Future of recruiting

Here’s One New Year’s Resolution Every Recruiter Should Make

We may already be in week two of 2013, but it’s never too late to commit to important resolutions. And I have a whopper for talent acquisition professionals everywhere: make 2013 the year you truly embrace data-driven recruiting.

There was plenty of buzz about the rise of analytics in the HR and recruiting industry last year. The Wall Street Journal did a feature on MoneyBall and the HR Department, for instance; Glen Cathey's been on the case for a while; and last month Nathan Parcells argued why your next HR hire should be a data scientist. But don’t let the coverage fool you. Most people simply aren’t there.

In fact, our 2012 global recruiting trends research offers up this sobering fact:

Only 26 percent of recruiting leaders globally say their organization uses data well to make hiring decisions. And the number was similar in virtually every one of the 15 countries we surveyed, with the exception of India.

It’s not all doom and gloom though. The tools, technologies and packaged insights are there, more than ever. And some folks really do get it. Take Jim Stroud, for instance, who published this thought-provoking piece on his blog yesterday about predictive analytics for sourcing, and his personal vision of how LinkedIn data might someday be used to make better informed recruiting decisions (note these are Jim's views, not mine or LinkedIn's).

Read Jim’s post. Reflect on how data-driven you and your team are today. Resolve to do better. Seek out the resources that can get you there. And stay tuned to this blog where we’ll be profiling data-driven recruiting leaders over the course of the year.

For insights on the supply and demand for software engineers, marketers,  financial services professionals and more in the US and Europe, download our free talent pools research from the LinkedIn Talent Solutions Slideshare channel.

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