What Is Digital Recruiting? - Building A Strong Digital Recruitment Strategy

The labor economy has long transitioned from a closed labor market to an open and mobile one, characterized by a restless workforce which is quick to jump to meatier opportunities.

High-performing individuals know that the conversation has shifted from “what can you do for us” to “what can we do for you.”

While the economy has changed phenomenally, some companies are still stuck using outdated recruiting methods and are struggling to attract and retain quality talent.

An effective way for such companies to reinvigorate their recruiting efforts would be to utilize digital recruiting tactics.

What is Digital Recruitment?

Digital recruitment is the process of leveraging technology to the source, attract, assess, select and hire candidates for vacant positions.

This includes leveraging job boards, career websites, mobile recruiting, online assessments, and social recruiting.

While most companies these days use at least one of the aforementioned tactics, they are still a long way from being classified as a digital strategy.

So, what are the different ingredients that make-up a digital recruitment strategy?

How can you spice up your recruiting stew by adding some nuggets of digital into it?

Let’s find out.

Evolution of digital recruitment

The metamorphosis of digital recruitment is a testament to how technology has revolutionized industries. Here’s a brief timeline::

Late 1990s – Birth of online job boards: Websites like Monster and Indeed ushered in a new era. Gone were the days of sifting through newspaper classifieds; job seekers now had digital hubs to find potential opportunities.

2000s – Rise of social media & LinkedIn: The introduction of platforms like LinkedIn added a networking component to the job-hunting process. Recruiters began to recognize the potential of social media channels not just to vet candidates, but to actively source and attract them.

2010s – ATS & AI-powered solutions: The Applicant Tracking System (ATS) became prevalent, helping companies manage and filter vast numbers of applications. Moreover, AI began assisting in sifting through resumes, predicting candidate success, and even automating preliminary interviews.

2020s and beyond – Virtual & remote recruitment: The COVID-19 pandemic accentuated the importance of remote hiring processes, virtual interviews, and digital onboarding. The definition of the workplace itself has shifted, and digital recruitment strategies have become integral in this new era.

Why is a digital recruitment strategy essential?

Wider reach: Digital platforms offer a global reach, allowing companies to tap into talent pools they might not have access to through traditional means.

Efficiency & speed: Automation tools and AI algorithms can process applications faster, ensure positions are filled more rapidly, and reduce the time-to-hire.

Enhanced candidate experience: A streamlined digital process means smoother application procedures, prompt communication, and an overall positive impression of the company.

Data-driven decisions: Digital recruitment tools provide analytics, allowing companies to make informed decisions based on concrete data about their hiring processes.

Components of a successful digital recruitment strategy

Crafting a robust digital recruitment strategy requires a blend of tools, techniques, and approaches. Let us list them for you.

Job portals & social media: These remain fundamental. Optimize your presence on job boards, but also engage on platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and even niche community forums relevant to your industry.

Employer branding: It’s not just about the job listing; it’s about selling your company culture. Create content that showcases life at your company, testimonials, and success stories.

AI & automation tools: Utilize AI for tasks such as resume parsing, chatbots for initial candidate queries, and predictive analytics to assess the potential success of candidates.

Mobile optimization: With many job seekers using mobile devices, ensure that your career page and application process are mobile-friendly.

Continuous feedback loop: Regularly gather feedback from both successful and unsuccessful candidates to refine and improve the recruitment process.

Diversity & Inclusion: Make it a point to have strategies in place that promote diversity in your talent pool, emphasizing a culture of inclusivity.

Mobile-friendly careers website

Optimizing career websites for mobile might seem like an obvious thing to do, but surprisingly not many companies are doing it.

In fact, by 2016, only 19% of recruiters were investing in a mobile career website. (Source: Jobvite Recruiter Nation Report 2016).

Optimizing for mobile is not an option anymore owing to increased smartphone adoption and usage.

Seventy-seven percent of job seekers check company websites to look for jobs (Source: Gallup State of the American Workplace Report 2017).

What happens when they open these websites on their phones only to find that the Submit button is not working?

Or worse still, their resumes are not getting attached, or any other such inconvenience which sets them back a few steps?

They switch tabs to some other website that works on their device. Result: your company just ended up losing a potential “stellar” candidate.

Companies must ensure that their careers website, landing pages, or any other digital resources are readable and work on mobile devices.

Incorporate digital recruitment strategy into every step

Examine your current recruiting process to see how digital hiring tactics can make them more efficient.

For instance, if you have a long application process on your career website to collect information about candidates, see if replacing that with a quick LinkedIn import will reduce the bounce rate (the rate of people who leave a website after visiting it) of your careers page.

Alternatively, check if a video interview reduces the overall cost of the hiring process (saves the cost of flying in a candidate, accommodation, and other expenses).

