The Talent Matters Podcast made its return for season 3 earlier this year, bringing together expert insights, experiences and advice from some of the biggest names in the recruitment industry.
Season 3 has welcomed a diverse range of guests from two continents, all of whom possess an elite understanding of the UK labour market. Their insights have approached conversations ranging from the power of community, the importance of your recruitment tech stack and job board deep dives – plus so much more, enlightening our audience with their expertise.
Over 7 episodes and 300+ minutes of conversation, we have pulled out 4 key takeaways from 2024, which will roll into 2025.
Takeaway #1: Application overload < Quality Job ads
Any recruiter using job boards over 2024 will have noticed a significant increase in the number of applications per job. While the Wave Recruitment Trends Report found a rise of 10 average applications in Q3 2024 compared to Q3 2023, the increase has been far more extreme for many industries.
This flood of applications presents a quality challenge: irrelevant or unsuitable candidates are overwhelming recruiters, making it hard for them to find top candidates efficiently.
Steven Rothberg, from episode 301, suggests practical strategies like using knockout questions to filter out unsuitable candidates during the application process. These actionable tips ensure that only relevant applicants progress, empowering recruiters to reduce the volume of mismatched applications that stem from overly simplified processes.
Meanwhile, episode 307 guest Simon Malpass argues that a key way for recruiters to improve application quality is to focus on quality job adverts. Unfortunately, many agencies post low-quality job ads despite industry advice on clear titles, salary information, and location details. When a job ad is not compelling and misses key information like this, it fails to attract quality candidates who will be looking for the right fit.
Takeaway #2 – The value of employer and personal branding
Personal branding is no longer optional in the current market – it’s a critical advantage. While personal branding isn’t a new trend for 2024, and its importance was outlined in episode 304 with Jade Brar-Haase.
Jade argues that personal branding shouldn’t be viewed as an ego-driven activity – it’s a critical competitive advantage for recruiters. One of the biggest hurdles is overcoming fear of how others perceive it, as people often dismiss personal branding content as cringeworthy. But if people are talking about your content – even critically – they remember key information like where you work and what you offer, meaning they’re more likely to come to you when needed. That visibility creates trust and generates opportunities.
Takeaway #3 – Breaking silos
Recruitment is a fast-paced industry, which means that everyone, from top to bottom, is busy – especially during challenging market conditions, as observed in 2024. However, being stuck inside the same four walls all the time can damage your business in the long term.
Simon Lewis, from episode 303, argues that many in recruitment aren’t unwilling to focus on developing and learning themselves and spending time looking at how they can improve their business and teams. Whether looking at other recruitment agencies or outside the industry, the best leaders ask themselves, “Is it everything they want it to be?” If it’s not, finding support, collaborating and talking with peers is vital.
One common example of silos appearing within businesses is between departments such as IT and Sales. Episode 306 guest Richard Caldicott highlighted that as technology continues to grow as an integral part of business operations, many ‘traditional’ IT decisions will impact the success of other departments and, ultimately, the bottom line. For example, email deliverability impacts consultants and how easily a client receives a candidate shortlist; if this goes into their spam folder, that could impact their fees. Therefore, IT and Sales are vested in ensuring key DMARC and DKIM policies are correct and up-to-date.
Takeaway #4 – Your Recruitment Technology is critical
Recruitment technology is a fundamental part of business operations, yet most agencies do not spend enough time, resources, and reviews to maintain and develop it.
In Episode 305, guest Holly Langley points out that if you add up the cost of your tech, chances are it’s more expensive than one of your employees. You wouldn’t hire a consultant and then leave them to figure it out on their own, so your tech shouldn’t be any different. Working arm in arm with your tech providers to achieve the best result is vital.
The importance of working with your technology providers and field experts is an idea that episode 302 guest Nitin Sharma also highlighted. The role of technology in modern recruitment allows agencies to operate leaner teams by automating repetitive tasks and streamlining processes. This makes the composition of your tech stack a crucial business decision for long-term success.
