It can be difficult to attract IT talent since there is so much
demand for it. Firms are worried that they don’t have the IT talent they
need to operate at the highest level. IT companies are exploring new
tactics to recruit candidates. Below is a list of the most common
mistakes made by IT recruiters.
1. Too much emphasis on the technical
IT recruiters often create job postings based on hiring purely
technical or computer science candidates. Unfortunately, it’s much more
important to draw in candidates with a range of soft skills, in addition
to technical skills. A highly technical interview or posting likely
won’t lead to the right long term candidate when it comes to senior IT
roles.
2. Staying away from job hoppers
When a market is short on candidates, like in the tech industry, it’s
natural for highly sought talent to move between jobs. IT leaders who
stand by the idea of employee loyalty should rethink their approach. A
job hopper and frequent company changes on a CV are not signs of a weak
employee. Talent migration often follows new technologies which appear
every day.
3. Seeking unrealistic candidates
Often, a
company is looking for a candidate that doesn’t really exist, at least
not in one individual. According to Sandra Finch, a recruiter at Uktopwriters and Writemyaustralia “the
list of skills on the posting reflects what should be two different
professionals, and it’s impossible to fill that position. Companies will
be much more successful when the job description is in line with the
pool of candidates.”
4. Uncoordinated interview strategies The
recruitment process should not be limited to hiring but also planning,
budgeting, and better oversight of the interview process. Candidates
are often asked the same questions by every interviewer, which doesn’t
leave the candidate with a good impression. Increased coordination would
allow different interviewers to ask different questions, which leads to
a more streamlined and efficient process. It also reflects well on the
company and the position for a potential candidate.
5. Job description focused only on the company
IT companies and recruiters often think the job is there to fill the
company’s needs and the job description reflects that. However, with so
many companies looking for talent, it’s important to acknowledge the
candidate’s needs and what the job will bring them. Job descriptions
should reflect that by including information about what’s in it for the
new hire to attract someone who is likely to have a lot of options to
choose from. It’s also key to add information on work-life balance, and
benefits of working for the company.
6. Overpaying candidates
Because the current market is so competitive, many companies end up
overpaying candidates to draw them in. This can become a big problem in
the company as it destabilizes internal equity and completely disregards
pay grades set by HR. Prior to running a job posting for a new
candidate, all members of the hiring board should agree on the average
salary for the position and have clear limits and expectations
surrounding the salary.
7. Having too long of a process
IT managers and recruiters don’t always realize the options that
candidates have when it comes to job opportunities. If there are any
delays in the hiring process, this can greatly affect the likelihood of a
candidate choosing to go in another direction. Companies are starting
to realize this and have created shortened interview cycles so they can
hire quickly when qualified candidates are available. “This means that
they can identify candidates rapidly, hold varied and informative
interviews, and follow that up with a prompt job offer if the candidate
is the right fit. The more flexible and streamlined your process, the
more likely you’ll be to snatch up the best talent” explains Micheal
Ledesma, a Tech writer at Ukservicesreviews and Australian reviewer.
8. Posting a weak job description
Similarly to the first point, it’s important that the job description
focuses not only on the company and the candidate, but is specific and
reflective of the job itself. Too often, recruiters will be vague about
the job and the company and won’t provide many details about the role.
It’s also important to understand the language you use will reflect the
type of candidates you attract. For example, advertising free alcohol
and table tennis as job perks will only attract certain candidates and
turn away others.
Talent management: the new success mantra to your organization. In a
world of technology and innovation, organizations are seeing an
imbalance in the present workforce. Several companies are finding it
tough to train global leaders, develop strategic mobility, and
strengthen the core technical skills as per the market demand.
In spite of the fact that most companies have moved their focus
towards technological and digital shift, there’s another shift that is
on the move right now. Today, employers are stern towards engaging,
developing and retaining their employees, a prompt towards a talent
management system.
Talent management
Talent management is a word that is used when one describes the
organization’s allegiance towards hiring, managing, developing and
retaining potential employees. It entails a strategy which involves a
system to retain their top talented and skilled employees.
The word “talent management” speaks for itself – it is a shift around
hiring, training, and retention of employees. But wait, isn’t this
exactly what the HR does?
