The coronavirus and the subsequent COVID-19 pandemic has changed quite a bit about our lives, both personal and professional. In fact, almost no area has been unaffected.

Companies and organizations in the employment marketplace have been affected on a number of levels. We’re now in the midst of a recession, as well as in the midst of a pandemic. As a result, some companies have gone out of business altogether and many have slashed expenses, including laying off personnel.

However, there are still some companies that are in need of more employees and are hiring to meet demand. For these organizations, there are changes with which they must deal. So while the news for them might be good (from a solvency standpoint, anyway), they still must deal with the various challenges that the pandemic presents.

However, as they say, where there’s a will, there’s a way. Below are four main ways that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the interviewing and hiring process:

#1—A focus on internal candidates and regional candidates

Obviously, companies are less likely to want to fly job candidates in from another city, especially smaller organizations. So it only makes sense that if they have a personnel need, they would look to their current staff or seek local candidates first. It saves both time and money and also has the potential to reduce complexity.

#2—The use of video interviews as opposed to in-person interviews

We’ve touched upon this topic before, but video and virtual interviews are still all the rage, and that will continue to be the case until the virus is under control. This doesn’t mean that no employer is conducting in-person interviews. It just means that employers are leaning heavily upon the flexibility that video interviews provide, not to mention the safety considerations.

#3—The hiring of more temporary (or contract) workers

This happens during every recession, so it makes sense that this would also be the case now. This practice helps employers to “plug the gaps” that have been created by the pandemic and the resulting recessionary conditions. With temporary or contract workers, there is less of a commitment on the part of organizations, allowing them to address projects and meet deadlines without taking on the burden associated with making permanent hires.

#4—More flexibility in terms of start dates for employment

None of us have worked in a pandemic before, so there is a lot of uncertainty and many unknowns. Employers are increasingly erring on the side of caution and working with newly hired candidates in terms of when they’ll start work with the organization. Two weeks used to be the standard time frame, but employers are now more willing to negotiate the start date, especially if they’ve just hired a superstar candidate for an important, high-level position.

If you’re looking to hire exceptional candidates, then we invite you to connect with our team today and see what The Doepker Group can do for your organization.

We also invite you to click HERE to find out even more about the many services that we offer to employers.