TRENDS 2020 How to Weather A Storm How can employers position themselves to weather a possible JOB & HIRING economic slowdown? The first lesson about hiring during a recession is that talent attraction will still be a major challenge for employers. Rising Odds of a Recession Will Be A Talent Game-Changer in 2020 Although pools of applicants will be larger during a recession — a welcome relief for many HR professionals compared with the thin 40% GLASSDOOR'S applicant pools of today’s red-hot economy — that anticipated 37.9% surplus of job applicants in turn creates new challenges: how to separate quality talent from the pack when facing an ocean of 30% applicants. We expect to see more employers in 2020 prepare for this shift in 20% the candidate pool size by shifting toward higher-quality candidate channels. What do we mean by “higher quality” channels? We 10% expect employers to focus on candidate sources that deliver more well-matched candidates and a higher ratio of hires-to-applicants. These premium channels will become more important than ever 0% during a recession, as recruiting teams will be flooded with irrelevant 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 resumes from many sources. To filter out the noise, HR teams will double-down on reliable hiring channels that deliver high-quality Source: Federal Reserve Bank of New York. candidates — whether that’s referral networks that tap current high- performers, informed candidates who’ve utilized sites like Glassdoor to research company culture and pay, or other sources. 14