Category: Talent Advisory

Social Media for Talent Acquisition: Building Your Employer Brand in the Digital Age

Posted on by akessler

Social Media for Talent Acquisition

Building Your Employer Brand in the Digital Age

Is Your Social Media Strategy Actually Attracting Talent—Or Just Broadcasting Jobs?

86% of candidates say your social media presence influences whether they apply. But nearly half find your employee content barely engaging.

The gap between social media’s potential and how most organizations use it for recruitment has never been wider. While talent acquisition leaders recognize the importance of digital employer branding, too many are still treating social platforms like job boards—missing the real opportunity to build relationships and shape perceptions.

Download this comprehensive ebook to discover how leading organizations are leveraging social media to build authentic employer brands that actually resonate with today’s candidates.

What You’ll Learn:

  • Navigate the evolving platform landscape
    Understand which platforms matter most for recruitment, from LinkedIn’s 1.2 billion users to TikTok’s emerging influence with early career talent (18% of candidates now use it for job searching).
  • Create content that candidates actually want to engage with
    Move beyond “we’re hiring” posts. Learn proven strategies for authentic storytelling that showcases your culture, highlights employee experiences, and connects with Gen Z’s sophisticated content expectations.
  • Master platform-specific strategies
    Get tactical guidance for LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and emerging platforms—with actionable tips tailored to each channel’s unique audience and culture.
  • Build genuine community through authentic engagement
    Discover why modern candidates can instantly spot inauthentic content—and how to create interactions that feel like genuine human connection rather than corporate speak.
  • Measure what actually matters
    Learn the Outthink Index framework for evaluating social media success beyond vanity metrics. Track Social Impact (engagement & influence), Social Authority (voice & credibility), and Social Reach (community growth)—the dimensions that truly drive recruitment outcomes.

Get instant access to Social Media for Talent Acquisition: Building Your Employer Brand in the Digital Age and discover data-driven insights, platform-specific strategies, and actionable frameworks to transform your social media presence from forgettable to magnetic.

How We Delivered a Specialized Hiring Project to Support a Mid-Sized Organization’s Growth

Posted on by akessler
How We Delivered a Specialized Hiring Project to Support a Mid-Sized Organization’s Growth

How We Delivered a Specialized Hiring Project to Support a Mid-Sized Organization’s Growth

PeopleScout’s specialized hiring project enabled a mid-sized automotive reconditioning provider to scale from 15 to 330+ hires per month within four months, transforming a three-month pilot into a two-year partnership supporting 1,000 annual hires.

2 week implementation
22 x increase in hiring volume in just four months
3 month hiring project expanded into a comprehensive RPO engagement

Situation

A provider of automotive reconditioning services exemplifies the talent acquisition challenges that mid-sized, specialized service companies face when competing for skilled workers in tight labor markets. The organization needed to dramatically improve their recruitment process and speed-to-hire for their skilled hourly workers, including highly specialized industrial painters—roles that require specific technical expertise and are in limited supply. Like many growing mid-market companies, the organization lacked the internal resources and specialized recruitment capabilities needed to effectively compete for this scarce talent.

The scope of their challenge became clear through their ambitious growth trajectory: they needed to scale from just 15 hires per month to over 330 hires within a four-month period. This increase in hiring volume that would be impossible to achieve through their existing recruitment approaches, so the organization engaged PeopleScout for a specialized hiring project.

Solution

Our approach centered transforming the client’s talent acquisition through strategic expansion and dedicated resources. We began with a focused pilot program utilizing a team of five recruiters, but the success of this initial phase enabled us to expand the account team to 16 within just two weeks, including one recruiting manager, 10 recruiters, five coordinators, plus marketing, analyst, and global support resources. This scalable model demonstrates the flexibility and responsiveness that specialized hiring projects can provide to mid-sized organizations.

In addition to recruitment, we provided comprehensive talent advisory services including deep-dive market analysis across the country, full persona development for all positions in scope, complete job description rewrites, and strategic guidance tailored to their industry. Our technology implementation included launching an updated Power BI Reporting & Analytics Suite while leveraging their existing Workday system with our expert recommendations for optimization. The project team deployed multifaceted sourcing strategies including automated sourcing software, marketing-optimized sourcing scripts, and regional and national career days specifically designed to attract skilled hourly workers and industrial painters.

Key Success Factors

  • Specialized Hiring Project Model: Dedicated, time-bound approach perfect for rapid scaling needs
  • Lightning-Fast Team Deployment: 16 person account team onboarded in 2 weeks
  • Scalable Resources: Team expansion from 5 to 16 within 30 days to meet demand
  • Industry Expertise: Deep understanding of automotive and skilled trades recruitment
  • Technology Integration: Seamless integration with existing Workday system plus enhanced analytics
  • Comprehensive Support: Full spectrum from talent advisory to marketing to global compliance

Results

The specialized hiring project delivered transformational results that exceeded all expectations, enabling the client to achieve their ambitious scaling goals of growing from 15 to 330+ hires within just four months. This remarkable 22x increase in hiring volume was accomplished while maintaining quality standards for their specialized skilled hourly and industrial painter positions—roles that are notoriously difficult to source and hire at scale.

