Written by: Nicola Franchesca C. Tapan
Pubmat by: Dolce Evita P. Mendoza
The COVID-19 pandemic has induced intense devastation, significantly impairing everyone's capability to go about their daily lives. Many individuals lost their jobs for various reasons, but the global pandemic was the most imperative. Businesses, organizations, and even academic institutions were compelled to cease activities as if time were also being halted, but not human necessities. In the event of a pandemic, our need for food, housing, and clothes would not conclude; thus, we would still require the financial means to meet those demands.
The Philippines recorded its highest unemployment rate since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020, at 17.6 percent (Crismundo, 2022). By forcing enterprises, organizations, and the academe to choose structural unemployment, it is possible to say that the pandemic has irreparably damaged the way in which the economy operates. However, it is not the only shift that has impacted our society. There have also been long-lasting transitions in the employment process.
The preponderance of businesses chooses virtual hiring as a final resort before the pandemic strikes. Many recruiters preferred to delay or cancel an interview rather than do it online since face-to-face interviews were widely seen as the standard (European Labour Authority, 2021). Nowadays, many organizations understand that virtual hiring is not only more effective but also the way of the future. Online job screenings or other interviews that include virtual components enable a rapid and efficient hiring process by saving time and money for both the organization and the candidate. Because of this, it is possible to assert that the recruiting process has been hastened for the benefit of both the company and the candidate due to the changes that have affected it. The company’s location no longer constrains recruiters because many organizations have adopted flexible working practices. There is now a considerably larger pool of prospects available to hiring agents. More candidates are competing for the same job, which on the one hand, makes it harder for recruiters to locate the ideal candidate for the job, while on the other, it makes it easier for employers to find the right employee.
Since hiring managers and recruiting teams have become more dependent on technology as the pandemic has progressed, it can be said that the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly accelerated hiring in the field of people management. According to Sixtify (2021), the majority of hiring procedures have now moved online, with 58% of recruiters interacting with candidates on social media sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, and even Instagram. Although there are not many noticeable differences between the hiring process today and recruiting practices pre-pandemic, it has both increased and decreased employment prospects. Presently, most events like job fairs and product promotions are held online.
To put it briefly, the worldwide pandemic has systematically devastated us all. The difficulties posed by COVID-19, however, might also be seen through a positive lens since they drove us to adapt to and make use of the inevitable repercussions of globalization. We were able to be innovative and meet our necessities through these tough times, so we will be more than prepared if another crisis yet occurs.
RERERENCES:
Crismundo, K. (2022, November 8). PH logs lowest unemployment rate since covid-19 onset. Philippine News Agency. Retrieved February 16, 2023, from https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1187992
European Labour Authority. (2021, October 13). How COVID-19 has fundamentally changed recruitment. EURES. Retrieved February 16, 2023, from https://eures.ec.europa.eu/how-covid-19-has-fundamentally-changed-recruitment-2021-10-13_en
SixFifty. (2021, November 30). How Has Covid-19 Changed the Hiring Process? Retrieved February 16, 2023, from https://www.sixfifty.com/blog/how-has-covid-19-changed-the-hiring-process/