Examine each step of the recruiting funnel – from sourcing to selection to studying how digital practices and technology can reduce the time or the cost involved.

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Leverage social media

There are many advantages to using social media for recruiting – starting from the quality of hire.

Employers who used social media to hire found a 49% improvement in candidate quality over candidates sourced only through traditional recruiting channels. (Source: Jobvite)

It is also an excellent channel to spread brand awareness.

Nearly 80% of Millennials look for people and culture fit with employers, followed by career potential (Source: Collegefeed, March 2014).

Apart from scouring websites, millennials look to social media channels to gather more information about the company emphasizing the significance of optimizing your social media bio for better exposure..

All these factors make it crucial for companies to have a social recruiting strategy.

But with the wide array of channels available, which are the ones that a company should be using?

Take a look at the following sample social recruiting strategy.

You can see that the career site is in the center, being the most crucial, and contains job postings and landing pages.

All the other tactics are orbiting around it and have been prioritized and labeled as such based on the company objectives.

The first step to social recruiting is to create your own social recruiting universe and understand where your targeted candidates are present.

Create a recruiting strategy to engage and convert active and passive talent on these channels.

This can include job postings on LinkedIn, videos showcasing employee stories or company culture on YouTube, tweets about company awards or events on Twitter, and much more.

Digital recruiting, digital recruitment, recruitment, hiring, digital hiring, digital recruitment strategy

Digital recruiting, digital recruitment, recruitment, hiring, digital hiring, digital recruitment strategy

Image Source: Workology.com

Create social media accounts on channels actively used by your target audience and update them frequently.

Information on company culture, mission, values, people, and any other information that gives active and passive candidates insight into the company and what it stands for.

More is not always better

We have talked about the importance of having a digital presence.

It is commonly believed that the more platforms you are available on, the better it is for your digital recruitment.

While we understand the importance of being accessible, this has to be balanced with your team’s bandwidth. Digital is only a means to an end, it shouldn’t become an end in itself.

Otherwise, you will find your teams spending more time managing these online channels and less time actually recruiting talent.

Identify the top channels that work for you, and see how these can be used in a scalable way, to search, shortlist, and select candidates.

Customize it to your business

A company’s digital recruitment plan is as unique as the company and its goals. Something that might work for your competitors might not work for you.

We cannot emphasize enough the importance of customizing the recruitment plan to a business and its goals.

If your competitors are using Instagram, for instance, examine if having an account on Instagram is truly useful for your business and communication plan.

If your target audience isn’t engaging on that channel, it’s best to skip it and save yourself time going through pictures of toes and colorful but inedible food.

Let’s take a look at another example.

Assume your standard applicant is not a millennial but a baby boomer; she might not be comfortable with interviews scheduled via text messaging.

Instead, she might prefer emails followed by a face-to-face interview, and not a video conference.

The combinations are varied, and only a company that knows its goals and target audience clearly will be able to create a customized plan that meets its needs.

Partner with technology

Any discussion on digital recruitment is incomplete without talking about the technologies that support it.

Recruiters can use a recruitment management system (if they’re not using one already) to post jobs on the website and multiple job boards, screen and rank applicants, and integrate with their human resource management tools for seamless operations.

Companies can use online assessment tools to identify high-performing individuals and screen them using convenient tests which can be administered remotely.

There are tools that can identify passive candidates or the ones who are not actively looking for job changes.

Companies that have traditionally relied on checklists of college degrees and experience to screen candidates are increasingly finding the approach redundant, not to mention time-intensive and one-dimensional.

Recruiting tools use sophisticated algorithms to assess innate capabilities while giving adequate weighting to the traditionally-important factors such as education and experience and help companies find smart talent.

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Put a bow on it

All these different tactics need to work in unison like a well-played orchestra. While digitizing your recruiting strategy, ensure that any change to the process is only making it more convenient for applicants.

Make the whole experience seamless for applicants – whether they access the website on a mobile, a desktop or their tablets.

They shouldn’t struggle with viewing company profiles or information, submitting applications or expressing interest of any sort.

It is best to use a similar theme on all the social media channels, with the same icons, banners, and company branding to aid quick recognition.

Ensure that the information is consistent across channels to avoid confusion.

For instance, if you announce openings for front-end developers on Twitter, but the careers website that you’re directing the users to was not updated with information on the opening, applicants are going to be left confused and would most probably turn away from the site.

Look to the future

Traditional recruiting has passed the baton to digital.

The time has come to adapt, to transition from dinosaur recruiting strategies to technology-backed modern ones.

By not utilizing these techniques, companies are not only letting go of an opportunity to attract quality talent but also relinquishing a chance to reduce the burden on recruiters.

