9 SIMPLE SECRETS TO RECRUITING THE BEST TECH TALENT

The key to employing the best IT personnel lies in tweaking your recruitment strategy a little. And in this article, we’ll show you how.

Don’t worry, it’s nothing drastic.

Here are 8 simple hiring secrets that’ll surely help you up to your tech recruitment game.

But first…

WHY IS RECRUITING TECH TALENT SO DIFFICULT?

Short answer? There are so many options out there. But not you’re not the one choosing.

We’ll explain.

There are so few developers and so many companies looking for tech help. And it’s increasing every day. In fact, ManpowerGroup’s 2020 survey states that 54% of companies have reported a shortage in talent.

Of course, this means your potential IT employee has several juicy options to choose from. And you’re unwittingly thrown into a hiring competition with other companies. Before you know it, filling that vacancy will take forever, and you may even end up hiring undesirable talent.

SECRETS TO EFFICIENT TECH RECRUITING

We’ve looked at the challenge tech recruiters may face when sourcing for programmers and coders. And it seems every recruitment exercise may end up being a mad scramble for qualified talent.

So, how can you beat the rush? How can you hire software developers as quickly as possible without settling for less?

Here’s your answer.

• Tailor your job description

This might seem obvious, but it’s vital.

Hiring managers should know the position that they require filled. Spell out the necessary skillsets to fill the vacancy, and even paint a picture of the kind of candidate you want.

If you use general words, you’ll be flooded with irrelevant applications.

• Consider remote work

Many companies had to shift to remote working during COVID, and it seems the trend has come to stay.

In a recent CodinGame survey, only 5% of surveyed developers say they want to work 100% at the office. And 43% preferred a few remote days per week.

Coders will be drawn to your company if you offer remote work and have experience with handling remote teams.

Retaining your current employees should be a priority too.

According to Stack Overflow, only a small number of coders are actively looking for employment; however, most are open to better opportunities.

This means that while you’re looking for new blood, other companies may be luring your staff away!

• Employee referrals

When searching for programmers, you can start with referrals from your employees. They might know someone that knows someone who can fill that position.

You don’t need to put an elaborate referral program in place. You could just ask.

Not only does it make the hiring process faster, but it’s also cheaper.

• Learn the language

Keep calm. We aren’t saying you have to learn how to code with Javascript. No.

We’re saying you should make an effort to learn the terminologies used by your candidates. Potential tech hires may be more inclined to respond positively if their recruiters understand tech jargon.

It doesn’t have to be anything complicated. Just knowing the basics will go a long way to easing the hiring burden.

• Go outside your box

If you’re scared of going outside your traditional tech talent criteria, you might miss out on choice candidates.

For instance, if you emphasize college degrees over experience, then you might end up rejecting a lot of qualified developers. It’s the same with wanting only local talent.

Leave your comfort zone. You can decide to hire net developers overseas who can work remotely.

To ascertain if a candidate meets your skill requirement, you can also set fun technical challenges during the hiring process.

Be sure to make the tests interactive and intriguing. But not too long.

• Incentives should be front and center

Got fantastic job benefits? Flaunt it.

Tell your candidates what your company can do for them before you even talk about compensation.

Why’s that?

Most tech talent can get competitive salaries from any company. It’s the extra that counts. Perks such as flexible working hours, student loan assistance, growth opportunities, and training give you a competitive edge over other companies.

Your company culture is also essential. Candidates will naturally gravitate to a company whose values align with theirs.

So don’t just emphasize how fat the paycheck is; talk about what matters to a developer most.

• Put your company out there

The somewhat unpleasant truth is that your company might not be as well-known as you think.

Hence, a job Ad on the career section of your website may not be enough. You need to place your Ad on dev platforms like Reddit, GitHub, Stack Overflow, and Linkedin

Knowing their preferred social and advertising your job vacancy there increases its reach. And more reach means more qualified tech talent to pick from.

• Get help

Like we said earlier, recruiting tech talent can be a tiring process. You might be unsure of what you’re looking for, and the barrage of resumes doesn’t make it easy either.

Using a professional IT staffing agency may cut your cost considerably and get you the right hire within your specified timeframe.

In addition to this list, ensure that you’re using the latest tech innovations. Candidates may not be impressed if you use tech that’s inferior to what they are used to or were trained with.

And now, a quick recap on what you need to do:

• Flourish your incentives; devs pay attention to them.

• Don’t be afraid to try something else.

• Know the position to be filled.

• Invest in tech.

Hiring qualified tech talent doesn’t have to be a nightmare anymore. All you need to do is know what your potential hires are looking for and offer them. Voila! You’re in the lead.

We hope we’ve made tech recruiting easier. If you require any assistance or would like to know more, we’re always here to help—happy recruiting.