Across the globe, technical recruiting has become increasingly difficult due to the growing demand to find skilled and qualified candidates. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment demand of software engineers is projected to grow 22% from 2019 to 2029. This growth is significantly faster than other professions, which ultimately means one thing: Technical recruiting will continue to be more competitive.
With the growing need of engineers and IT candidates, it is critical for technical recruiters and employers to continuously improve their recruiting approach and consider new strategies to beat out the competition. We have compiled four tips to empower your team to find the right talent for your organization.
Establish Your Employer Brand
In today’s competitive job market, the people you’re trying to recruit to your company most likely are also having conversations with many other organizations. In most cases, candidates have multiple job offers in hand. It is critical, therefore, to build out your employer brand to separate yourself from your competition and establish your company as an employer of choice.
When building out your employer brand, it is easiest to think of it as your company’s reputation with job seekers. If your organization is known for offering fair compensation, a desirable company culture and strong leadership, and providing challenging work to employees, candidates will be more likely to engage. Improving your employer brand can give your company the competitive advantage it needs when recruiting tech professionals.
Leverage Alternative Recruiting Sites
To recruit the top tech candidates, go beyond simply contacting people through job posting sites or LinkedIn. For technical candidates, take a look at their GitHub, Stack Overflow or even their personal websites. Or, use recruiting tools such as HumanPredictions or Entelo, which pull data from different sources to create a consolidated candidate page for you to reference when contacting individuals.
Understanding the Must-Haves and Sell the Opportunity
Information is power. As a recruiter, having as much information readily available makes our jobs easier and helps sell the opportunity to the candidate as well. Recruiters and hiring managers must be on the same page in understanding the “must-haves,” or non-negotiables. Beyond knowing the tech stack or having a wishlist of technical capabilities, recruiters should understand why the position is open, the vision for the role, and any problems the position will be expected to address or solve. Ultimately, this empowers recruiters to have a meaningful conversation with candidates and allows recruiters to sell the opportunity, and your company, to candidates.
Value Candidates’ Time
In today’s candidate-driven market, timing plays a critical role in the recruiting process. Often companies lose out on candidates by taking too long to make a decision, or candidates lose interest in the opportunity if the company is moving too slowly. Show your interest in the candidate by providing quick feedback, keeping the process moving forward, and making sure decisions are being made in a timely manner.