Savvy candidates are evaluating you like they would when making purchase decisions.

So, companies that are not hitting multiple channels to catch their attention, engage them, and finally convert them with an easy application process will find themselves on the losing side of this battle for talent.

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Revolutionizing Mobile Talent Hiring: The HackerEarth Advantage

The demand for mobile applications is exploding, but finding and verifying developers with proven, real-world skills is more difficult than ever. Traditional assessment methods often fall short, failing to replicate the complexities of modern mobile development.

Introducing a New Era in Mobile Assessment

At HackerEarth, we're closing this critical gap with two groundbreaking features, seamlessly integrated into our Full Stack IDE:

Now, assess mobile developers in their true native environment. Our enhanced Full Stack questions now offer full support for both Java and Kotlin, the core languages powering the Android ecosystem. This allows you to evaluate candidates on authentic, real-world app development skills, moving beyond theoretical knowledge to practical application.

Say goodbye to setup drama and tool-switching. Candidates can now build, test, and debug Android and React Native applications directly within the browser-based IDE. This seamless, in-browser experience provides a true-to-life evaluation, saving valuable time for both candidates and your hiring team.

Assess the Skills That Truly Matter

With native Android support, your assessments can now delve into a candidate's ability to write clean, efficient, and functional code in the languages professional developers use daily. Kotlin's rapid adoption makes proficiency in it a key indicator of a forward-thinking candidate ready for modern mobile development.

Breakup of Mobile development skills ~95% of mobile app dev happens through Java and Kotlin — This chart illustrates the importance of assessing proficiency in both modern (Kotlin) and established (Java) codebases.

Streamlining Your Assessment Workflow

The integrated mobile emulator fundamentally transforms the assessment process. By eliminating the friction of fragmented toolchains and complex local setups, we enable a faster, more effective evaluation and a superior candidate experience.

Old Fragmented Way vs. The New, Integrated Way — Visualize the stark difference: Our streamlined workflow removes technical hurdles, allowing candidates to focus purely on demonstrating their coding and problem-solving abilities.

Quantifiable Impact on Hiring Success

A seamless and authentic assessment environment isn't just a convenience, it's a powerful catalyst for efficiency and better hiring outcomes. By removing technical barriers, candidates can focus entirely on demonstrating their skills, leading to faster submissions and higher-quality signals for your recruiters and hiring managers.

A Better Experience for Everyone

Our new features are meticulously designed to benefit the entire hiring ecosystem:

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A New Era of Code

Vibe coding is a new method of using natural language prompts and AI tools to generate code. I have seen firsthand that this change makes software more accessible to everyone. In the past, being able to produce functional code was a strong advantage for developers. Today, when code is produced quickly through AI, the true value lies in designing, refining, and optimizing systems. Our role now goes beyond writing code; we must also ensure that our systems remain efficient and reliable.

From Machine Language to Natural Language

I recall the early days when every line of code was written manually. We progressed from machine language to high-level programming, and now we are beginning to interact with our tools using natural language. This development does not only increase speed but also changes how we approach problem solving. Product managers can now create working demos in hours instead of weeks, and founders have a clearer way of pitching their ideas with functional prototypes. It is important for us to rethink our role as developers and focus on architecture and system design rather than simply on typing c

The Promise and the Pitfalls

I have experienced both sides of vibe coding. In cases where the goal was to build a quick prototype or a simple internal tool, AI-generated code provided impressive results. Teams have been able to test new ideas and validate concepts much faster. However, when it comes to more complex systems that require careful planning and attention to detail, the output from AI can be problematic. I have seen situations where AI produces large volumes of code that become difficult to manage without significant human intervention.

AI-powered coding tools like GitHub Copilot and AWS’s Q Developer have demonstrated significant productivity gains. For instance, at the National Australia Bank, it’s reported that half of the production code is generated by Q Developer, allowing developers to focus on higher-level problem-solving . Similarly, platforms like Lovable enable non-coders to build viable tech businesses using natural language prompts, contributing to a shift where AI-generated code reduces the need for large engineering teams. However, there are challenges. AI-generated code can sometimes be verbose or lack the architectural discipline required for complex systems. While AI can rapidly produce prototypes or simple utilities, building large-scale systems still necessitates experienced engineers to refine and optimize the code.

The Economic Impact

The democratization of code generation is altering the economic landscape of software development. As AI tools become more prevalent, the value of average coding skills may diminish, potentially affecting salaries for entry-level positions. Conversely, developers who excel in system design, architecture, and optimization are likely to see increased demand and compensation.
Seizing the Opportunity

Vibe coding is most beneficial in areas such as rapid prototyping and building simple applications or internal tools. It frees up valuable time that we can then invest in higher-level tasks such as system architecture, security, and user experience. When used in the right context, AI becomes a helpful partner that accelerates the development process without replacing the need for skilled engineers.

