In 2015, companies in the MENA region will be more willing to invest in a new talent. As a result, they will increase their recruitment budgets. Great news for educated, skilful and hardworking expats!
Social Recruiting Leads
Social networks are already a popular way for companies and job seekers to connect with each other in many parts of the world. Recruiters and job applicants in the Middle East and North Africa make no exception. However, in 2015, the region will have a special preference for social professional networks. According to LinkedIn, it will be around 6% higher compared to the global rates. Unlike most other regions examined by the platform where Internet job boards continue to be the number one source of quality hires, in MENA social professional networks will dominate. They will be followed by sourcing through career websites and recruitment through outsources like agencies and etc.
Great Demand for Highly-Skilled Talents
According to LinkedIn, nearly every second recruiter in MENA will focus efforts on finding highly-skilled talent. To achieve that, companies in the region will try to improve the quality of hire (33%) and their sourcing techniques (28%).
Talent Leaders Still Lack Knowledge in Mobile Recruiting
Mobile job seeking was one of 2014’s rising recruitment trends in many parts of the world. The percentage of job candidates that have learned about an open position in a company through their mobile device has nearly doubled over the last one year. Similar is reported to be the case with job seekers who apply for a position though a mobile gadget. However, more than 40% MENA talent seekers continue to have limited or no knowledge in mobile recruiting. LinkedIn experts advise recruiters to make add mobile to their priorities in 2015.
Recruiting Similar to Marketing
Similar to the last year, in 2015, the gap between marketing and recruiting will continue to close. Recruiting talent has started to resemble marketing a product. Nearly 46% of companies worldwide see the recruitment process in such a way. As a result, their focus on the company brand has increased. MENA recruiters have finally caught up with this rate and it will continue to rise in 2015.
Small Businesses Friendlier to Students and Young Professionals
Both large and small companies in the Middle East and North Africa have become more open to the idea of recruiting young professionals or even students. Moreover, they are getting close to the global average rate. Nevertheless, small businesses continue to be more likely to hire students and young professionals as their employees (76%), compared to large companies (68%).
In its latest report, LinkedIn also lists three long-lasting recruitment trends that will shape the future of recruiting in the MENA region. Those include upgrading employer branding, utilizing social and professional networks and recruiting globally.
Thank you for sharing these trends in the MENA region. In 2015 it is expected that the recruiters will have higher budgets and even higher volumes of hiring. The social media which is gaining more and more importance is becoming the preferred channel to promote and attract talent for both the recruiters and the job seekers..