Talent Acquisition: The Current State and a Glimpse into the Future

The landscape of talent acquisition is an evolving field. For recruiters and hiring managers, they can spend days searching for resumes, screening candidates, and scheduling interviews to find the right match for a role. Recruiting and hiring practices can be tedious and mundane some days. On other days, however, it can be exciting when talent acquisition leads to somebody landing their dream job.

In this article, we will outline what the current state of talent acquisition is. After this, we will discuss the challenges that the current state of talent acquisition faces and what we can expect the state of talent acquisition to look like in the future. Strap in and join us for a walkthrough on how the state of talent acquisition is being shaped today.

The Current State of Talent Acquisition

Recruiting and hiring top talent in the current environment can feel challenging. The current state of talent acquisition is that it is often time-consuming and frustrating for recruiters and hiring managers.

Many recruiters in the current state of talent acquisition will spend large amounts of time sorting through hundreds of resumes and job applications. They do this to try and identify candidates who will be able to effectively fill an open position. Once they identify candidates, recruiters need to contact them to gauge their interest in the job. From here, recruiters and hiring managers will assess the candidates to see if they are a good fit and invite them to an interview.

Although this process is effective, it is inefficient in the current state of talent acquisition. Recruiters should use technology such as an applicant tracking system (ATS) or AI to manage and streamline their recruiting and hiring processes. For example, using an ATS allows you to automate many steps in the recruiting process, such as resume selection and interview scheduling. As a result, recruiters can save time and use their energy in other areas of their job.

In the current state of talent acquisition, many recruiters use technology to assist their recruiting and hiring practices, rather than replace them. This enhances and streamlines the recruiting process to give them the best chance of finding the right candidate. The current state of talent acquisition does still have some challenges, however, as it’s not always easy for recruiters to get it right.

Challenges Facing Talent Acquisition Today

Let’s take a look at the state of talent acquisition today and the challenges that it faces:

Lack of Top-Quality Candidates

Unemployment rates are at historically low levels. As a result, the pool of top-quality candidates has shrunk. In the state of talent acquisition today, recruiters can expect to attract fewer top-quality candidates than they would have done in previous decades.

Increase in Competition

As there are fewer candidates, there are more organizations who are fighting to attract top talent. This is especially true in fields such as software engineering or data science where there is high demand and multiple options for candidates to choose from. To be effective in their recruiting processes, employers need to speed up their hiring practices and make competitive offers to win candidates over.

An Overreliance on Outdated Methods

Many organizations still live in the hope that posting to a job board will give them a flood of applicants. The reality is that more needs to be done alongside this as the best candidates may not be actively job-hunting. Consider passive sourcing from networks like or implement referral programs to give yourself the best chance of finding strong candidates.

Lack of Diversity

When it comes to passive sourcing and referral networks, however, it can often be the case that they replicate the demographics of an organization’s existing employee base. This can be challenging when pursuing greater diversity and inclusion within your organization. In the state of talent acquisition today, it is best to diversify your recruiting and hiring practices to diversify your workforce.

The Future State of Talent Acquisition

Now that we know the challenges that face the current state of talent acquisition, we can now turn to what the future state of talent acquisition might look like. The good news is that there is reason to be optimistic about the future. From improving recruiting practices to enhancing candidate experience, here are some of the trends on the horizon for the future state of talent acquisition.

AI and Automation

Artificial intelligence is taking over many aspects of the world of work. Within recruiting, improvements in the current AI and automation that exist will lead to greater efficiency. As well as this, AI has the potential to remove unconscious bias from any recruiting decisions which can lead to a fairer evaluation of candidates.

Data-Driven Decisions

Data already plays a role in the current state of talent acquisition, but this is only going to grow larger. By using a variety of analytics, recruiters will be able to gain insights into key metrics that matter to them. If we look deeper and consider the role of predictive analytics, we can find that data-driven decisions in the recruiting process will increase in years to come.

Virtual and Remote Hiring

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a realization of the potential that virtual and remote hiring has for organizations. Virtual hiring practices such as video interviews, remote onboarding, and more can save organizations time and money in comparison to real-world versions. As well as this, a change in mentality in relation to remote work can vastly widen your talent pool when recruiting.

Focus on Candidate Experiences

The future state of talent acquisition will likely need organizations to tailor their offerings to top-quality candidates’ needs. Candidate experience is vital when attracting and retaining the best candidates. This means that you will need to leave a lasting impression through personalization and transparent experiences to entice candidates to join your team.

Time Will Only Tell What the Future Holds

Knowing what the future state of talent acquisition looks like is hard to guess. There may be new and revolutionary tactics to acquire top talent or there may not be much in terms of advancement. One thing is for sure though, investing in your recruiting practices is vital. If effective, you can recruit the best of the best and give your organization the best chance of long-term success.