This is revolutionizing our craft, much like the shift from machine language to assembly to high-level languages did in the past. AI can churn out code at lightning speed, but remember, “Any fool can write code that a computer can understand. Good programmers write code that humans can understand.” Use AI for rapid prototyping, but it’s your expertise that transforms raw output into robust, scalable software. By honing our skills in design and architecture, we ensure our work remains impactful and enduring. Let’s continue to learn, adapt, and build software that stands the test of time.

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What is Systems Design?

Systems Design is an all encompassing term which encapsulates both frontend and backend components harmonized to define the overall architecture of a product.

Designing robust and scalable systems requires a deep understanding of application, architecture and their underlying components like networks, data, interfaces and modules.

Systems Design, in its essence, is a blueprint of how software and applications should work to meet specific goals. The multi-dimensional nature of this discipline makes it open-ended – as there is no single one-size-fits-all solution to a system design problem.

What is a System Design Interview?

Conducting a System Design interview requires recruiters to take an unconventional approach and look beyond right or wrong answers. Recruiters should aim for evaluating a candidate’s ‘systemic thinking’ skills across three key aspects:

How they navigate technical complexity and navigate uncertainty
How they meet expectations of scale, security and speed
How they focus on the bigger picture without losing sight of details

This assessment of the end-to-end thought process and a holistic approach to problem-solving is what the interview should focus on.

What are some common topics for a System Design Interview

System design interview questions are free-form and exploratory in nature where there is no right or best answer to a specific problem statement. Here are some common questions:

How would you approach the design of a social media app or video app?

What are some ways to design a search engine or a ticketing system?

How would you design an API for a payment gateway?

What are some trade-offs and constraints you will consider while designing systems?

What is your rationale for taking a particular approach to problem solving?

Usually, interviewers base the questions depending on the organization, its goals, key competitors and a candidate’s experience level.

For senior roles, the questions tend to focus on assessing the computational thinking, decision making and reasoning ability of a candidate. For entry level job interviews, the questions are designed to test the hard skills required for building a system architecture.

The Difference between a System Design Interview and a Coding Interview

If a coding interview is like a map that takes you from point A to Z – a systems design interview is like a compass which gives you a sense of the right direction.

Here are three key difference between the two:

Coding challenges follow a linear interviewing experience i.e. candidates are given a problem and interaction with recruiters is limited. System design interviews are more lateral and conversational, requiring active participation from interviewers.

Coding interviews or challenges focus on evaluating the technical acumen of a candidate whereas systems design interviews are oriented to assess problem solving and interpersonal skills.

Coding interviews are based on a right/wrong approach with ideal answers to problem statements while a systems design interview focuses on assessing the thought process and the ability to reason from first principles.

How to Conduct an Effective System Design Interview

One common mistake recruiters make is that they approach a system design interview with the expectations and preparation of a typical coding interview.
Here is a four step framework technical recruiters can follow to ensure a seamless and productive interview experience:

Step 1: Understand the subject at hand

Develop an understanding of basics of system design and architecture
Familiarize yourself with commonly asked systems design interview questions
Read about system design case studies for popular applications
Structure the questions and problems by increasing magnitude of difficulty

Step 2: Prepare for the interview

Plan the extent of the topics and scope of discussion in advance
Clearly define the evaluation criteria and communicate expectations
Quantify constraints, inputs, boundaries and assumptions
Establish the broader context and a detailed scope of the exercise

Step 3: Stay actively involved

Ask follow-up questions to challenge a solution
Probe candidates to gauge real-time logical reasoning skills
Make it a conversation and take notes of important pointers and outcomes
Guide candidates with hints and suggestions to steer them in the right direction

Step 4: Be a collaborator

Encourage candidates to explore and consider alternative solutions
Work with the candidate to drill the problem into smaller tasks
Provide context and supporting details to help candidates stay on track
Ask follow-up questions to learn about the candidate’s experience

Technical recruiters and hiring managers should aim for providing an environment of positive reinforcement, actionable feedback and encouragement to candidates.

Evaluation Rubric for Candidates

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FaceCode, HackerEarth’s intuitive and secure platform, empowers recruiters to conduct system design interviews in a live coding environment with HD video chat.

FaceCode comes with an interactive diagram board which makes it easier for interviewers to assess the design thinking skills and conduct communication assessments using a built-in library of diagram based questions.

With FaceCode, you can combine your feedback points with AI-powered insights to generate accurate, data-driven assessment reports in a breeze. Plus, you can access interview recordings and transcripts anytime to recall and trace back the interview experience.

Learn how FaceCode can help you conduct system design interviews and boost your hiring efficiency.