This week we look at two sides of the same coin: experience. Company image and working environments are more important to Millennials’ career choices than pay. So is the recruitment experience that you provide still making the grade?

With unemployment rates at their lowest for nearly half a century, there has never been a better time for experienced jobseekers.

And, if GDPR for recruiters can cause headaches, don’t fret. Even the law makers are still getting it wrong.

UK Employment breaks new records

Are you struggling to find the right skills for roles? Chances are, you are not alone. This week, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published fresh jobs data for the UK employment market. The figures find the rate of unemployment at its lowest level for almost half a century.

The proportion of working-age adults who are currently in employment now stands at 75.6 per cent. It means that employment rates for the first quarter of 2018 were last seen in 1971.

If this makes challenging times for recruiters, then employers may not be finding it any easier. Competition for talent has seen weekly wages begin to increase. Pre-tax earnings grew above inflation, at a rate of approximately 0.4 per cent, for the first three months of this year.

Tom Hadley, of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) stated that the two factors were indeed connected. “Candidates are now in a better position. If moving jobs, there is a strong chance of getting a pay rise”, he speculated. “There are plenty of jobs out there for candidates with high, in-demand skills.”

Mr Hadley also noted that demand for skills was not limited to specialist industries, like the tech sector or the digital economy. “In sectors ranging from education to hospitality… we simply don’t have the number of people in this country to fill the vacancies businesses are creating.”

In a jobs market short on skills, it is increasingly the case that experience pays.

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Recruitment experience counts

Experience counts for a lot in recruitment. It is the first consideration of talent managers when searching for the right skills for a job. But what of the recruitment process itself? New data shows that that some agencies are neglecting the recruitment experience of their own candidates. How is this significant? Because it means that you may be throttling your own performance.

Recruitment software provider Cezanne HR recently polled 1,000 office staff. They found that 37.5 per cent of respondents had refused a a position after it was offered, at some point in their career.

Of those who had turned down a position, almost a third (30.58% ) said they had done so because of a poor recruitment experience. These experiences included: the interview process itself; the absence of follow-up communication; and negative associations with the employer’s brand.

Commentary on how Millennials and Generation Z prize brand ethos and outlook over financial reward is abundant. With the younger generations representing a growing portion of the jobs market, experience will become an increasingly potent factor in successful recruitment. What may be seen as a minor consideration for older generations could potentially make or break a deal for young professionals.

But how can over-stretched, under-resourced recruiters be expected to meet these high expectations? The solutions are not so out of reach as many might expect. Chatbots, talent trackers, and automated customer relationship management (CRM) recruitment software are accessible, light-touch options. Yet each one can make a big difference to your end results.

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Confused by GDPR? You’re not alone.

Have you been left confused by GDPR? You’re not alone: it seems that even the lawmakers have been getting it wrong.

With exactly a week to go until the new legislation comes into effect, one British member of parliament has revealed that MPs were given misleading advice on GDPR. Speaking in Parliament, Labour MP Chris Bryant described a recent GDPR orientation meeting for his staff. He said that GDPR experts had advised his team to delete all historical case work. The reason given? A lack of data subject consent.

The belief that all data will require consent is still one of the most persistent and misleading beliefs about the GDPR. Yet it is evidence of a wider, cultural failure to address data compliance obligations. One recent survey by Cezanne HR found that barely half (55.5%) of new recruits will undergo any form of data security training. If even lawmakers can’t get GDPR right, the rest of us should either take comfort in that fact – or be very worried indeed!

As we enter the final week before the General Data Protection Regulation comes into effect, eBoss will be making sure that all of our free GDPR resources for recruiters are easily available to our customers and subscribers. Want to keep up to date? Then subscribe to our newsletter!