Although HR and talent management have a lot of things in common,
there are other things that set them apart to be different and
exceptional. The goals of human resources management are menial and
limited to the organization. Their tasks were limited to doing
administrative jobs, day to day interaction, recruiting and selectinga
new employee, etc. However, in the case of talent management, it is
more about designing a strategy to help companies use their capital in
the best possible way.
Why the change? How to integrate talent management fully into an organization today?
Talent management is considered crucial to organizations. In a world
where human capital is seen as the company’s greatest asset, there is
also a risk of losing their potential employee to the company’s
competitor. It is important for one to integrate everything within the
process. In short, talent management is involved in making use of
quantitative and qualitative tools to improve the company’s ROI.
These are some features that an organization can consider before transforming to a talent management organization.
It is the job of every member of the organization to attract and retain employees in a talent management system.
An
effective strategy paves a pathway where information regarding
employees and their career paths can be shared. This enables every
department to identify the talent when opportunities arise.
An
organization with strategic planning and execution is viable to have the
best talent trained and ready for their next position.
Having a succession planning ahead of time benefits both the employee and the organization.
In a larger organization, talent management requires
HRIS (Human Resources Information System) to keep the track on the
employee’s career and be able to manage available opportunities for
talented employees.
The future of talent management
You need to manage your talent else watch your future leaders walk
out that door. Talent management is still a problem for many
organizations. Despite the recognition of knowing what modern workforce
requires, companies tend to ignore such facts.
Organizations work in an extremely challenging environment, not being
able to retain employees, maintain the skill-gap and talent shortage
could cause a huge loss. In this context, leadership and talent
management has become the two areas organizations should focus upon.
We are in an era where competition is at a speed neck pace, survivors
will be the only ones to excel. To ensure long term benefits of talent
it is important for one to embrace difficulties and focus on the future.
With the help of talent management, organizations can solve recruitment
difficulties and common retention problems.
Currently, we’re living in the edge where adjustment for the war for
talent is still ongoing. This force is still being driven by skill
shortages and organizations facing scarcity of talent pool.
Thus, having a talent management system in an organization is imperative.
Is your organization ready?
Nonetheless, the future of the talent management system is obligated
to solve challenges such as adjusting to the new workforce culture,
understanding the differences of the future employee, and shifting the
company’s goals towards finding the right strategies and prepare the
employees for a better role in the future.
Organizations must now be pro-active rather than reactive. Instead of
luring talented employees to fulfill their needs, they should also
focus on identifying the requirements that are needed for organizational
growth
You’ve already spent months trying to recruit the perfect
candidate, and you still couldn’t hit the jackpot in finding the right
person to fill a job vacancy. Your frustration is completely
understandable since the recruitment game can present challenges that
are difficult to overcome. When this happens, perhaps this is when you
need to change things up a bit.
There will come a time when finding the right talent becomes harder
than how it was before. This may be due to many factors, including
outdated processes and changes in recruitment trends. To be able to keep
up and zero in on the right candidates, you must be resilient enough to
adapt to the changing times.
The solution? Your recruitment agency or department needs to be creative enough to engage your candidates.
To help you implement a more effective search, here are creative ways to find those candidates to fill those open positions:
1. Mount an event or an open office day
It’s easier to look for the right talent if you have them come to
you, and you can do this by hosting a recruiting event. Similar to a job
fair sans the competition, hosting your own event will allow you to
interview your candidates while using the said event to create brand
awareness.
You’ll have to go through the right channels, such as your social
media accounts, job boards, and your current employees to promote your
event. Be specific with your job openings to lessen the number of unfit
candidates and allow your attendees to register in advance to get an
idea about how many people will be in attendance.
Instead of just inviting people for an interview, you can also have
them come over to find out a little about your company. This gives you
the opportunity to sell the ‘experience’ of how it feels working with
your organization while giving your great insights into your potential
hires.
2. Set up a volunteer program
People would want to work at a place where they’ll potentially be
happy while making a difference. You can establish an employee volunteer
or community service program that aims to build your brand and help
grow your workforce.
One of the best ways to do this is to tie up with a non-profit
organization and grant employees paid time off to volunteer with that
group. This kind of program can encourage your staff to participate and
build goodwill around the community. Furthermore, this selfless activity
will allow others to feel more connected to your brand, making it a
more attractive company when you have positions that need to be filled.