The impact extended far beyond the immediate hiring surge, with the initial three-month project expanding into a comprehensive two-year engagement that now supports 1,000 annual hires across their organization. The combination of our scalable team model, technology integration, and comprehensive support services has positioned the client to continue their growth trajectory with confidence, proving that modular recruitment solutions are ideal for mid-sized companies facing rapid expansion challenges in competitive talent markets.

At a Glance

  • COMPANY
    Mid-sized automotive reconditioning provider
  • INDUSTRY
    Automotive
  • PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS
    Recruitment Process Outsourcing, Amplifiers
Let’s Connect

Content Marketing in Recruitment: How Strategic Storytelling is Reshaping Talent Attraction

Posted on by akessler

Today’s most sought-after professionals aren’t just looking for a paycheck; they’re seeking purpose, growth and authentic connection with organizations that align with their values. This shift has given rise to content marketing in recruitment.  

Just as consumers research brands extensively before making purchasing decisions, today’s candidates conduct deep research into potential employers before even considering an application. They’re consuming content across multiple touchpoints, forming impressions about your organization long before they interact with your recruitment team. 

The most successful organizations have recognized this behavioral change and adapted accordingly. They’re creating comprehensive content ecosystems that educate, inspire and engage potential candidates throughout their entire talent journey. This is a strategic talent attraction approach that builds relationships, establishes trust and positions your organization as an employer of choice in a crowded marketplace. 

Understanding the Candidate Journey: A Content-Driven Approach 

Content has become the critical bridge between potential candidates and employers. It’s not just about broadcasting job openings, but about creating a comprehensive narrative that attracts, informs and inspires top talent. Think of your content strategy as a sophisticated conversation—one that begins long before a candidate submits an application and continues well into the recruitment process. 

Awareness & Consideration Stages 

In these early stages, potential candidates are just beginning to learn about your organization and are weighing what you have to offer. Your content should: 

  • Showcase your employer brand authentically
  • Highlight organizational culture and values 
  • Provide insights into what makes your workplace unique 

Use visually engaging, shareable content like: 

  • Employee-generated videos and other content testimonial videos
  • Day-in-the-life videos and behind-the-scenes glimpses of workplace culture
  • Infographics about company achievements and innovation 

Interest Stage 

As candidates become more interested, they seek deeper understanding. Content should: 

  • Offer more detailed insights into specific roles and teams 
  • Demonstrate career growth opportunities 
  • Share employee success stories 

Provide resources like: 

  • Detailed team and department profiles 
  • Career development pathway illustrations 
  • Webinars and live Q&A sessions with current employees 

Application, Selection & Hire Stages 

In the later critical stages, candidates may be evaluating whether to apply, to move forward in the recruitment process or even to accept an offer. Your content should: 

  • Address potential concerns and questions 
  • Provide transparent information about the recruitment process and onboarding resources 
  • Showcase career pathways, development programs, mentorship programs, employee resource groups (ERGs) and more 

Content should include: 

  • Detailed role descriptions 
  • Assessment and interview preparation guides 
  • Insights into company benefits, work/life balance and work environment 
  • Webinars, insights sessions and videos that bring the recruitment process to life and create connection with candidates 
  • Information to support those from diverse backgrounds offered in a variety of ways to meet their consumption preferences 

Multichannel Recruitment Content Marketing 

Multichannel recruitment marketing involves using a variety of channels to reach and engage with potential candidates, including social media, email, job boards and paid advertising, to improve candidate experience and increase the chances of finding the right talent. A multichannel strategy ensures that your content resonates across diverse platforms, reaching candidates through their preferred communication modes. 

We’re choosing to focus on digital channels in this article, but many of these principles will apply to television, print media and physical advertising. If you’re interested in how we can help in these arenas, let’s connect. 

Digital Channels: 

  • Career Site: A central hub for job postings and company information, including blog posts, articles, videos and more. 
  • Social Media: Platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and others. 
  • Email Marketing: Targeted email campaigns to reach specific audiences. 
  • Job Boards: Online platforms where job openings are posted. 
  • Paid Advertising: Targeted recruitment advertising campaigns on social media, job boards and other platforms. 
  • Events: Digital and in-person industry events, career fairs, webinars, Q&A sessions and more. 

Finding the Right Mix of Channels 

Choosing the right channels is less about casting the widest net and more about precision targeting. Think of channel selection as carefully curating a conversation where your ideal candidates are most likely to be listening, engaged and receptive. Let your candidate personas be your guide. 

Maintaining a Unified Employer Brand Voice 

While platform strategies may differ, your core employer brand message must remain consistent. This doesn’t mean identical communication across all channels, but rather a harmonized narrative that adapts to each platform’s unique communication style. 

On LinkedIn, your tone might be more formal and professional, focusing on career growth and industry expertise. On Instagram, the same core message could be communicated through vibrant, behind-the-scenes imagery that highlights workplace culture and human connections. The underlying story remains constant, but its expression is tailored. 

