Control the madness: how Hirevue helps win seasonal hiring

Hirevue’s recent webinar “Mastering the Madness of Seasonal Hiring” dove deep into the strategies and challenges surrounding seasonal hiring. Joined by Hirevue Customer Success Leaders Anna Jordan and Darin Bloomquist, the live discussion provides insights across various industries, including retail, hospitality, beverage distribution, and winter resorts. This blog post captures the key takeaways from the session.

Chelsea Kilpack, Communications Director at Hirvue, kicked off the session by framing the seasonal hiring challenge, saying, “By the time the public hordes descend on the resorts, hotels, and stores, the hiring’s already gonna be done. But right now, organizations are in the thick of it.” 

Seasonal hiring often feels like a sprint rather than a marathon, requiring teams to efficiently tackle high volumes of candidates while ensuring quality hire outcomes. Below are the themes and insights for the discussion.

The importance of candidate experience and employer branding

Jordan, drawing from nearly 20 years of experience in recruiting and HR SaaS, emphasized the critical role employer branding plays during the hiring process. Referring to candidates as customers, she highlighted that the way employers treat candidates reflects their brand, and this has a direct bearing on hiring success.

“The solutions that you have, they are a reflection of your employer brand. Candidates, they’re your customers too. If the process values their time and respects them as people first, those are crucial parts of a positive candidate experience.”

employer’s reputation in the market.

Using Realistic Job Previews (RJPs) to boost retention

One standout strategy discussed during the event was Realistic Job Previews (RJPs). By simulating “a day in the life,” RJPs offer candidates a true sense of the roles they are applying for, which helps with retention and self-selection. Hirevue’s partnerships with companies like Keurig Dr Pepper and Swire Coca Cola underline its value.

“Swire Coca Cola used RJPs because their problem was too many applicants. RJPs helped candidates understand the role and self-select whether it was the right fit for them,” said Jordan. 

High-volume hiring and validated skills

Bloomquist explored the use of assessments to streamline high-volume hiring processes, sharing insights from Walmart’s strategy for handling thousands of daily applicants. Hirevue helped Walmart implement assessments to validate skills, promoting internal mobility.

“With Walmart, thousands of daily applicants meant it was impossible to manually assess all candidates. By implementing assessments, they measured hourly associates effectively. We’ve seen that eight out of ten store managers at Walmart came from hourly associate roles.”

This approach highlights how technology can enable scalability while maintaining quality hires—even at extreme applicant volumes.

New trends in hiring: AI, cheating mitigation, and transparency

The session also delved into the evolving landscape of hiring, where artificial intelligence (AI) plays an increasingly central role. 

Jordan explained, “AI is creating new job categories, and for many, no one has done these jobs before. The challenge isn’t matching job titles but identifying adjacent skills and measuring their fit for these new roles.”

While AI introduces efficiency into hiring, concerns about cheating have escalated. Hirevue is actively helping organizations address this challenge:

“We lean into AI not for decision-making but for aiding decisions, helping hiring teams optimize high-volume processes while validating skills and fit for roles.”

Transparency is critical in mitigating candidate concerns about AI. 

Jordan added, “Candidates want to know AI is being used, and they want transparency about how it impacts decision-making processes. Transparency becomes a key pillar for maintaining trust in hiring systems.”

Retaining proven seasonal talent

Seasonal hiring isn’t just about recruiting new workers. It’s also about rehiring proven seasonal talent. Bloomquist emphasized how important it is to “keep previous hires warm and engaged throughout the calendar year.”

Hirevue’s solutions simplify the rehire process, leveraging data from previous employment cycles:

It’s not just a sprint. It’s a continuous journey to identify and retain top seasonal talent year-round. The process is shorter for rehires since you already have validated data on these candidates.”

Seasonal hiring beyond the holidays

While many associate seasonal hiring with retail during the holiday season, Hirevue’s experts stressed that every industry has unique cycles. For instance:

• Beverage Distribution targets high hiring volume in the summer months.
• Tax Preparation Services ramp up recruitment early in the year for tax season.
• Airlines see applications for flight attendant roles soar, with individual postings receiving tens of thousands of applicants.

Bloomquist noted the inherent challenge of scale, “One flight attendant role can sometimes get 20,000 applicants. Our brains are not meant to wrap around that kind of scale.”

Customizing hiring strategies for each industry’s unique needs is essential, whether through RJPs, streamlined rehire processes, or AI-enabled assessments.

The future of seasonal hiring

Hirevue underscored its commitment to helping organizations optimize seasonal hiring now and preparing for challenges on the horizon. Transparency, a candidate-first approach, and innovation remain key pillars for addressing employer branding, skill validation, and the evolving role of AI.

Seasonal hiring doesn’t have to be chaotic. With tools like Realistic Job Previews, validated skill assessments, and streamlined rehire processes, organizations can balance scale and quality while maintaining a positive candidate experience. 

Interested in learning more? Explore Hirevue’s solutions to master seasonal hiring today.