3. Create a viral recruitment video
Video marketing has become so popular that it’s considered to be the most engaging type of content.
People have become more engaged with watching clips through Facebook,
Instagram Stories, and Snapchat—especially the fun ones. This is
something that you’d want to take advantage of, so create one that can
wow your potential employees.
Take this opportunity to show off your awesome organization as an
employer and make them feel a genuine desire to work for you. This can
boost your chances of attracting top talent that’s going to help realize
your goals.
4. Give gifts
This is a straightforward method that would require bigger budget
with more lead time to boot, but it’s a great way to recruit top talent
if you have both.
The first step is to do some research online. This involves diving
into CV databases, job sites, and social media, so you can come up with a
‘dream list’ of potential candidates you’d love to interview. You can
send each of them a custom letter or email, selling the role and
inviting them for an interview—including a small gift to seal the deal.
However, when you gift big, you’ll also get something big in return.
Allocating a budget for big gifts can reflect in a good return of
investment. Candidates will perceive you positively when you can give
them something big or important even if they are still in the initial
stage of the recruitment process. It means that, as a company, you are
willing to trust them with something valuable.
It can range from a gift certificate or voucher to a book or perhaps a
tumbler. If you’re a big tech company and you’re feeling generous, you
could even give a smartphone with a bespoke message. This method is
bound to get call-backs, fast-tracking your recruitment process.
5. “Speed recruiting”
Taking a page out of speed dating, speed recruiting pretty much has
the same concept. Candidates are invited over for a recruitment event
where a group of recruiters each conducts an interview within a specific
time frame.
It’s a more direct form of recruitment given the short amount of
time. It lets you put the company and the job being offered in a
positive light while finding out if a candidate is fit for the job
through a series of questions. This way, you can quickly assess their
technical skills, soft skills, character, and knowledge of the company
among other things.
This unique method of recruitment isn’t for everyone, but those who
manage to ace this may have what it takes to get the position on offer.
6. Provide creative benefits
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics report,
the job market is the strongest it’s been since 2001, which means it
has swung back in the job seeker’s favor. They can now afford to vet
every opportunity, taking in consideration the benefits, before signing
up for the job.
Employers can examine their own benefits on offer and make the
necessary changes to help your recruitment efforts. For example, both
Amazon and Netflix offer generous parental leave for its employees that covers new mothers, fathers, and adoptees.
7. Straight up talk to them
If you know where your perfect candidates frequently visit, you can
simply go there and straight up talk to them. You can hit a local event,
a certain spot in town, or the local coffee shop and start engaging
professionals in conversation.
You have to keep in mind that discussing important details should be
done in a proper setting that can uphold privacy. This applies heavily
when you are going over classified information about the recruitment in
your company. Going to the places where your perfect candidates
frequently visit gives you an opportunity to represent your company in a
way that balances casual and professional approach.
In networking events, you have to be very aware of how they respond
to your initial action. Since you are in a public space, they have the
liberty to ignore recruitment conversations. However, you can start with
something casual and build your way from there.
8. Get them to create their own application video
Asking your applicants to send in a video CV gives them an
opportunity to showcase their fun and creative side. This method also
shows who’s willing to go the extra mile and think out of the box to bag
the position.
This approach is effective in whittling down a large number of
candidates vying for the job. However, this may not be right for you if
you only receive a few applications anyway, and the extra effort needed
to create one may put some people off since not everyone feels
comfortable to be on screen.
9. Post ads on your social networks
Targeted paid ads on social networks such as Facebook is one of the
surest ways to attract great candidates. With over billions of users,
it’s a massive resource of talent that you should be taking advantage
of.
You can target a specific audience through location, language, and
other demographics, helping you place your ad in front of the people
that best fit your company culture.
If you want your ad to stand out, make sure you include eye-catching images, compelling copy, and an attractive landing page.
Start Hiring Top Talent
Ideally, you’d want job candidates to find you. But if you’re focused
on looking for each other through other ways, it will be much easier to
connect and engage. Now that you have these creative methods at your
disposal, you can integrate any of them into your recruitment campaign
as you see fit. They may require some extra effort on your part, but if
you get to find the best talents for the goals of your business, it’s
all going to be worth it.
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