Creating Seamless Cross-Platform Experiences 

Modern candidates move fluidly between digital touchpoints. Your recruitment marketing strategy must mirror this fluidity. A potential candidate might first encounter your employer brand through a LinkedIn post, explore your career site, check employee reviews on Glassdoor, and then follow your company’s Instagram for cultural insights. 

Each of these interactions should feel like part of a cohesive narrative. Consistency in visual branding, messaging tone and EVP creates a sense of reliability and professionalism that builds candidate trust. 

Using Employee Advocates to Tell Your Brand Story 

Effective content connects on a human level. Your current employees are your most powerful tool when it comes to recruitment marketing. An employee advocacy program is a great way to secure employee-generated content and create an emotional connection with candidates while delivering authenticity. 

If you’re just starting out with your employee advocacy program, here are some tips to help you begin. 

Embrace Storytelling Through Employee Experiences 

One of the most effective ways to manage perception and shift views is through authentic storytelling. Showcase real-life employee experiences, achievements and testimonials to highlight the positive aspects of your workplace. You can use a variety of content formats like videos, podcasts, blogs and social media posts. Ensure employee-generated content is coming from a diverse group to create inclusion and representation. This approach humanizes your brand and makes it easier for potential employees to imagine themselves at your company. 

Promote Your Thought Leaders 

Create and share thought-provoking content on industry trends, company values or insights on your work culture. This can position your brand as a leader and innovator in your industry. Feature your employees as subject matter experts, giving them a platform to share their knowledge and experiences. This not only enhances your company’s credibility but also provides an opportunity for your employees to build their personal brands, boosting their engagement and loyalty. 

Incentivize Participation 

Incentivize everyone to participate in their own unique ways. Some of your employer brand advocates will excel at social media content creation, while others will thrive representing your company as a conference speaker or through podcast opportunities, for example. Rewarding participation is a smart way to build momentum, especially when rewards can be redeemed against holidays, events, training, swag or other perks. 

Measuring Success of Content Marketing in Recruitment 

The true measure of content marketing success in talent attraction extends far beyond traditional metrics like views or likes. Leading organizations track engagement quality, candidate journey progression, and the correlation between content consumption and application quality. They monitor which content pieces drive the most qualified candidates, which formats resonate with different talent segments, and how content engagement translates to offer acceptance rates. 

More sophisticated measurement approaches include tracking content’s impact on employer brand perception, candidate experience scores, and long-term talent pipeline development. By understanding which stories resonate most powerfully with your target personas, you can continuously refine your content strategy to attract increasingly aligned candidates. 

The Competitive Advantage of Authentic Recruitment Content Marketing 

In an era of increasing skepticism toward corporate messaging, authenticity has become your greatest differentiator. Organizations that successfully leverage employee voices, share genuine stories, and provide transparent insights into their culture don’t just attract more candidates—they attract better-aligned candidates who are more likely to succeed and stay. 

Content marketing in recruitment isn’t just about keeping up with changing candidate expectations; it’s about gaining a sustainable competitive advantage. While your competitors are still relying on job postings and recruiter outreach, recruitment content marketing helps build talent communities, nurture passive candidates and position your organization as a destination of choice regardless of whether you have specific openings to fill. 

Content is more than a marketing tactic—it’s the foundation of modern recruitment that reflects your organization’s identity, values and vision. By creating authentic, engaging and culturally intelligent content, you transform recruitment into a meaningful dialogue that attracts exceptional talent and builds the foundation for long-term talent acquisition success. 

How Candidate Personas Transform Recruitment Marketing 

Posted on by akessler

The best talent isn’t actively job hunting—they’re being courted, engaged and strategically attracted by organizations that understand exactly who they are and what motivates them. This is where candidate personas become your recruitment superpower.  

Just as marketing teams have long used buyer personas to craft targeted campaigns that resonate with specific customer segments, forward-thinking talent acquisition teams are leveraging candidate personas to cut through the noise and connect authentically with their ideal hires. 

What are Candidate Personas? 

A candidate persona is more than a simple job description or a list of qualifications. It’s a comprehensive profile that captures the essence of your ideal candidate—encompassing their professional aspirations, personal motivations, behavioral patterns and unique characteristics. 

It’s important to remember that candidate personas are not a specific recipe for talent, behaviors, interests or skills. They are an indicative representation of what your desired talent will have and how they might present or engage with recruitment marketing campaigns. They act as a helpful guide for where and how to identify the talent you’re looking to attract. 

Personas are also often referred to as tribes. This indicates a more inclusive approach and can help dispel the assumption that personas are a target list of exclusive and needed characteristics. 

