In a constantly shifting talent market, the need to hire across multiple fields has become increasingly common for businesses of all sizes. Not only large corporations, but also SMEs, startups, and project-based companies often need to recruit talent from various industries at the same time. This demand has led to the rise of an important concept in the HR field: multi-industry recruitment.

The article below explains in detail what multi-industry recruitment is, why more and more companies are adopting this model, the common challenges they face, and the solutions that can help optimize the hiring process.

What is multi-industry recruitment ?

Multi-industry recruitment is a hiring approach in which a business searches for and selects candidates across multiple professional fields within the same recruitment phase or process. This model is not limited to a single job category such as only IT or only manufacturing but spans various job groups, including:

• Information Technology

• Sales & Marketing

• Finance & Accounting

• Operations & Logistics

• Human Resources & Administration

• Manufacturing & Engineering

• E-commerce

Multi-industry recruitment is commonly seen in fast-growing companies, businesses expanding into new markets, organizations launching new projects, or those with multiple departments operating simultaneously.

Why Is Multi-Industry Recruitment Becoming a Trend?

The rise of flexible business models: Startups, SMEs, and project-based organizations constantly adjust their business strategies. This creates a need to hire quickly and across multiple roles to keep up with their growth pace.

Demand for diverse talent in the digital era: Digital transformation requires companies to simultaneously recruit various skill groups: technology, operations, business, and creative roles. No single function can operate in isolation.

Increasing competition for talent: As the labor market becomes more competitive and talent shortages intensify, businesses must widen their search and tap into candidates from multiple industries rather than limiting themselves to just one field.

Common Challenges Businesses Face in Multi-Industry Recruitment

Although multi-industry recruitment offers many advantages, companies - especially those with limited resources, often encounter significant challenges. This process requires a strong combination of candidate evaluation capabilities, talent sourcing breadth, cost control, and effective recruitment management.

Lack of Expertise to Evaluate Candidates

One of the biggest challenges is that HR teams often do not have enough specialized knowledge to thoroughly assess candidates across different fields. This makes CV screening time-consuming, increases the risk of selecting the wrong candidate, and forces HR to rely heavily on opinions from technical managers. The situation becomes even more complex when a company needs to hire IT, Sales, Accounting, and Operations roles simultaneously - each requiring different technical skills and domain knowledge.

Difficulty Expanding High-Quality Talent Pools

Each industry has its own unique requirements: IT demands strong technical skills, Sales requires market experience, and Logistics needs operational knowledge. If a company relies solely on traditional recruitment channels such as job postings on websites or social media-HR will struggle to reach enough qualified candidates across multiple fields, resulting in talent shortages.

Time-Consuming and Costly Processes

Multi-industry recruitment often involves running several hiring campaigns at the same time. This increases advertising costs while conversion rates remain low. The hiring process becomes longer, especially for SMEs or startups with limited budgets, putting significant time and resource pressure on HR teams.

Difficult to Manage Applications When Hiring Many Roles

When a business is recruiting 10–20 positions across various departments at once, tracking interview progress, coordinating with department heads, and ensuring accurate evaluations become complicated. Without a proper management system, the recruitment process can easily become disorganized, leading to mistakes and a poor candidate experience.

Solutions to Optimize Multi-Industry Recruitment

To run multi-industry recruitment effectively, businesses need a combination of HR strategy, technology, and internal resources. Implementing the solutions below helps accelerate the hiring process, improve accuracy, and reduce costs.

Standardize Job Descriptions and Requirements

A clear job description (JD) is the foundation for HR to accurately understand each role’s requirements, communicate clearly with candidates, and evaluate applications properly. Before starting recruitment, HR should work closely with hiring managers to ensure each JD reflects real business needs.

Expand Recruitment Channels - Avoid Relying on a Single Source

Instead of traditional job postings alone, businesses can diversify talent pools through multi-industry recruitment platforms, university partnerships, professional social networks, or employee referral programs. A broader, more diverse candidate pool increases the likelihood of finding the right talent for each position.

Apply Technology and Modern Recruitment Platforms

Technology is becoming the “key” to optimizing multi-industry recruitment. Modern platforms allow quick CV filtering, access to larger talent pools, streamlined application tracking, and reduced operational costs. This solution is especially valuable during times of talent shortages, helping HR teams reduce workload and improve efficiency.

>>> Read more: Recland – an intelligent multi-industry recruitment platform

Use Recruitment Partners or Freelance Recruiters

Some businesses adopt crowdsourced recruitment by leveraging networks of freelance recruiters to expand their talent pool, speed up hiring, and reduce pressure on internal HR teams. This model is becoming increasingly popular in Vietnam, especially for multi-industry recruitment or projects that require fast hiring.

Build a Consistent Employer Brand

During multi-industry recruitment, candidates interact with job descriptions and company information across multiple channels. Maintaining a consistent employer brand enhances trust, increases application rates, and attracts higher-quality talent. This is especially important when hiring large numbers of roles across different functions.

When Should Businesses Use Multi-Industry Recruitment?

This model is ideal for companies expanding their operations, growing rapidly, or launching new projects requiring diverse skill sets. It also benefits businesses with seasonal hiring needs or those seeking a more cost-efficient alternative to hiring multiple specialized headhunters. With its ability to target various job categories at once, multi-industry recruitment helps companies stay agile and proactive when building their workforce.

Multi-industry recruitment is an inevitable trend in today’s fast-changing labor market, where hiring needs are increasingly diverse. However, it comes with challenges such as limited evaluation expertise, difficulty accessing high-quality talent, high costs, and complex process management. By standardizing JDs, adopting modern recruitment technology, expanding talent sourcing channels, and partnering with multi-industry hiring platforms, businesses can optimize time, reduce costs, and improve candidate quality.