Ways to Upskill Your Recruiters During Lockdown


The recruitment market is changing rapidly right now. Do your recruiters have the skills they need to succeed in this new environment?

It’s likely your recruiters have less jobs on at the moment to keep them busy, and some may even be on furlough. Therefore, it’s the perfect time for them to work on upskilling so they’re ready to hit the ground running when the market picks back up again.

If your team doesn't use this downtime wisely, they’ll struggle to compete with other recruiters who are proactively upskilling right now to adapt to the new market.

So how can you support your team in upskilling when they’re in lockdown?

Give them the tools they need to upskill

three recruiters celebrating whilst holding a medal, a trophy and a certificate. There are lots of great online resources for recruiters that your team can use to upskill without your support.

As a recruitment resource ourselves, we know just how important self-development is and we produce a lot of content on this topic for the Firefish blog.

Here are some of the best resources your recruiters can use to train themselves while they’re in lockdown:

Point your recruiters in the right direction and give them space to address challenges themselves rather than counting on you for all the answers. This will encourage them to be more proactive in finding their own solutions and help them build positive habits that will benefit them long after this is all over.

Encourage your team to attend online recruitment events

In-person recruitment events won’t be happening any time soon, but there are loads of great online recruitment events running right now. If you were planning to attend an event this year but are assuming it’s been cancelled, have a look on their website. Lots of recruitment events are still moving forward as virtual events - and they’ll still be packed with value.

And one positive of these recruitment events shifting online is that there are now no geographical boundaries: Your recruiters can attend events anywhere in the world!

Explore recruitment lockdown training programmes

best books for recruitersSome recruitment training specialists are now running bespoke online training programmes to help recruiters adjust to the ‘new normal’ of recruitment, and many are offering programmes at a reduced price too.

For example, Hannah Keep is a recruitment trainer who has started Recruiting in Lockdown – a training website that’s offering online courses designed to support recruiters through lockdown and prepare for the future.  

LinkedIn is also offering some free online courses to help professionals in various industries adjust to the new normal of work.

Even the UK government is getting on board and offering free courses to furloughed workers!

The lockdown has actually provided a great opportunity to upskill your team as there’s more training available than ever before – and for once, your recruiters have the time to do it. 

Set up an online group drop-in

It’s an uncertain time for the industry, so it’s likely your team will be facing new challenges every day and will be looking to you for help. And while it’s important you remain a strong leader, you can’t be there every minute of the day as you still have a business to run.

Creating a regular online team drop-in will encourage your team to manage the time they have with you and think carefully about the things they really need your support with and the things they can probably work out for themselves.

So, book in one or two online sessions every week where your team can drop in to discuss any challenges they’re facing and ask you any questions they have. This will also create a peer-to-peer training space where your team can help and learn from each other, instead of relying so heavily on you.

To survive in the current recruitment climate, you need a team of tech-savvy recruiters. Download the eBook below for guidance on how to get even your most tech-shy recruiters using your recruitment software like a pro.

back view of 3 men using computers with lightbulbs overhead

Sophie Cunningham

Sophie is a Content Marketer here at Firefish! After working as a 360 Recruiter she found her perfect niche here at Firefish writing about recruitment.

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