high-quality placements. We distilled all this and more into 4 key trends
you need to know, as a strategic recruitment leader, to be most effective to your candidates, your clients, and your
company.
For details on survey methodology, please see page 24.
To access global and other country-specific reports, visit LINK

Recruitment market is heating up
Especially in the United States
1

US hiring growth is far outpacing global growth
“Considering only full and part-time professional
employees, how do you expect the volume of candidates
placed by your organization to change this year? ”
2013 Placement Volume
Full-time and part-time
4%
10%
12%
23%
84%
67%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
“Considering only contractors, interim and temporary
professionals, how do you expect the volume of candidates
placed by your organization to change this year?”
2013 Placement Volume
Contractors, interim and temporary
7%
15%
21%
28%
72%
57%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Same
Decrease
Increase

And hiring volume remains healthy in 2013, but budgets
have not kept up – requiring firms to do more with less
“How has your organization’s budget for recruiting
solutions changed this year?”
Recruitment Budgets
7% 4%
40% 45%
53% 51%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
2012 2013
Same
Decrease
Increase
“Considering only full and part-time professional
employees, how do you expect the volume of candidates
placed by your organization to change this year?
Placement Volume
Full-time and part-time
7% 4%
15%
12%
78%
84%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
2012 2013

At the same time, competition is high in the
recruitment market
“What are your company’s biggest obstacles to attracting the best talent?”
Biggest obstacles to attracting top talent
Top 3 obstacles reflect a highly competitive landscape
Availability of quality talent 65%
Competition 46%
Offer made by client (includes compensation, role, location, etc.) 33%
Recruiting team too small 16%
Inability to effectively use data to improve our approach 11%
Recruiting team skills 11%
Lack of familiarity with my firm’s brand 11%
Recruiting team doesn’t have the right tools/systems 10%
Lack of familiarity with client’s brand 8%

1. Number of placements 40%
2. Client satisfaction 20%
3. Quality of placement 16%
4. Candidate submittals 9%
5. Time to place 3%
In this environment, efficiency is prized more than ever
“What is the single most valuable metric that you use to track your recruiting team’s performance today?”
Top 5 most valuable metrics for recruitment firms
Number of placements prioritized above all

Social professional networks
Increasingly driving quality of hire
2

Social professional networks are #1 source of key quality
hires by far
“Think about the key quality hires that your organization placed in 2012. Which of the following were the most
important sources for those key positions?”
Top 5 sources of quality hires
1. Social professional networks 63% 59%
2. ATS / internal candidate database 40% 45%
3. Internet resume databases 37% 31%
4. Internet job boards 35% 39%
5. Employee referral programs 32% 20%

Social professional networks also the #1 long-lasting trend
“What do you consider to be the three most essential and long-lasting trends in recruiting for professional roles?”
Top long-lasting trends
Utilizing social and professional networks 69% 70%
Finding better ways to source passive candidates 65% 56%
Using an internal database to manage talent leads 39% 39%
Boosting referral programs 30% 25%
Reducing dependence on traditional job boards 24% 21%
Posting jobs online 18% 24%
Using mobile for recruiting 18% 18%
Upgrading branding/marketing for staffing firms 16% 21%

1. Use social networking and social media more effectively 28%
2. Build and nurture strong talent pools or pipelines 25%
3. Hire recruiters to strengthen the team 23%
4. Use data more effectively 22%
5. Invest in existing recruiting and/or tools (e.g., ATS, job boards, LinkedIn, etc.) 20%
In fact, recruitment leaders view social professional networks
as #1 competitive threat
“What are the things that your competitors have done or may plan on doing that would make you most nervous?”
Top 5 competitive threats in recruitment

Our favorite tips: Using LinkedIn to source and attract
high-quality candidates
1 It all starts with your profile.
Your profile is your first opportunity to build your personal brand as a recruiting
professional. Add a picture, get creative with your headline, and feature
recommendations. Your profile summary should articulate why you’re a trusted
partner. Think BRAND, not resume.
2 Engage your followers.
Make sure your firm has a Company Page on LinkedIn, where members can follow
your organization. Use Targeted Status Updates to share brand messaging,
company news and open positions with your follower base – you can target by
industry, function, geography and more.
3 Get involved in LinkedIn Groups.
There are more than 2M Groups on LinkedIn. Join recruiting groups or those
relevant to your key talent pools to keep your finger on the pulse. Participate in a
few to brand yourself as an expert. And consider creating a group about your firm
or industry to drive your company brand, build pipeline, and even source.
For more tips and best practices, visit: talent.linkedin.com.

