Recruiting IT Talent: What Can You Do to Attract the Best Candidates

Although recruiting IT talent was never a walk in the park, it has become even more difficult recently due to a wide skills gap and a competitive market.

According to data from Benchmark, it takes about 58 days to find qualified talent for an engineering position.

As business needs are becoming more complex, the number of professionals equipped to fulfill those needs is unable to keep up with this pace. Therefore, there’s no better time to learn how to hire tech professionals for your company.

What is tech talent?

Tech talent refers to people who possess the skills to identify, design, or develop IT systems. This term encompasses professionals in many industries, including software developers, engineers, and programmers.

Nowadays, companies must hire tech talent since they need to be on the cutting edge of technology and strive to stay competitive.

Unfortunately, it is difficult for smaller companies to find candidates who possess up-to-date skills and experience. This can make recruiting tech professionals a challenging task if you’re not familiar with the industry norms.

The challenge of tech recruiting

Tech recruiting has become quite challenging due to several factors. First of all, the tech industry moves fast, and it’s challenging to keep up with this pace. Secondly, demand for tech professionals is at an all-time high, and their wages are accordingly increasing.

As a result, many companies find themselves paying top dollar for talent that only meets the minimum requirements listed in job descriptions.

There is also a skills gap in the market, as many fresh graduates often don’t have the required skills to work in a practical job setting.

How to attract top tech talent?

The most obvious way to attract tech talent is by offering higher salaries. If you provide a competitive paycheque, tech professionals are likely to apply for your job position.

Keep in mind that tech employees in different industries are already being paid handsome salaries. It would help if you came up with an offer they can’t resist. Unfortunately, this can be difficult for start-ups and small companies.

Moreover, ensure that roles are aligned with candidates’ goals. Great candidates often have many offers on hand due to their skillset or credentials.

You need to find out what motivates them at work and cater to these needs during the recruitment process.

For instance, is flexible working hours important? Do they want public recognition of achievements? Find out what motivates them and use it as selling points in your job descriptions or interview processes.

Quick tips

Here are some quick tips for recruiting IT talent and filling your tech roles with competent professionals.

• Define and promote a great employee value proposition. Be transparent and treat job candidates as you would like to be treated yourself. Candidates want an honest assessment of the culture and working environment from which they can make up their minds.
• Provide a great interview experience for your candidates. Recruiting IT talent is not like hiring employees in other industries. The tables are turned here as you need the employees more than they need you. Thus, your interview experience must be good enough for the applicant to not consider applying to your competitor’s job posts.
• Invest in technology. Gone are the days when you’d have to solely rely on resumes and interviews to evaluate an applicant. You can now use tech-based testing services that provide an assortment of customizable tests for job candidates. You can use these technologies for recruiting IT talent most suitable for the tech positions you’re trying to fill.
• Don’t be limited by geographical borders. Statistics show that 18% of the global workforce works remotely full-time. If you allow yourself to be limited by geographical borders, the recruiting process will become more painstaking for you. Instead, include remote workers in your talent acquisition strategy. Doing this enables you to hire top talent from all over the world. This is especially beneficial if your home country or region does not have many technology companies or has a severe shortage of skilled tech talent.

Are you ready to start winning in the war for tech talent?

The tech industry is expanding, and the trend is bound to continue well into the future. With tech companies gaining more exposure and digital transformations becoming more common, it’s about time you get on board and recruit IT talent.

If you need additional help in winning this war for tech talent, you can count on Groom Associates to be your staffing partner. Our proficient experts and extensive network of contacts will help you find the best IT talent in the market.