10 Talent Acquisition Challenges Recruiters Can Relate to in The Insanely Popular Netflix Series, Squid Game.

If you’ve watched the popular Netflix series, Squid Game, you might have noticed that some of the situations in the dystopian fictitious world reminds you of your daily challenges as a talent acquisition specialist. The hit dystopian show revolves around 456 candidates in financial despair, who take part in a series of dangerous children games to make an outlandish amount of money.

In Squid Game, a talent acquisition specialist is charged with looking for specific candidates to participate in the game. No different than the real world we live in. Except we’re charged with looking for top talent to join our companies. 

Although you might not use overly colorful playgrounds to assess candidates, or play “Fly me to the moon” during interviews – you may have spotted a few talent acquisition challenges that you may relate to in Squid Game.

With that in mind, grab your favorite drink or cup of coffee, and let’s go over some the talent acquisition woes shared between Squid Game and reality!

Approaching passive candidates is not easy (They’re not only found in train stations)

 

Finding skilled talent can be hard (Not everyone is great at assessment games like Red Light, Green Light)

Contract signing is a challenge on its own (A vague card with three different shapes is not the best way to go about it)

Hiring bias will always creep in (Don’t overlook older candidates)

Recruiting should be a team sport (One man can’t manage hundreds of candidates on his own)

Creating misleading job descriptions (Next time you should mention that flipping paper squares in train stations is a job requirement)

Building a fair candidate experience (No one wants to feel tricked halfway through)

Building a great candidate experience is not easy (Candidates chose not to come back after seeing what Squid Game is like)

Overly complicating assessments is not the best option (There are better ways to assess candidates than a Dalgona cookie and pin)

Building a large unqualified talent pool will do more harm than good (It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack)

Bottom line

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