Demand for recruiters is up as the role becomes advisory

Dive Brief:

Demand for recruiters has grown 63% since 2016, according to a new LinkedIn report. That surge is likely the result of recruiters' changing role and expanding duties in sourcing talent in a tight labor market, research suggests. In fact, recruiters are increasingly taking on an advisor role in their organizations.
A recruiter's career path is shifting into one that requires business acumen, with one in three recruiting heads coming out of business development, operations and sales, the report said. This means that recruiters will commonly use metrics to track not just actions but also outcomes, including performance ratings, engagement, retention and the quality of talent. They’ll also invest more in technology to attract quality talent.
LinkedIn also said recruiters will need new skills, including the ability to engage passive candidates; analyze talent data to drive decisions; and advise hiring managers and business leaders.

Dive Insight:

Recruiting is destined to change thanks to the unprecedented challenges today's recruiters are facing. In fact, more than half of HR leaders in a study by Kronos and The Human Capital Institute said they planned on changing their hiring strategies because finding quality talent takes far longer, is costlier and is more difficult overall.

Those same forces have driven recruiters to shift their screening practices, too. Some things that were once "red flags" are no longer deal breakers, for example. And a new focus on skills and experience has emerged, with recruiters increasingly eschewing degree requirements. This shift, which requires hiring professionals to distinguish the "must haves" from the "nice to haves," has driven recruiters into more of an advisory role to business, as well.

This shift to a strategic function has been encouraged from the top, too. Nearly 70% of CEOs responding to a 2018 Paychex poll said they need help with talent-related strategies, like developing leaders, worker performance and pre-hire selection — paving the way for HR to claim a seat at the table.