This past year was marked by a fickle and ever-changing job market that became more competitive as the months passed. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, despite the average monthly job growth falling about 28% in 2024 compared to 2023, the demand for talent in industries like healthcare, manufacturing, cybersecurity, and more is still red hot and the available supply is not able to keep pace. This could be a direct result of economic uncertainty following geopolitical tensions and tech sector layoffs earlier this year, in addition to the 2024 election.

Regardless of the cause, a hypercompetitive job market places the power with job seekers and puts employers in a tough position when competing for talent. Should these positions go unfilled, the organization has to worry about increased turnover due to overworked and burnt-out employees. The lack of necessary talent can also impact the organization’s rate of innovation, and customer satisfaction, and have longer-term impacts that can hinder the success of companies.

As a result, employers are forced to step up recruiting efforts to fill the necessary positions for their organization. There are many ways to do this, like increasing salaries and benefits, leveraging data-driven recruiting, and strengthening your employer brand. However, the most important thing a company can do right now, ahead of the new year hiring spree, is to focus on improving the candidate experience (CX).

Why candidate experience is so important

It might not surprise you that many organizations’ candidate experiences haven’t been prioritized or updated in many years. We see career sites daily that look like they haven’t been updated since 2005. Considering the career site is often the first interaction a candidate has with a company that sets the tone for their relationship, this site must be updated regularly and tailored to what the modern job seeker expects.

According to the 2024 HireClix Candidate Experience survey, job seekers were equally likely to use their mobile phones to search for jobs as they were their computers. This tells us that a mobile version of your career site is necessary. The survey also uncovered that Indeed and LinkedIn are currently the top job search platforms, so organizations should make sure these platforms also house up-to-date information about what jobs are available and why your company is an employer of choice.

When looking at the candidate experience, I recommend the talent acquisition team and HR leaders run themselves through the process of applying as if they were candidates. This can uncover some previously unknown stressors that could be turning away talent.

According to that same HireClix CX survey, most interestingly, a long job application process was turning away 35% of job seekers. As the job market gets more competitive, this number could continue to rise, thinning out the available talent pool even further to abysmal numbers.

How social media helps attract top talent

Interest rate drops and the election being settled will prompt job seekers to start making moves in the new year. However, while there is expected to be an increase in active job seekers, supply and demand are still running a deficit. As a result, 2025 is expected to bring even more competition when attracting top talent to fill increasing labor shortages across industries. On the bright side, this also means more opportunities for employers willing to innovate and experiment with recruitment marketing efforts.

For example, employers willing to invest in video content for recruiting will see massive dividends. This content can give a job seeker a valuable window into a company’s workplace culture and the day-to-day happenings. Especially now, candidates are seeking out this type of content, which is why I predict YouTube and TikTok will be as important as Indeed for recruiting in the new year. Meta’s Instagram and Facebook will also continue to rise as top recruitment marketing platforms. These videos, although seemingly whimsical, can help level up the candidate experience and lead to higher engagement rates and more applicants who have an emotional connection to the employer.

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