The “war” for hiring the best IT talent rages on. Companies worldwide are competing for the smartest tech minds that are hard to find in this exciting new industry. And as the number of companies that are on a lookout for IT talent grows, it’s getting harder than ever to find people with these skill sets.
Indeed surveyed more than 1000 tech hiring managers and recruiters and found that 9 in 10 respondents think that it’s challenging to find and hire technical talent. Nearly 36% of them said it was highly challenging. What’s more, 83% said that the tech shortage has affected their companies through lost revenue, slow product development, and increased employee burnout.
To locate and recruit IT talent, recruitment agencies apply various hiring strategies. The application of these strategies comes with multiple benefits, including lower hiring costs, improved hiring efficiency, and access to a larger pool of talent.
Take a look at the top 5 recruitment strategies for hiring IT talent, practiced by recruitment agencies around the world.
Research Markets Where the Supply of IT Talent Exceeds the Demand
Before researching outside markets, you should make sure that your country lacks home-grown talent. Once you’re certain that IT talent is hard to find in your surrounding area, you should try to pinpoint the markets where talent supply exceeds talent demand. You can achieve this by conducting your own research or using LinkedIn Insights. The LinkedIn talent pool reports can tell you where to look for certain skill sets that your company desperately needs.
When you locate the markets you wish to draw talent from, the entire recruiting energy should be focused on this particular task. The best way to recruit outside IT talent is through online branding campaigns and recruiter outreach.
Use Content to Recruit
Nothing captures attention as well as good content lines. A great example of attracting talent is Atlassian. The company managed to grab the attention and hire tech talent with their fun “Europe, We’re Coming for Your Geeks!” campaign. Unsurprisingly, they hired 15 software developers in 15 days.
Apart from eye-catching campaigns, other content magnets would be creating in-depth blog posts, engaging social media posts, and useful videos. The content should revolve around your company culture, core values, and overall opinions on the way a business and team should operate. You want your content to be easily shareable by your employees and their friends. You can also ask your recruitment partners to help distribute the content you publish about your company.
Many companies build their network by doing webinars targeting their candidate market. For example, if you’re recruiting full-stack developers, find a full-stack developer expert to host informative and engaging webinars for your target group.
Great platforms for promoting your business and creating a presence are LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. LinkedIn has 500 million users worldwide and is the ideal spot for finding top-notch talent. Here, you can make new connections, generate leads, and build your brand.
Don’t underestimate the importance of Facebook. It’s one of the most dominant networks for recruiting talent. As more than a billion people log into Facebook every day, this is another oasis for hiring IT talent.
Be Present at IT Social Events
IT social events are a great way to establish a presence in the local tech scene. It’s an opportunity to socialize with people with the same interests. Such social IT events include hackathons, workshops, and meetups.
Why is this a recommended recruiting strategy? Because many people in attendance may be looking for a job. Or, at the very least, they might be testing the waters to see what opportunities are out there.
What’s more, you can widen your network, introduce yourself to IT talent, and set up a potential meeting. A number of developers say that they made a ton of contacts and friends at hackathons, many of which lasted long after the hackathon wrapped up. So the next time there’s an IT social event happening in your area, make sure you attend and make an impression.
Host Fun IT Events
Instead of waiting for an IT event to be organized in the area around you, why not take an aggressive approach and host your own?
This would be an amazing opportunity for your company to promote its business, build connections, and establish itself as a reputable institution. With great organization tactics and marketing strategies, you can promote the event on a larger scale and grow it to be a popular happening for IT talent and businesses alike.
Tech workers will be able to meet with hiring officials and build lasting relationships. Companies around the world will put your event as a top opportunity for recruiting talent. You will create a memorable experience for the tech industry, present your company in the best way possible, and leave an impression on the entire IT community.
Offer Employee Benefits
In the current job market, you don’t pick employees. Employees pick you. As the number of tech companies who are looking for talent grows, you need to build your business to be a reputable and desirable place of work. The best way to do this? Offer a number of attractive employee benefits!
These benefits can include high salaries, raises and promotions, as well as training and development programs. A flexible work schedule is a cornerstone of work/life balance and highly sought-after by IT talent worldwide. If you offer flexibility, paid time-off, paid personal days, and paid vacation, potential employees will be storming through the door.
Many companies today go above and beyond the normal benefits and offer additional conveniences. Relocation programs are popular with companies hiring IT talent. The packages often include a plane ticket, work visas, help with finding permanent housing, vehicle shipping, and welcome gifts.
Be creative with the benefits and never worry again about recruiting tech talent.
Once you apply these strategies, keep in mind that it takes time to develop talent outside of your go-to pool. Play the long game and slowly attract talented candidates with a rich recruiting program.
Does your company have other recruitment tips to share? Tell us in the comments below.
