5 tips for recruiting talented IT specialists

It’s not easy to find talented IT specialists as competition over high level IT profiles is fierce. If you want to recruit the best profiles for your company you need to keep on top of things by staying informed while constantly improving your brand’s reputation.

The lack of specialists on the market has made recruitment more difficult and the competition for attracting profiles more fierce. To attract the best talent you need to follow leads, build relationships, and cast a wide net.

Below I am going to give you 5 detailed tips on how to attract the best IT talent.

1) Encourage and follow up on referrals

Highly-skilled individuals who also have excellent relationships with clients and colleagues are hunted day and night by recruiters hungry for added value. One way to get the scent and track down a potential new employee is to follow up on referrals. Often the best tips come from recommendations given by colleagues or other specialist in the field, who often have insider information and can help you make a connection. What is great about a referral is that while someone is recommending a candidate for your company, at the same time they are recommending your company to the candidate.

Overall referrals can help you to quickly build a strong team. The recruitment process is also smoother for referred employees and they are often able to integrate into your company more easily as they already have a “buddy” they can rely on inside the company.

According to Global Recruiting Trends 2017, 48% of the recruiters ask for employee referrals, 40% check for third-party websites or online job boards, and 40% browse social professional networks.

2) Build relationships with top candidates

Having a more close and personal relationship with candidates will change their perception on head-hunting. It helps if you make them feel like a person rather than a piece of machinery you are installing into your company to increase its efficiency. Employees are not a commodity and should not feel like one. If you can make them feel more comfortable during the recruitment process and give them the notion that they are joining a community and not just a job then they will see the position in a better light.

A more human recruitment process will differentiate you from your competitors, and although the process of building a relationship with a potential candidate is slower, it will pay off in the long run as it nets you high quality profiles.

3) Create an appealing package of perks and other incentives

Other than money, IT specialists say that what they are most interested in is using new technologies and working on cool projects. Having a short commute or the option to work remotely is pretty high up on the list as well. Working with different projects and technology is interesting for IT specialists but it is also an asset that will help them build up their CV and their skillset.

Of course salary is important but extras that make an employee more comfortable are helpful. Things like free catering from time to time or having sports & recreation facilities at the office or close at hand will help build employee morale which increasing retention rates.

HR specialists have observed that there are specific types of benefits more attractive than others such as: flex time/remote work as well as mentoring and developmental programs. Showing that you value your employees and care about their development gives them a sense of belonging and meaningfulness at work.

By providing comprehensive packages of perks and a comfortable working atmosphere, companies will not only attract new specialists but will succeed in keeping them.

4) Support employee growth through mobility

Most of the time your recruitment call is not only going to target local people, you want to cast your net at a wider range in order to increase your chances of catching a big profile. Offering IT specialists relocation packages is especially helpful for those times when you find a candidate that lives halfway across the country. Moving is neither a fun nor cheap experience, adding this type of package helps give your employment offer that extra bit of push.

5) Invest in students

Companies are often hunting for senior specialists, but don’t forget that today’s seniors are yesterday’s juniors. Young employees are often enthusiastic and ambitious, and even though they may lack experience they are eager to learn. Working side by side with more experienced teammates will shape them professionally which can prepare them for a long career in your company.

Today’s youngsters will be the main work force by 2025 and what is interesting about this generation is that they are the best-educated generation so far (the most schooling, the highest SAT scores, with computer coding and other advanced skills learned as early as middle school). Even if they lack the experience of senior IT professionals they are set up to learn quickly.

But even if this generation will be hungry for work you still need to be prepared to attract them. “99% believe that managing your company’s employer brand and reputation is important to attracting top talent”, according to The Future of Recruiting Study.

In conclusion

When it comes to the IT field power has shifted from the employer to the employee. The lack of specialists on the market has made recruitment more difficult and the competition for attracting profiles more fierce. To attract the best talent you need to follow leads, build relationships, and cast a wide net. HR and recruitment consulting may help put you on the right track if you need to change things up.

IT skills assessments can also be a useful tool in addition to traditional recruitment methods. Our HR partner, SkillValue, helps both candidates and companies test their level of expertise in web development languages, operating systems, databases, mobile apps and more (MCQ, coding, algorithm). SkillValue has built up a talent pool of 200,000 skill tested IT profiles of all experience levels that can be used to quickly build up an IT team.

If you need help building up an IT team, contact us today.