There is an increasing number of employment opportunities in the tech industry year after year, opening more jobs for IT professionals. Despite headlines involving layoffs at numerous companies worldwide, tech jobs remain among the most in-demand jobs in the labour market. Indeed, the tech industry will continue to develop further in the coming years, luring more young professionals to venture into the IT field.
But what should tech companies do if they need IT professionals with exceptional skills? Below, check out some tips on how to recruit the best IT candidates.
1. Offer Plenty of Opportunities for Growth
Offering plenty of growth opportunities can help you attract the best talents in a tight labour market like IT. Career growth is often a priority for many employees. It refers to the steps one must take on their career journey to achieve their professional goals. A lack of opportunities for career advancement is one of the key reasons people are leaving their jobs.
Rapid changes over the recent years, including the Covid-19 pandemic, have prompted many to re-evaluate their work and personal lives. Many employees reveal that these changes have motivated them to improve their skill sets, with over 70% saying that the pandemic has further increased their motivation.
Studies show that nine out of ten job seekers consider career advancement opportunities when searching for jobs. They prefer to work for companies with skills development programs and offer ways for employees to progress toward a different career path. Thus, offering career growth opportunities is one of the best ways to attract the best IT professionals.
'Aside from attracting the top talents, career growth opportunities are among the best ways companies can retain employees. Employee retention has been one of the challenges for many tech companies. Providing opportunities for employees to develop allows companies to keep the best employees and attract top candidates.
2. Use Social Media
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Social media is one of the most commonly used talent acquisition tactics nowadays. It is very effective, especially when attracting the best talents. Also called social recruiting, social media recruitment is the process of finding the best candidates using social media platforms. And with millions of people using social media daily, it's easy to see why talent acquisition professionals are turning to social media recruitment.
Consider leveraging social media if you have ever wondered how to recruit the best IT candidates. For many tech companies, social media channels are their source of high-quality candidates since it enables recruitment professionals to target their audience and reach the right people.
One of the benefits of social media recruitment is reaching passive job seekers. These are people not actively looking for employment opportunities but are considering a better offer. They will not go to job boards or visit career sites. Therefore, the best way to reach them is through social media.
Companies that use social media for recruitment spend less resources recruiting new ones. It allows them to fill vacant positions faster than those that use other channels.
3. Find an IT Recruitment Specialist
Consider working with an IT recruitment specialist to find the best IT candidates. The best recruitment specialists can make a potentially challenging recruitment process more straightforward. Best of all, the recruitment specialist will give you access to the best talents in the market.
IT professionals seeking new positions will likely register with recruitment specialists and submit their CVs. In addition, recruitment specialists will advertise their job vacancy adverts on numerous job boards, and they know what it takes for the advert to rank highly in job searches.
There are times when your candidate's requirements can be specific. A recruitment specialist can best help you when it comes to this. They have a database of the best IT professionals and will refer you to the one that perfectly fits the position you are looking for. Using a recruitment specialist means only candidates best qualified will be shortlisted. They will handle the process on your behalf, rejecting unsuitable candidates and making the recruitment process faster and easier.
Using a recruitment specialist can save you time searching for the best IT candidate. You can also save on in-house resources needed for recruitment. Using recruitment specialists can also lead to a faster turnaround in filling job vacancies, leading to increased efficiency.
4. Present Candidates with a Challenge to Solve
One of the best ways to gauge a candidate's skills and abilities is to give a challenge to solve. Allow potential candidates to use the latest technologies in your company to solve technically challenging problems and assess their performance. It may not be easy, given that it will depend on the roles they are applying for, but if you can, try to challenge them to test their skills.
Another way to evaluate their problem-solving skills is to conduct a technical interview. Begin with small talk and make the candidate comfortable to help them relax and give their best. Once you are ready to test them, throw open-ended questions. Ask questions that require more than a simple yes or no answer. It will allow the candidate to showcase their expertise, knowledge, and experience.
While the candidate is answering, focus your attention on their problem-solving skills. Be mindful of their approach. Is it methodical? Are they thinking outside the box?
5. Follow up with the Candidates
Some candidates will bite at the first outreach email you send but will spend time doing research before responding to your email. If you want to have the best talents in your company, do not call it quits on the first email - send a follow-up!
After doing your first round of outreach emails, try to make a follow-up. Try to keep in touch with the best candidates who are not yet ready to make a move on your first approach. Waiting six months is the general rule when following up with candidates, but there are instances where it makes sense to re-engage early on. You can send them newsletters, ask how their recent projects went, etc.