The passive talent “capabilities gap”
Firms must close it to remain competitive
3

Passive talent is the #2 long-lasting trend
“What do you consider to be the three most essential and long-lasting trends in recruiting for professional roles?”
Utilizing social and professional networks 69% 70%
Finding better ways to source passive candidates 65% 56%
Using an internal database to manage talent leads 39% 39%
Boosting referral programs 30% 25%
Reducing dependence on traditional job boards 24% 21%
Posting jobs online 18% 24%
Using mobile for recruiting 18% 18%
Upgrading branding/marketing for staffing firms 16% 21%
Top long-lasting trends

56%34%
9% 1%
90% of firms focus on passive candidates; more than half
say passive talent is central to their recruiting strategy
“To what extent does your recruiting organization focus on hiring passive talent? (‘Passive talent:’ individuals who
are not actively looking for a job).”
To some extent
Very much so – it’s central to
our recruiting strategy
Not much
Not at all – we focus on
active candidates only
Focus on passive candidate recruiting

1. We get enough quality active candidates already 34%
2. We haven’t been successful at it in the past 28%
3. It takes too long 21%
4. We don’t have the tools to do it well 17%
5. We don’t know how to find passive candidates 14%
Reasons for not focusing more on passive talent reveal a
“capabilities gap”
“For which reasons does your organization typically not focus on hiring passive talent?”
Reasons for not focusing on passive talent
4 out of 5 top reasons show skill and tool deficiencies

Our favorite tips: Engaging passive candidates
1 Immerse yourself in the candidate’s world.
Get smarter on the industry, using sources like LinkedIn Today to keep up with
hot relevant topics. Research your prospect’s current role and leverage mutual
connections when possible.
2 Build relationships, avoid being transactional.
Send fewer, more targeted InMails. Compliment profiles sincerely, and ‘dangle
a carrot’ to lure them in rather than blasting out lengthy job descriptions. Ask to
connect and continue the dialogue.
3 Listen and adapt.
Invite candidates to talk about themselves, uncover their needs/motivations,
and keep detailed notes on their profiles or within LinkedIn Recruiter at every
touchpoint. Reflect on their input as you explain why your client’s opportunity is
right for them.
For more passive talent tips and best practices, visit: talent.linkedin.com/passivetalent.

Context and content in marketing
More important than ever for recruitment firms
4

39%
41%
16%
4%
Most firms spend money on marketing and advertising
“Does your company spend money to advertise your business?”
Yes, from time to time
Yes, on an ongoing basis
No
No response
Advertising Spend

Fastest-rising and falling marketing channels illustrate importance of
professional context and high-quality content in brand-building
“Which channels or tools have you found most effective in advertising your business?
Increase (+)
Decrease (-)
Fastest-Rising and Falling Marketing Channels
Top 10 Channels 2012 2013
Company website 61% 57% -4%
Online professional networks (e.g. LinkedIn) 47% 56% +9%
Friends/family, word of mouth 34% 37%
Traditional Job Boards 35% 32% -3%
Public relations efforts 13% 18% +5%
Social media (e.g. Facebook) 20% 16% -4%
Search engine marketing (SEM) 15% 13%
Content generation (whitepapers, blogs, etc.) 5% 10% +5%
Other online advertising 9% 10%
Public recognition/awards 9% 7%

Our favorite tips: Content marketing for recruitment firms
1 Plan.
Your objective: educate and convert a target audience (for example, your
customers or candidates) through high-quality content.
2 Target.
Identify a specific target market for your content. Ask yourself: What does that
person care about? What does he or she want to learn?
4 Distribute.
Share your content through channels including social media and your company’s
website and blog. On LinkedIn, distribute your content via company status
updates, your team’s personal status updates, targeted advertising, and LinkedIn
Groups.
For more content marketing tips and best practices, visit: http://lnkd.in/ContentWebcast.
3 Create.
The best content starts with a strong title that piques interest (e.g., “7 Common
Mistakes Made in the Hiring Process”) and delivers tangible tips or takeaways.

More information
&
Next steps

Talent Acquisition is…
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Trends Survey Sampling and Methodology
Data Comparisons
 Global comparisons are reported as un-weighted averages
from the noted countries
 Historical data comparisons are taken from 2012 Global
Recruiting Trends research, which had similar sampling
criteria and methodology to 2013
– 2013 survey fielded April-May 2013 with 292 US respondents
– 2012 survey fielded May-July 2012 with 416 US respondents
Survey Sample
 Survey respondents are talent acquisition
professionals who:
– work for a recruitment firm
– represent an even mix of small, medium and large
firms
– have at least some budget authority
– focus exclusively on recruiting professional hires for
clients
 Survey respondents are members of LinkedIn who
have opted to participate in research studies. They
were selected based on information in their
LinkedIn profile and contacted via email.
USA: 292
Canada: 200
UK: 188
China: 90
India: 170 Australia: 201
Nordics: 89
France: 101
Netherlands: 182

To learn more….
2013 Global Recruiting Trends Reports – Recruitment Firms
Global and Additional Countries: LINK
Subscribe to our Blog: talent.linkedin.com/blog/
Follow us on SlideShare: slideshare.net/LinkedInRecruitmentFirms
Follow us on Twitter: @hireonlinkedin
Follow us on YouTube: youtube.com/user/LITalentSolutions
Discover additional insights: talent.linkedin.com
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Top 4 Recruitment Firm Trends You Need to Know

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