Key Components of a Robust Candidate Persona: 

An example candidate persona

Demographic Information 

  • Age range 
  • Educational background 
  • Professional experience level 
  • Geographic location 

Professional Attributes 

  • Career goals 
  • Skills and competencies 
  • Professional challenges 
  • Industry-specific motivations 

Behavioral Insights 

  • Job search behaviors 
  • Content consumption preferences 
  • Communication channel preferences 

Psychological Dimensions 

  • Personal values 
  • Career aspirations 
  • Work-life balance expectations 
  • Cultural and social influences 
  • Decision-making drivers 

Building Your Candidate Persona Profiles 

Step 1: Data Collection and Research 

The foundation of an effective candidate persona is rigorous, multi-source research. Your goal is to create personas grounded in real insights, not assumptions. 

Data Collection Methods: 

  • Interviews with current high-performing employees 
  • Exit interviews with departing staff 
  • Recruitment and performance data analysis 
  • Hiring manager insights 
  • Candidate feedback surveys 
  • Industry benchmarking reports 

💡 Pro Tip: Prioritize data from successful employees who have thrived in similar roles within your organization. They offer the most relevant insights. 

Step 2: Trend Identification and Analysis 

Once you’ve gathered data, the next step is identifying shared characteristics and trends. This is where your personas begin to take shape. 

Guiding Questions for Analysis: 

  • What common motivational patterns emerge? 
  • What career progression paths do top performers typically follow? 
  • What skills consistently predict success in this role? 
  • What challenges do candidates in this field typically face? 

Step 3: Persona Development and Refinement 

Now it’s time to transform your research into living, breathing personas. Focus on creating personas that are research-driven and free from unconscious bias. 

Persona Creation Best Practices: 

  • Use anonymized, aggregated data 
  • Focus on professional and behavioral attributes 
  • Avoid stereotyping 
  • Regularly update personas based on new insights 

Capturing Nuances in Persona Mapping 

In a globalized talent market, candidate personas must transcend cultural boundaries while respecting local nuances. A software engineer in America will have different motivations than one in India, and your personas should reflect that. 

Key Considerations: 

  • Professional expectations vary across cultures 
  • Communication styles differ globally 
  • Career progression models are not universal 
  • Work-life balance concepts are culturally influenced 

Beyond regional difference, you also need to consider other ways your personas could be influenced, including: 

Skills: Technical proficiency levels Specialized expertise Emerging vs. established skill sets Career Stage: Early career professionals Mid-career specialists Senior leadership candidates Career transition candidates Motivation: Purpose-driven professionals Growth-oriented individuals Stability-seeking candidates Innovation enthusiasts

Applying Candidate Personas to Your Marketing Content 

Now that you’ve got your personas created, here are some ways you can leverage them to personalize messaging across your talent segments: 

Channel-Specific Messaging 

  • LinkedIn vs creative platforms like Behance or Dribbble 
  • Industry-specific forums 
  • Regional job boards 

Content Customization 

  • Technical, data-driven content for analytical roles 
  • Storytelling and impact narratives for mission-driven positions 
  • Professional development resources for growth-oriented candidates 

Communication Tone Adaptation 

  • Formal vs. conversational language 
  • Technical depth vs. broad overviews 
  • Inspirational vs. pragmatic messaging 

The Strategic Impact: From Personas to Results 

The shift from generic recruitment messaging to persona-driven talent marketing isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s becoming essential. Organizations that master this approach don’t just fill positions faster; they attract higher-quality candidates who are genuinely aligned with their culture and goals, leading to better retention and performance outcomes. 

Perhaps most importantly, persona-driven recruitment creates a foundation for long-term talent relationship building. By understanding what motivates your ideal candidates at a deeper level, you can nurture talent communities, build employer brand loyalty, and create pipelines of engaged potential hires—even for roles you’re not currently hiring for. 

The investment in developing robust candidate personas pays dividends beyond individual hires. It creates organizational alignment around what great talent looks like, informs broader talent strategy decisions, and ensures your recruitment efforts remain focused on the candidates who will truly drive your business forward. 

What is Recruitment Marketing? Transforming How Companies Attract and Hire Talent

Posted on by akessler

Organizations worldwide are discovering that successful talent acquisition requires the same strategic thinking, creativity and relationship-building that drives effective marketing campaigns. Welcome to the world of recruitment marketing—a transformative approach that’s reshaping how companies attract, engage and hire talent. 

What is Recruitment Marketing? 

So, what is recruitment marketing? Recruitment marketing can be defined as the strategic application of marketing principles and technologies to attract, engage and nurture talent before and during the recruitment process. It represents a holistic approach that views potential candidates not just as applicants, but as consumers of employment experiences. 

At its core, it involves: 

  • Promoting an authentic employer value proposition (EVP) and employer brand
  • Developing targeted communication strategies 
  • Utilizing multi-channel talent engagement approaches 
  • Building long-term relationships with potential candidates 

While traditional recruiting focuses primarily on filling immediate vacancies, recruitment marketing is about building long-term relationships with potential candidates and creating a compelling narrative about your organization as an employer of choice. 

