Technical Recruiting: Our Foolproof Guide to IT Recruiting
Employers looking to fill technical positions generally begin their search with job postings on popular boards like Indeed or LinkedIn. But IT companies have been hit especially hard by the lack of talent. According to an Indeed survey, almost 9 in 10 employers stated that it’s challenging to find and hire qualified technical talent. But it’s not as if there is a shortage of IT positions available. Projected data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show a total of over 1 million computer science jobs with no qualified college graduates to fill them. Furthermore, the current unemployment rate in the U.S. tech industry is below 2%.With so many jobs available and not enough talent to fill them, hiring managers are faced with a difficult challenge.Why Is It So Hard to Find Qualified Tech Professionals?
Before jumping into the tips, it’s important to understand what you’re up against. The better you understand the cause of the problem, the better you can adapt your tech recruiting strategy. The biggest problem hiring managers are facing in 2020 is the gap between need and available talent. Simply put, there are more jobs than professionals to fill them. If you want top-tier tech talent, here are seven foolproof IT recruiting tips and tricks to help you attract the most qualified professionals.Best Tips to Recruit IT Professionals
Because of the gap between need and available talent, qualified tech professionals get to be picky with the jobs they accept, so it’s up to the hiring manager to prove their company is the best option. Use these tips to make your business stand out from the crowd and attract the best tech talent available.1. Understand the Position You Need to Fill
Hiring managers aren’t tech experts. They might not know the difference between a cloud engineer and a cloud administrator, but that knowledge is essential to make an effective job posting. To attract the right talent, you need to have a complete understanding of the position you’re trying to fill. If you post a job for an “IT professional,” you’re going to get everything from cloud computing specialists to fresh computer science graduates. Knowing the exact skill sets and experience you need for the job can help you weed out unqualified applicants quickly, so you can focus only on applicants worth your time.2. Know the Ideal Candidate
Once you understand the job, it’s time to create your ideal candidate. Think about who you would want to accept this role at your company and create a detailed candidate persona: a semi-fictional representation of your ideal candidate. When crafting your candidate persona, be sure to consider market demographics as well. For example, if you’re looking for talent in an IT field, it’s important to know that almost half of all tech candidates are under 35. It’s a good idea to consider this information and adapt your candidate persona accordingly.| Interested in learning more? Check out these blogs: |
3. Learn What Your Ideal Candidate Wants
Because of the inadequate talent pool, qualified professionals have the power to choose the opportunity that best suits them. If you want to make your job that opportunity, you need to know what they want. According to surveys from Glassdoor and LinkedIn, these are some of the factors that IT job seekers stated as most important:- Salary – 67%
- Benefits – 63%
- Company Culture – 60%
- Location – 59%
- Work/Life Balance – 29%
Our 10-Step Recruiting Process Drives Qualified Candidates To Your Inbox
4. Building a Better Network
Having a strong network is a key facet of IT management. But it’s also applicable to those looking to fill IT positions. The stronger an individual’s personal network is, the more likely they will be to find a job.
Many HR specialists refer to this as “the hidden job network.” Sometimes, a simple conversation about IT processes can lead someone to a full-time position with a major company.
However, it’s important to note that even with a strong personal network, many of today’s job seekers utilize a passive approach. According to LinkedIn, over 70% of qualified applicants are passive job seekers who aren’t actively looking but are open to new opportunities.
So, while job boards like Indeed and Monster might be the obvious places to upload your job postings, they’re probably not the right place for qualified talent acquisition.
Even with the perfect job description, you still won’t get any hits if qualified tech professionals don’t see your posts. That’s why you need to know where to look for them.
Instead, follow the talent. Go to the places you know the tech community spends their time. Examples include:
- Industry websites (GitHub, Stack Overflow, etc.)
- Online forums
- Local technology events
If someone spends their personal time in any of these places, you know they’re serious about technology. They are the ones you want to recruit, so go get them.
Employee referrals are also the top source of qualified candidates for 88% of employers. They offer a greater return on investment (ROI) and reduced recruiting process times compared to any other recruiting source.
5. Work With an IT Staffing Company
Of course, recruiting IT professionals doesn’t necessarily mean making a permanent hire; it merely means finding qualified workers to complete a task. Sometimes, the easiest way to fulfill employment gaps is to use an IT staffing company.
An IT staffing company lets you forego the complicated hiring process and skip straight to completing the project. The average corporate job posting receives over 250 resumes. With technology recruiters, you’ll get professional IT experts on-site quickly without any research, job postings, or screening hundreds of applications.
You can choose the number of techs you need and the duration for which you need them, allowing you to easily adjust your workforce based on need. This grants more flexibility with your projects and saves you time and money hiring unnecessary full-time employees.
Even if you only need one tech for one week per month, an IT staffing company can help. You won’t have to hire a permanent employee for small amounts of work, and you’ll still get the same IT professional that you know and trust. Plus, you won’t have to feel bad about not having enough work to keep them occupied.
The best way to find talent for smaller projects is to simply hire an IT field technician. You won’t be locked into any contracts, payroll, or employee benefits. Hire them for the project and let them go when it’s done. It’ll help you save time and money rather than hiring a full-time or even a part-time employee.
Buchanan: Your Trusted IT Recruiting Firm
If you’re struggling to find qualified professionals to handle your projects, trust the experts at Buchanan for all your IT recruiting needs. We have over three decades of experience as an industry-leading information technology recruiter and can help you get the trained professionals you need to complete any IT project. With three levels of service, you can choose the option that best aligns with your business.
Contact Buchanan today to recruit the IT professionals your business needs.
