Dive Brief:

• Job seekers are slowly but surely gaining an advantage over employers in today's talent marketplace, so taking a best practices approach is more important than ever, according to an iCIMS’ report on national hiring trends over the course of 2015
• The iCIMS report, says author Josh Wright, chief economist, iCIMS, also found that some employers have a definite edge over others, so smart recruiters should boost their focus on social media in marketing open positions and delivering the most user friendly application process possible to entice job candidates.
• Wright says advances in HR software have been of major importance, as the data they generate can be used to benchmark performance, while also "increasing the pressure to keep up with their competition."

Dive Insight:

According to Wright, significant costs result from the growing talent war, citing the CEB estimate that the average vacancy costs upwards of $500 a day per open position. Over 44 days, iCIMS found that could add up to as much as $22,000 in lost recruiting costs and productivity per open position.

But employers that optimize their social media presence and functionality can blunt those losses. For example, Wright singles out the leisure and hospitality industry, which led other industries with a 41-day average turnaround time to hire by using social media effectively.

Based on early 2016 job data, landing the right talent will only get tougher for recruiters. As they scour the market for talent, costs will continue to rise, so using social media is a clear strategy to help offset those rising costs and boost recruiter effectiveness.