Traditional Approach Posting job ads and waiting for applications Generic job descriptions Transactional interactions Limited candidate touchpoints Modern Recruitment Marketing Approach Continuously engaging and nurturing talent pools Compelling employer brand storytelling Relationship-building experiences Continuous candidate journey mapping

Understanding the Marketing Funnel in Recruitment

To truly understand recruitment marketing, you must grasp the basis of any marketing program: the funnel. Just as consumers require engagement across multiple touchpoints before deciding on a purchase, job seekers often need multiple interactions with an organization’s employer brand before applying for a role. 

Your recruitment campaigns must coincide with these touchpoints throughout the recruitment funnel. The stages of your talent acquisition funnel depend on your organization’s hiring practices, but typically include: 

  1. Awareness – Introducing potential candidates to your employer brand
  2. Consideration – Encouraging deeper engagement with your content and values 
  3. Interest – Generating curiosity about your company culture and opportunities 
  4. Application – Converting interested candidates into active applicants 
  5. Selection – Interviewing candidates and choosing the best one for the role 
  6. Hiring – Successfully onboarding selected candidates 

          During each stage, your recruitment marketing efforts must engage and nurture job seekers, enticing them to take the desired actions to move further down in the funnel. 

          Why It Matters 

          Recruitment marketing has emerged as the bridge between traditional human resources practices and modern marketing strategies, enabling companies to stand out in an increasingly competitive global talent marketplace. It’s no longer an optional strategy—it’s a critical necessity. 

          Skilled professionals have more choices than ever before, so companies must proactively market themselves as employers of choice. This goes beyond competitive salaries and benefits; it’s about creating a compelling narrative that resonates with potential candidates across diverse cultural and professional backgrounds. 

          Key drivers of recruitment marketing’s importance include: 

          • Increasing talent scarcity in specialized fields 
          • Growing expectations of transparency and authenticity from potential employees 
          • The rise of employer review platforms and social media 
          • Globalization of talent pools 
          • Rapid technological transformation of work 

          Employer Branding: The Foundation of Recruitment Marketing 

          Employer branding is the foundation of effective recruitment marketing. It represents an organization’s reputation as an employer, encompassing its values, culture and unique workplace proposition. 

          Key Components of a Strong Employer Brand: 

          • Clear and compelling Employee Value Proposition (EVP) 
          • Authentic representation of company culture 
          • Consistent messaging across all candidate touchpoints 
          • Demonstration of organizational values and purpose 

          Cultural Nuances in Employer Branding 

          What makes an employer brand truly powerful is its ability to transcend geographical boundaries while remaining locally relevant. In an interconnected world, organizations must develop employer brands that are simultaneously global in reach and nuanced in local understanding. 

          Successful global employer branding requires a delicate balance: 

          • Maintaining a consistent core brand identity and story 
          • Adapting messaging to local cultural contexts 
          • Incorporating local employee perspectives 
          • Respecting regional diversity while preserving organizational unity 

          Different cultures interpret workplace values and communication styles uniquely. What motivates talent in Silicon Valley might differ dramatically from motivations in Shanghai or São Paulo. Effective recruitment marketing requires deep cultural intelligence and localized strategy development. 

          Key considerations include: 

          • Communication styles 
          • Work-life balance expectations 
          • Professional hierarchy perceptions 
          • Motivation and reward interpretations 

          The Future of Recruitment Marketing 

          Recruitment marketing has evolved into a sophisticated, multi-faceted discipline. Organizations that embrace this strategic approach to talent attraction are building sustainable advantages in the competition for talent. By treating potential employees as valued customers and crafting experiences that reflect their genuine employer brand, organizations can build talent pipelines that fuel long-term growth and innovation. 

          The Definitive Guide to Recruitment Marketing: A Primer for Talent Acquisition Leaders

          Posted on by akessler

          The Definitive Guide to Recruitment Marketing

          A Primer for Talent Acquisition Leaders

          Today’s empowered candidates wield unprecedented choice, ruthlessly demand employer transparency, and seek to expose workplace realities through reviews and social media posts. But this seismic shift is also creating unprecedented opportunity: strategic marketing principles, magnetic employer branding, and transformative candidate experiences that turn talent scarcity into competitive advantage.

          This ebook, The Definitive Guide to Recruitment Marketing: A Primer for Talent Acquisition Leaders, is your roadmap to building a magnetic talent attraction strategy now and into the future.

          In this ebook, you’ll discover:

          • What’s driving the shift from reactive recruiting to proactive talent marketing
          • Why your current recruitment marketing approach is capturing only a fraction of available talent
          • Emerging strategies for building compelling employer narratives that resonate globally
          • Techniques to balance technological advancement with authentic human connection in candidate engagement

          Download your copy today and position your organization at the forefront of talent acquisition innovation for years to come.

          [On Demand] New Rules for a New Reality: Early Careers Assessment for Tomorrow’s Workforce

          Posted on by akessler

          [Webinar On-Demand] New Rules for a New Reality

          Early Careers Assessment for Tomorrow’s Workforce

          The early careers recruitment landscape has been turned upside down. With hiring volumes slashed, companies are inundated with hundreds of applications for just a handful of positions. Sprinkle in some Gen AI, and it’s a whole new game.

