Find out how the current state of tech industry hiring will be for you and your organization.
Is your organization searching in the right places for tech candidates — and offering them better amenities than your competitors?
Numerous employers are struggling to bring skilled members of the tech talent pool on board. Both hiring managers and tech recruiters said finding qualified candidates is the most difficult or time-consuming part of the recruiting process in a HackerRank survey — followed by evaluating candidates’ background.
To succeed in the current tech hiring landscape, employers need to know where they can connect with potential new hires and how to bring them on board.
If your organization is trying to fill key tech roles, the following suggestions may help you attract some of the industry’s most coveted jobseekers:
Establish new ways of contacting tech candidates
The majority (58 percent) of hiring managers and tech recruiters find talent the same way, according to HackerRank — through internal referrals. Job portals are the second most popular option.
While hackathons hold a lower position on the list — only 18 percent of hiring managers and tech recruiters use them to recruit candidates — the events can potentially be helpful because they provide a look at how potential hires handle both tasks and teamwork.
Also, if your organization’s employer branding efforts don’t already include frequent Instagram posts, adding some may help you passively recruit tech candidates. Due to the social media venue’s popularity with jobseekers, 63 percent of tech companies invested in Instagram-related recruiting efforts in 2018, according to Jobvite’s annual recruiting study.
Interview candidates you may not have considered in the past
Tech talent skills shortages are at their highest level since 2008, according to a recent Harvey Nash/KPMG survey of CIOs. Big data/analytics, cybersecurity and AI are the three most hard-to-find proficiencies.
As a result, employers may want to consider looking at nontraditional candidates to fill open tech roles. While in the past, a college degree may have been a prerequisite for a tech job, a Stack Overflow global survey found 60 percent of developers are at least partly self-taught. Thirteen percent say they taught themselves everything they know.
In a 2018 Learning House survey, human resource leaders said tech and IT roles were the hardest to fill; all but one percent were open to hiring candidates without a four-year degree. Forty-seven percent said they’d be willing to consider jobseekers who’d pursued nonconventional training, such as a massive open online course-based degree. Twenty-four percent of HR leaders said they’d hire hire candidates who have a digital badge.
Adopt a creative approach to amenities
An inability to present competitive compensation packages to candidates is the leading issue IT decision-makers say is hindering their hiring efforts, according to a recent Robert Half Technology survey; 11 percent also said they were struggling due to not offering as many unique perks or benefits as other employers in their area.
If your organization can’t offer a high salary or pricey extras, consider potentially incorporating some less costly amenities to compete with companies that offer big work perks — such as recognition programs or employee development opportunities.
Once you’ve found the ideal candidates, to ensure they stay after you hire them, fostering a positive workplace is important.
A report from the Kapor Center for Social Impact found an insensitive office environment can greatly influence turnover and the retention of underrepresented groups in the tech industry. Nearly 40 percent of tech employees who participated in the study said unfairness or mistreatment played a major role in their decision to leave their company.
For additional tips on recruiting tech and other types of candidates, view our blog posts on 3 innovative ways companies are using AI in recruitment, benefits you can gain from attending in-person recruiting events — and how to stop recruiting process problems before they cost you top candidates.
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