Tech Hiring: Five tips to help you get the best tech talent, every single time
When the storm of pandemic hit the global shores, several economies held onto their only life jacket — technology. From healthcare to education to banking to retail to entertainment, every industry metamorphosed into a tech-driven industry overnight. Employees worked through digital platforms. Sales occurred through online stores. Payments cleared through digital gateways. Operations scaled via automation.
According to Deloitte’s Global Technology Leadership Study, industries increased their technology budgets by over 50% last year.
This advent of technology, while indicating the arrival of a new digital age, also points at the transforming talent needs in the market. Unlike pre-pandemic years, when only a small percentage of tech companies would hire software developers and computer engineers, today nearly every enterprise is looking for a skilled tech team to thrive. Further, owing to the emergence of Web 3.0 technologies — blockchain, cryptocurrency, and digital assets— this demand for tech talent is only expected to increase in the coming years.
However, as a company, how to find the best tech talent could be a perplexing riddle – especially when there is limited talent and burgeoning demand. In India, technology hiring is predicted to witness a 12% rise in FY22, with attrition rates also expected to hit nearly 22%.
In such a competitive job market, how to attract the best tech talent for your organization? And, how to become the preferred choice for your candidates? Here are five tips for talent goals to tick off your list!
1. Create job invitation using industry-centric keywords and phrases
Are you looking to hire a candidate for your data analytics role? Or a candidate that is experienced in app development? Then, the key here will be to make the job invitation as personalized as possible. Given the emergence of job listing and search platforms, candidates today are actively searching for jobs online. They are not merely searching for tech roles but also for specific job tasks, frameworks, salary ranges, skills, and work benefits in their domains.
As a company that wants to rank high on the recommendation lists, it is best to accommodate their most-searched keywords and phrases in your job listing. For instance, if you’re targeting a data analytics candidate, you can list down expected proficiency in skills, frameworks, or languages that you want them to be well-versed in. Moreover, to appeal to the post-pandemic workers, you can also be specific about your remote or hybrid work settings.
2. Streamline your job application process
Did you know that 60% of candidates drop out from a company’s job application if the process is lengthy? That is over half of the potential talent lost! As a company that wants to attract the best tech talent, you need to make your application process easiest and quickest to follow. Does your current hiring page demand candidates to fill in their educational background manually and work expertise along with submitting their CV? If yes, then that is an employer red flag right there.
To make the recruitment process less complicated and more time-effective for your candidates, you must integrate AI-based tools such as Epitome.ai’s career page into your recruitment system. Equipped with NLP and ML, such tools only require candidates to upload their resumes in the application portal. Unlike human teams that spend nearly a day screening resumes, such automated tools gather information from resumes and match it to the job listing. They then shortlist ideal candidates in minutes, thereby saving a lot of time and capital in the process.
3. Conduct AI-based skill tests or pymetrics tests
While you’re hiring for tech roles, assessing candidates on basis of their technical and soft skills is also important. According to a survey, 61% of techies prefer “non-boring assessment tests” and 53% of them would like interesting games over traditional interview rounds. Taking these preferences into consideration, you can evaluate your candidates’ strengths and weaknesses using AI-based or pymetric tests. In a 2018 report, it was observed that companies that conducted pymetrics during hiring rounds experienced 65% boost in their retention rates.
These hiring tests can range from personality tests to brain games. Usually integrated with AI features, the tests will help you measure the cognitive, social, and behavioral attributes of your tech talent. Once you’ve decided that you need your candidate to rank high on attention or creativity or critical thinking, the AI game will automatically score candidates on those parameters and find you suitable candidates for your role. Similarly, to test their specific tech skills, you can use AI-based tests that measure their skill proficiency, time-management skills, and plagiarism score among others.
4. Establish credibility in the tech industry
The technology industry is known for housing one of the largest growing communities of innovators and entrepreneurs. From coders to app developers to robotics and automation enthusiasts, people from diverse backgrounds and skillsets enjoy networking and collaborating over new products. As a company, the best way to establish your name in the evolving market is to actively interact with these potential candidates in tech meets, product launches, and hackathons.
If you have the necessary budget and resources, you can also plan your own hackathon-cum-placement event for your company. Not only will you be able to test people on the skills you need but also attract skilled talent from different locations and areas. As a growing organization, organizing networking events will help you build an appealing and strong employer brand in the market – a factor that 84% of job seekers value while shortlisting companies.
5. Offer L&D initiatives for consistent growth
Technologies are constantly evolving and so are the skills in the market. For any qualified tech talent to choose you as a workplace, they need to see themselves growing — both professionally and creatively — in your organization. In a report by Codility, it was found that 55% of developers tend to prioritize professional development over salary while choosing an employer.
Capitalizing on this learning intent, you can design a robust L&D plan for your organization. The plan can include personalized courses, mentorship programmes, employee collaborations, and recognition-based assignments. Not to mention, having an in-house talent pool will also aid in keeping your employees motivated and save you from investing capital in finding new replacements every time an employee leaves.
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Conclusion
The tech jobs are one the hardest to fill. Every company is struggling to hire techies that help them transition into a digital world, thereby leading to massive competition in the market. However, with the right and intelligent hiring strategies, your company can fill this increasing talent gap smoothly and effectively.
Experience the business impact of making astute and timely talent acquisition, skill-building decisions today with Epitome Cortex – Best AI-powered HR Software!