          Is it time to throw away the old early careers recruitment rulebook?

          Join PeopleScout’s Head of Assessment Design, Amanda Callen, and Talent Solutions Director, James Chorley, for an eye-opening session that reveals how TMP Worldwide partnered with PeopleScout Psychologists to rewrite the rules and create a future-ready approach for early careers assessment.

          Discover how they built their bold new assessment model from scratch, processing massive applicant volumes while being budget-friendly and genuinely engaging. Built to be Gen AI-resilient, highly inclusive, and perfectly tailored to attract creative talent, this wasn’t about playing it safe; it was about having the courage to build something entirely new.

          In this webinar, we’ll cover:

          • How to identify which “rules” in early careers assessment are actually worth following in 2025 and beyond
          • Modern strategies for efficiently sifting through massive applicant volumes to uncover hidden gems
          • Practical approaches for building evidence-based, bespoke assessment processes
          • The daring design features that made TMPW’s assessment a standout success
          • How to create an early careers assessment that’s not just fit for the future—but ahead of it

          Is Skills-Based Hiring Really the Next Big Thing?

          Posted on by akessler

          In the recruitment space, skills-based hiring is on the tip of talent acquisition leaders’ tongues. Is it worthy of all the ink spilled or just the flavour of the month?

          The internet is buzzing with headlines framing skills-based hiring as a revolutionary step forward—a clean break from “outdated” methods like focusing on academic qualifications. But as usual, we want to take a more critical look.

          Let’s step away from the hype to examine the real pros and cons of skills-based hiring. More importantly, let’s figure out how skills-based hiring can work for you.

          Skills-Based Hiring: Is it Really New?

          There are three common myths being perpetuated by many of the articles about skills-based hiring:

          Myth 1: Educational qualifications have been the main barrier to good hiring decisions.

          The argument goes that recruiting teams rely too heavily on degrees and don’t think enough about skills—and if they just focused on skills instead, all their hiring issues would be solved.

          This misrepresents how most employers actually make hiring decisions. While education requirements do exist in job descriptions, they’re rarely the primary factor in final hiring choices. Most recruiters already consider multiple factors including experience, cultural fit and demonstrated abilities. Skills-based hiring has its positives and certainly feels more inclusive than rigid degree requirements, but it’s not the revolutionary shift from degree-obsessed hiring that many articles suggest.

          Myth 2: Everyone talking about skills is talking about the same thing.

          One reason the history of skills-based hiring is hard to track is the absence of a clear, consistent definition of what constitutes a “skill.” In the context of skills-based hiring, a skill could be a competency, strength or motivation—anything that enables a person to do the job well. That landscape is far more nuanced and complex than most articles let on.

          The reality is that defining skills is a lengthy process and requires careful consideration of context. But most writers on this subject don’t bother to grapple with this complexity. Instead, they gloss over any real explanation of what skills are, feeding the perception that skills are so simple and universally understood that we don’t need definitions. This creates the illusion that organizations should be able to easily incorporate skills-based approaches without doing the hard work of actually defining what they mean by “skills” in their specific context.

          Myth 3: Skills-based hiring and talent management is a new idea, and the bandwagon is leaving the station.

          Headlines will have you believe that skills-based hiring is “the next big thing” and a silver bullet that will solve all your workforce woes. However, this doesn’t really reflect most hiring processes.

          Even if you’re not actively thinking about skills-based hiring, it’s likely that it is embedded—at least partly—into your hiring process already. Today, recruiters rarely just think in terms of hiring somebody because their qualifications line up to the “essential” section of the job description.

          So, skills-based hiring isn’t a new idea. The term might be, but not the practice.

          These myths lead us to feel that the noise around skills-based hiring is misleading. It suggests that skills-based hiring is driving the recruitment industry right now, when in reality, very few are moving forward with it in an overt, intentional way.

          Getting Started with Skills-Based Hiring When Time and Budgets Aren’t Huge

          If you do want to embrace skills-based hiring, here are some practical steps:

          1. Start with an Audit

          If you’re keen to implement skills-based hiring, first of all, feel reassured that it’s likely already part of your approach, even if you don’t call it that. Start by establishing where you are along the skills-based continuum.

          Diagnostics come into their own here. Assess your hiring processes in a structured way, identifying gaps, strengths and opportunities for improvement. It can be beneficial to bring in an external partner like the PeopleScout Assessment Design team, to provide robust, evidence-based, unbiased feedback to maximise impact.

          2. Defining Your Skills

          Then it comes down to defining skills—for now and the future. These can’t be vague; they need to be carefully defined so that they can be accurately applied. You’ll build these from research, both internally and by looking externally. If you want to have an organisation-wide approach, you’ll need to consider skills relevant for leadership and entry level roles and across departments. Engage your department heads and hiring managers to map these.

          3. Look at Your Non-Skills Criteria

          You don’t have to remove looking at academic qualifications from your hiring process entirely. However, if there are instances where you’re using an academic qualification as a stand-in for a skill—say, a humanities degree as a signifier of good written communication skills—you can probably move away from it and start focusing more explicitly on the skill itself.

