After a tough year full of financial hardships due to the effects of COVID-19, recruiting seemed to come to an abrupt halt for many companies. As the economy has begun to pick up and the need to fulfill tech positions in a virtual business world is so important, it’s time to improve your tech recruiting strategy.
There is an overwhelming number of skilled tech professionals who are actively looking for work, so making sure your tech recruiting process is polished will be essential to find the right fit for your company’s needs. We sat down with nine recruiting professionals to get their insight on how to better improve your tech recruiting strategy to deliver results.
Make Sure Your Recruiter is in the Tech Community
Effective technical recruiting starts with authentic personal relationships. It is really obvious when someone is disjointed from a particular community and incredibly endearing when they take the time to participate in some capacity. This also gives you an insight into a person’s character and core values which is far more important than technical prowess.
Lukas Ruebbelke, Briebug
Consistency in Guidelines
Develop a consistent set of guidelines for determining quality candidates. Stick to these guidelines as closely as possible to ensure that you are collecting a comparable group. It is easier to choose between potential hires when you do not have to worry about basic shared credentials like education and skills.
Megan Chiamos, 365 Cannabis
Explore Non-Traditional Backgrounds
Expand your horizons and consider applicants from non-traditional backgrounds. Sometimes a candidate is looking for a career change without going back to school and spending thousands on a new degree. By expanding your search beyond a specific degree, you will be able to find these candidates and look for the skills and experiences they’ve developed instead.
Francesca Yardley, Threads
LinkedIn Activity and Content
Checking potential recruits’ LinkedIn profiles is one tip that can help your technical recruiting strategy. Looking for experience, certifications, recommendations and other relevant information from their profile can help you determine qualified candidates with more confidence. Also, look for activity and content–the more put together a profile is, the more dedicated that candidate is.
Jon Schneider, Recruiterie
Share Your Company’s Vision on Future Technology
Share your company’s values and vision for technology with current team members and prospects. That includes the vision for the technology stack and the technology teams. When teammates know the goal and feel bought in, they’ll bring a greater level of energy to the organization and prospects that are looking to join your organization will feel this energy. This will help both your organization and prospects better determine whether there’s a cultural fit.
Husam Machlovi, With Pulp
Bring in a Technical-Role Team Member
If you’re not in a technical role yourself, partner up with someone else who is. It’s reasonable to ask for help and to bring someone in who can help you perform a “sniff test” regarding a candidate’s technical aptitude that can save you from headaches later.
Peter Adams, Ping! Development
Technical Screening Tool
One of the biggest issues with technical recruiting is wasted time on underskilled or under qualified candidates. A technical screening tool will decrease the amount of wasted time on these candidates while providing valuable insight into the skills of those who you intend to interview.
Justin Lestal, Devskiller
Provide Proper Equipment and Tools
Tech workers care about technology. This might seem obvious, but many companies fall short in this area. It’s critical that you provide tech workers with high-powered computers and any other requested hardware and software to do the job without a headache. Use this offering as a selling point in your job descriptions and you’ll be ahead of the curve.
Colleen Schwab, Greater Phoenix Economic Council
Connect with Local Tech Camps and Schools
Invest in and make connections at your local tech boot camps and schools. If your team can offer to volunteer mentorship hours or teaching resources, that’s even better. By connecting directly with the students and staff at tech acceleration organizations like boot camps, you can identify promising candidates early on. Students will become familiar with you and your company. Candidates feel comfortable reaching out to companies they’re familiar with, so this is a great place to scout for your next best tech employees.
Rob Bellenfant, TechnologyAdvice