Most recruiters, 62%, say their job is more difficult today than it was a year ago, according to a survey released today by Monster Worldwide Inc. This continues an ongoing trend as 67% said their job is more difficult than it was five years ago.

Additionally, 59% of respondents said it is more difficult to get quality candidates than it was a year ago and 62% reported it’s more difficult than it was five years ago. Fifty-nine percent said there is a shortage in the skilled labor they require, and 52% cited competition from other recruiters as a pain point.

Recruiters are only passing 44% of candidates on to hiring managers while wishing they were passing along at least 54%.

The research found 83% of recruiters are now taking a multi-solution approach to attract higher-quality candidates, according to the research. Top tactics include direct outreach to candidates, traditional job ads, posts on company/career websites and social media advertising.

Monster provided a few insights based on the survey:

• Bring marketing to the core of recruitment. 67% of recruiters said they felt that they needed to understand marketing to be successful, yet only 36% of recruiters surveyed used employer branding strategies.
• Create balance between digital and humanity. 64% of recruiters said they felt they needed to be digital experts to succeed today. And while 70% of recruiters said their organization is keeping up digitally, 64% believe they don’t have the right digital tools to make the job easier. And another 51% said that technology makes it harder to connect with humans.
• Optimize your processes with data and analytics. 50% of recruiters said they are anxious about using their time efficiently, and 67% feel that they need to be analytics experts.

“Today’s strong economy is increasing the overall demand for talent, so recruiters are under tremendous pressure,” said Monster COO Bob Melk. “That underscores the need for an integrated recruitment strategy spanning the entire candidate lifecycle — from employment branding that introduces candidates to the cultural differences that demonstrate how your company is a great place to work, to social recruiting that targets passive candidates and engagement tools that let you connect via text messaging and chat.”

Monster commissioned the nationwide online survey of in-house recruiters, recruiters at staffing firms and recruiters who specifically target healthcare. The survey was fielded by Research/Now among 442 recruiters, between June 4 and June 11, 2018.