          Skills-based hiring can open doors for many candidates—and expand your talent pool. Perhaps your ideal candidate did not go to university, but their written communication skills are more than adequate for the role.

          4. Kick Off a Pilot

          Even without a big budget to fund an overhaul of your recruitment processes, it’s still possible to make a start. To make it manageable, begin with a small, pilot process. Your audit can help you identify the best starting point—perhaps it’s a particular department or role type.

          Once you’ve started, you’ll want to closely monitor it to ensure that the benefits are genuine. Try not to feel pressured into investing too much time, money and resources into skills-based hiring because it is a hot topic. Make changes bit by bit, turn to evidence, and stay reflective.

          The Bottom Line

          Don’t get overcome by buzzwords. In all likelihood, skills-based hiring has been a part of your process for a while now. If you want to concentrate more on skills-based hiring, start small, remain sceptical of the hype, get external insight, be evidence-based and keep evolving your approach.

          [On Demand] Smart Hiring in the AI Age: What UK Candidates Are Really Doing in 2025

          Posted on by akessler

          [Webinar On-Demand] Smart Hiring in the AI Age: What UK Candidates Are Really Doing in 2025

          Discover How Gen AI Usage Amongst Job Seekers is Really Impacting UK Recruitment in 2025

          Ready to separate AI hype from reality in your hiring process? Join us for an eye-opening webinar based on our recent YouGov research that reveals what’s actually happening when candidates use generative AI (Gen AI).

          In this webinar, PeopleScout’s Head of Assessment Design, Amanda Callen, and Talent Solutions Director, James Chorley, are back to explore the latest developments in Gen AI usage amongst job seekers. While your competitors panic with blanket AI bans or stick their heads in the sand, you’ll gain the strategic advantage of data-driven decision making.

          In this webinar, we’ll cover:

          • Real Data, Real Insights: Amanda and James will walk you through our exclusive UK research findings, including the surprising truth about Gen AI adoption rates among job seekers
          • Assessment Vulnerability: Identify which parts of your recruitment funnel are most at risk—and which concerns might be overblown
          • Candidate Psychology Revealed: Understand the unexpected attitudes candidates have toward AI disclosure and what this means for your process
          • Future-Proof Strategies: Learn practical, tested approaches to maintain assessment integrity while embracing technological innovation

          Complete the form to watch and receive access to our full research report.

          What is Programmatic Recruitment Advertising?

          Posted on by akessler

          As the demand for candidate quality intensifies, talent acquisition leaders are constantly seeking new ways to reach qualified candidates more efficiently. Enter programmatic recruitment advertising—a technology-driven approach that’s revolutionizing how companies connect with potential employees.

          What is Programmatic Advertising?

          Programmatic advertising is the automated buying and selling of digital advertising space using artificial intelligence and real-time bidding. Instead of manually negotiating ad placements with individual websites or platforms, programmatic technology uses algorithms to purchase the most relevant placements in milliseconds, targeting specific audiences based on detailed data profiles.

          These programs simultaneously monitor thousands of websites, analyze user behavior, and place job advertisements in front of the right candidates at the optimal moment.

          How Programmatic Advertising for Recruitment Works

          The process begins when a candidate visits a website or uses an app. In that instant, information about the user (their location, browsing history, professional interests and demographic data) is sent to an advertising exchange. Your recruitment campaign, which you’ve created with specific targeting parameters, competes in an automated auction against other advertisers. If your bid wins, your job advertisement appears to that candidate—all within the time it takes for the webpage to load.

          This real-time decision-making process ensures your recruitment ads reach candidates who match your ideal profile. For instance, when recruiting software engineers, programmatic recruitment advertising can target individuals who visit coding forums, read technology blogs, or engage with programming content, even if they’re not actively job searching.

          The Components of Effective Recruitment Advertising

          Optimizing your recruitment advertising program involves using technology, strategy, AI and data to ensure you get qualified candidates for all your open jobs. Here are the key components of effective programmatic job advertising:

          Programmatic Software: You need software that automates job ad buying tasks, which cannot be done manually due to the speed required in real-time bidding marketplaces. This technology manages thousands of bidding decisions per second across multiple job boards and websites, ensuring your advertisements reach the right candidates at the optimal price point.

          Rules and Strategy: You create rules for the programmatic advertising software to instruct it on how you want your budget spent and the recruitment outcomes you desire. These might include audience targeting parameters, budget guidelines and performance thresholds that trigger automatic adjustments to your campaigns.

          Artificial Intelligence (AI): AI optimizes job ad bids based on the volume and conversion rates that machine learning models predict. These algorithms continuously learn from campaign performance, automatically adjusting strategies to improve both cost efficiency and candidate quality.

