Industry Hiring Trends During COVID-19

Industry Hiring Trends have changed during the lockdown which has caused irreparable damage to the economies of countries around the world. It is predicted that around 37 million people would lose their jobs. The pandemic has already rendered most activities impossible which has in turn impacted the global economy negatively. With the world in such a dire state, governments are trying their best to prepare themselves for a financial crisis and come up with fiscal policies. Trying to find a silver lining in the cloud, many have brought up the argument that recession brings about more innovation as one has seen post the 2008 financial crisis.

While clear that the world as we know it will change, the hiring trends in various industries are also expected to change:

“Shift to Virtual Platforms”

The pandemic put a stop to face-to-face communication and as a result, virtual interviews became the norm. Automated systems that can set up the means to hold such online interactions are gradually becoming popular among organizations. These systems keep the recruiters connected to the candidates through the process of interviewing. Candidates also keep getting regular updates on their status. 

This change to the digital will last even after the pandemic due to its easy accessibility.  A report suggests that video interviews have seen a 67% spike and there is also a 150% increase in candidates who digitize their CVs with a video. Some companies like Google and Amazon have already started paving the way with their adoption of videoconferencing apps such as Google Hangouts and Amazon Chime to conduct interviews. Around 74% of CFOs are ready to allow employees to work remotely even after the pandemic. Several companies are currently playing with the idea of online interaction to manage the situation. 

“A Surge in Candidate Applications”

While a large percentage of people all around the world face job losses, it is likely that the economy will suffer and recovery will be slow. In such a scenario, a surge in the number of applications received by companies seems plausible. Reports show that youngsters will be hard hit by the pandemic and will either lose their jobs or see a decrease in their incomes. Thus, newer candidates will have to compete with the more experienced ones for jobs.

By June, the number of unemployment insurance claims in the US itself had doubled due to the virus and its effects, as you can understand from this graph. As remote working gains more popularity, location will no longer remain an issue, and applications from around the world will increase. While any job advertisement receives around 59 applicants on average, in a post-pandemic world it will increase to 250 applicants per position. 

“Online University Recruitment“

The university recruitment strategies were witnessing a transformation even before COVID hit the world. Digital portfolios, phone interviews, and social media advertisements were becoming increasingly common to gather new employees. The post-COVID world will see the shift becoming more apparent. According to a study, almost 73% of recruiters are visibly making efforts for marketing during this time. There is an increase of 18% in content marketing, 15% in organic growth, 28% towards online advertisements, and 12% more social media marketing. Companies depend on social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook to draw in employees. Email marketing is also becoming more popular. 

“Middle-management Job Positions might suffer“

During the 2008 recession, middle management positions were dropped by companies and predicted to follow in 2021 as well. This is more possible in tech companies. Capgemini has opted for a consulting tool called Watson by IBM, that assigns people to projects. The only disadvantage is that there will be fewer managers who can have a high number of direct reports which may bring about mismanagement and create chaos. 

While these changes are bound to happen after the pandemic some industries will do better while others suffer. A minimum number of employees have been affected by the pandemic in these sectors and the economy will depend on them to bring about revival. 

1. News and Entertainment 

The lockdown has reduced people to turn to the television for contact with the outside world. Each day, more and more people are turning to 24/7 news channels that help keep them updated about the status of the pandemic or for other reasons. Media houses thus are seeing an increase in consumption.

Similarly, subscription-based entertainment has seen an increase in the number of consumers. There is a high probability that consumers across the globe will mirror the Chinese consumers who have downloaded the most number of gaming and entertainment apps and made a new record.

Streaming platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime saw a massive surge in downloads during the lockdown, and the stocks of Netflix rose by 14% in April. 

2. Pharmaceutical

While most industries are suffering severely due to the lockdown, the pharmaceutical industry is doing well. In this pandemic, they are among the fastest-moving products. Pharma companies all over the world are pitting against each other to come up with a vaccine and investors are sending funds for the process to move faster. Governments are trying to frame policies that will limit the profit these companies make from the situation but they will still profit from the crisis in one way or the other.

3. Touchless and Homebody Economy  

The touchless and homebody economy comprises those industries that provide services so you don’t need to move from your homes. Your broadband service provider. Delivery persons, or the meeting app that lets you call your family and colleagues. The homebody and the touchless economy stays in the background. It allows you to do everything while staying in your home. Social distancing has made it an important tool in recent times. Zoom, a popular video-conferencing app has seen a record number of downloads, and Zoom stock prices have reportedly gone up to $150 from $65 with an increase of over $42 billion in overall market cap. Amazon, Grofers are more such companies that have benefited from the ongoing situation.

4. FMCG

Fast-moving consumer goods. Especially non-durable goods another industry expected to grow during the pandemic. The food and grocery stores are still in function during such times and consumer goods are selling well.

5. BFSI

Banking, Financial Services and Insurance have not suffered much. To recover from their losses, businessmen and companies are applying and will do more so in recent months, for loans. Banks, to accommodate consumers, have begun slashing their rates of interest. Such consumer-friendly policies benefit everybody and will keep the industry afloat in the ongoing crisis. 

6. Online Education and Remote Learning

To reskill themselves or simply to learn something new, many people are using education platforms. Many of these platforms have understood the need of the hour and are offering free courses or courses related to specific industries to draw in the crowd.  This trend will not die even after the pandemic because of the convenience of use.

Several countries where the number of people who have lost their jobs due to restructuring and automation is high have taken to these online learning websites now so that they can update their resume and apply to the opportunities and positions that have been created due to the pandemic.

While true that the demand for some jobs will decrease, in every sector, as more automation and data-based decision-making creep in, new employees will require to make processes more efficient.

Conclusion

COVID-19 has affected everybody and the economy is likely to suffer much damage. Each industry will undergo changes that will transform the world as we know it. Some industries will perform well while others such as tourism and hospitality will suffer for a while before gaining momentum. While changes are accommodated within the workplace.

We can only hope that organizations that survive the pandemic will view it as a learning experience. This will help equip themselves to handle such unexpected emergencies in the future. With that said. It is clear that only those who can adapt to survive will stay for the long run while others will perish. Job data is increasing in demand and industries want reliable job data from job aggregator tools like JobsPikr. Quality job feeds data in easy to use formats.