          Performance Tracking: Performance tracking keeps count of what is happening with your open jobs in terms of clicks, candidate applications, and ultimately, hires. This comprehensive monitoring extends beyond basic metrics to include candidate quality indicators and progression through your hiring funnel. This end-to-end visibility ensures the system continues optimizing your advertising plan with actual hires delivered as the ultimate goal.

          Key Benefits of Programmatic Advertising for Recruitment

          • Enhanced Targeting Precision: Programmatic job advertising allows you to target candidates based on their job titles, skills, education level, geographic location, salary expectations, and even their likelihood to change jobs. This proves particularly valuable for filling specialized roles where traditional job boards may not reach the right talent pools. Your recruitment budget is spent reaching genuinely qualified prospects rather than casting a wide, unfocused net.
          • Improved Cost Efficiency: By automating the ad buying process and optimizing bids in real-time, programmatic job advertising often delivers better results at lower costs than traditional advertising methods. You only pay for impressions that reach your target audience, eliminating waste on irrelevant views.
          • Efficient Cross-Platform Reach: Programmatic recruitment advertising can place your job postings across thousands of job boards and channels simultaneously—from professional networking sites and industry publications to mobile apps and social media platforms. This ensures you get comprehensive market coverage, but you only have to manage a relationship with one supplier, freeing you up to focus on building candidate relationships.
          • Real-Time Optimization: Unlike traditional advertising campaigns that require manual adjustments, programmatic systems continuously analyze performance data and automatically optimize your campaigns. If certain demographics or websites are producing better candidates, the system allocates more budget toward those high-performing segments.
          • Data-Driven Insights: These platforms provide detailed analytics about candidate behavior, showing which messages resonate, which channels produce the highest-quality applicants, and even what times of day generate the most engagement. This intelligence can inform strategies beyond just recruitment marketing.

          Programmatic Advertising and Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO)

          The combination of programmatic recruitment advertising with RPO services creates a powerful combination that can dramatically enhance your talent acquisition results. You can leverage the expertise and scale advantages of your RPO provider while harnessing the precision and efficiency of programmatic technology.

          Why Add Programmatic Advertising to Your RPO Engagement

          RPO providers bring deep recruitment expertise, established processes, and dedicated resources to your talent acquisition efforts. Adding programmatic advertising to this foundation amplifies these benefits by providing data-driven candidate sourcing at scale. Your RPO partner can execute sophisticated recruitment advertising strategies that would be challenging to manage internally, particularly for organizations without dedicated recruitment marketing specialists.

          Your programmatic job ad campaigns feed qualified candidates directly into your RPO provider’s established candidate engagement processes. This creates a more efficient candidate pipeline with consistent quality control and faster time-to-hire outcomes.

          How an RPO Partner Can Maximize Your Recruitment Advertising ROI

          Experienced RPO providers bring several advantages to programmatic advertising management that can significantly improve your return on investment:

          Specialized Expertise: RPO partners typically have dedicated recruitment marketing teams with deep knowledge of programmatic platforms, targeting strategies and optimization techniques. This specialization means your campaigns benefit from proven best practices and advanced strategies that internal teams might take years to develop.

          Scale and Negotiating Power: Established RPO providers often manage advertising spend across multiple clients, giving them greater negotiating leverage with programmatic platforms and access to premium inventory at better rates. This collective buying power can reduce your cost-per-hire while improving ad placement quality.

          Advanced Analytics and Reporting: RPO partners usually invest in sophisticated analytics tools and reporting capabilities that provide deeper insights into campaign performance. They can track candidates through the entire hiring funnel, from initial ad impression to final offer acceptance, enabling more precise ROI calculations and optimization decisions.

          Cross-Client Learning: Your RPO partner can apply learnings from successful campaigns across their client base, adapting proven strategies to your specific industry and role requirements. This cross-pollination of insights accelerates campaign optimization and reduces the trial-and-error period typically associated with new advertising initiatives.

          Integrated Technology Stack: Many RPO providers have integrated programmatic advertising platforms with their applicant tracking systems and candidate relationship management tools. This integration creates smoother data flow, better candidate experience, and more comprehensive performance tracking than standalone solutions.

          Continuous Optimization: RPO partners can dedicate full-time resources to monitoring and optimizing your programmatic job ad campaigns, making real-time adjustments based on performance data. This level of attention is often difficult to maintain with internal teams juggling multiple responsibilities.

          The strategic partnership between RPO services and programmatic recruitment advertising creates a competitive advantage that extends beyond simple cost savings. It enables more sophisticated talent market analysis, better candidate experience management, and ultimately, stronger hiring outcomes that support your organization’s growth objectives.

          Programmatic Recruitment Advertising: A Winning Tactic

          Programmatic advertising represents a fundamental shift toward data-driven, automated recruitment marketing. As AI becomes more sophisticated and candidate data becomes richer, these systems will become even more precise at identifying and engaging potential employees.

          For talent acquisition leaders, embracing programmatic advertising isn’t just about keeping up with technology trends—it’s about gaining a competitive advantage in attracting top talent. Organizations that master these tools can reach qualified candidates more efficiently, reduce time-to-hire and ultimately build stronger teams.